I believe starting your very first website is one of the most scariest experiences when starting out and expanding it, can be just as terrifying too. There are a lot of thoughts that may circulate in your mind. Things like, what if readers don’t like this? What if visitors leave and never comeback because of that, and so on. When we think of building a long-term website, one of the most considered topic is good reputation. No webmaster wants to put all their hard work at stake and possibly watch it go down the drain; and for the most part, is why most webmasters never make changes. It is the fear that when already establishing a certain website, making sudden changes might cause an adverse effect and displease already existing readers to never comeback. That is one of the most biggest fears of being a webmaster and for the most part, is why most webmasters anticipate the worst to come when making any sudden changes.
When it comes to making changes, a lot of webmasters get paranoid whenever faced with a certain problematic issue even if it may be just a coincidence; and for the most part, are more likely to revert back after seeing a day or two of bad results. This habit is generally unhealthy especially when creating new add-ons to your website like having a forum or a blog. One of the reasons why I say this is because it diminishes what confidence you have in your self. You must realize that communities don’t build themselves over night, it takes months, years, and possibly even decades. For instance, the website SitePoint. A lot of people have a tendency to try and replicate large existing communities like in this example, SitePoint. What most new webmasters fail to see is that SitePoint has been established since 1998 and has continue to gain trust and recognition as one of the leading market places for webmasters to discuss, sell, and even buy webmaster related items. You as a viewer may think, Well, I can make a website just as good. It may be true, however, there is one thing you must realize you cannot ever replace with mere visuals, and that is trust.
I’d bet a leg and an arm that they did not meet the instant glorification as they see today and have undergone the same process too, but in the past. I believe the worst comparison a webmaster can make is trying to match their 1 month website to a 12 year old website. It is unfair to judge your website’s position when you are only 1 month in. This is one of the main reasons why most webmasters never have anything to show for after a year of playing with website creation — because they move around too much from project to project.
When it comes to building a website, I believe beginning webmasters should stop comparing themselves with already established authoritative websites. Although it is generally good to think big, it is best to take stepping stones until you think you can match the type of website (for this example) SitePoint is head on when you have enough body of knowledge of what is going on. Then, you can have a say. Realize that having large expectations can work both positively and negatively for your ego.
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The point of this example is to demonstrate that communities don’t build themselves in matter of days even if you may have a somewhat good volume of visitors everyday. Expanding can be indeed a very scary process, especially when you only see new members registering only at a rate of 1 per day. But fact is, it is generally easier to build a community of existing members than starting from scratch. That is why I recommend keeping in mind that for everyday that you stick with your newly made website or community, is just another day leading up to your website’s glorious days.
A nice short overview of this article is that superstitions keep you from perusing your website’s true potential and that, it is best to always stick with your plan even if the days may seem dim. Because after all, it is just another day leading up to your website’s glorious days right?
