December 2, 2025 • 15 mins
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Feeling overwhelmed by website platform options? You’re not alone. Many entrepreneurs choose “easy” all-in-one builders like Squarespace or Wix, but in this episode, I’m breaking down why those platforms can limit your long-term growth and leave you building on borrowed land. We’ll explore the hidden drawbacks, and why WordPress, despite feeling intimidating at first, gives you true ownership and endless flexibility. I’ll also share how the right support can make WordPress setup simple and empower you to manage your site with confidence, so you can stop renting and start owning your online home!
02:25 - The hidden limitations of all-in-one website builders
04:46 - Why WordPress works for businesses at any stage
06:07 - Unlimited flexibility and customization with WordPress
08:36 - DIY pitfalls and when to hire a professional for your website
09:53 - One important question to ask yourself about your current website
Links & Resources:
- Book a FREE Gameplan Call.
- Watch this episode on YouTube
- Follow me on Instagram @kristendoyle.co
- Check out my Everything Page: a one-stop shop for savvy selling!
- The Savvy Seller Collective
- Join my private Facebook community: Savvy Teacher Sellers
- More resources for growing your TPT business
- Rate & review The Savvy Teacher Seller on Apple Podcasts
Show Notes: https://kristendoyle.co/episode171
Tired of worrying about WordPress updates and website maintenance? My worry-free WPCare Plan handles all your updates, security monitoring, and maintenance so you can focus on running your business. My team and I would love to be in your corner, taking your website off your plate.
Learn more and get started at kristendoyle.co/care.
Check out my Everything Page at https://kristendoyle.co/everything
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kristen Doyle (00:00):
Have you ever felt completely overwhelmed by
all the website platform optionsout there? Or maybe you've
wondered if the platform you'reusing is actually holding your
business back. See, a lot of myclients come to me worried about
WordPress seeming toocomplicated, so they stick with
platforms like Squarespace orWix. Now, what they're looking
(00:22):
for is simplicity, which Icompletely understand.
But here's the thing, what thoseall in one builders don't tell
you is that you're essentiallybuilding your entire business on
borrowed land. It's kind of likethe difference between renting a
dorm room where someone elsecontrols everything, versus
(00:43):
owning your own home where youmake the decisions, and the long
term consequences for yourbusiness are bigger than you
might think. So today I'm goingto show you why owning your
digital real estate matters, andhow you can do it without all
the technical overwhelm that youmight be a little afraid of.
Are you a digital product orcourse creator, selling on
(01:04):
platforms like Teachers PayTeachers, Etsy, or your own
website? Ready to grow yourbusiness, but not into the kind
of constant hustle that leadsstraight to burnout? Then you're
in the right place. Welcome toThe Savvy Seller. I'm Kristen
Doyle, and I'm here to give youno-fluff tools and strategies
that move the needle for yourbusiness without burning you out
(01:27):
in the process—things like SEO,no stress marketing, email list
building, automations, and somuch more. Let's get started,
y'all.
See, a lot of my clients come tome wondering which platform is
right, and they've heard ofWordPress, but they worry it's
(01:47):
too overwhelming, and maybe theyshould stick with one of those
all in one website builders likeSquarespace or Wix instead. See,
they see WordPress like it'sthis huge, complicated platform
that you need a whole entiretech team to manage, and I get
that. So there's this commonmisconception that WordPress is
something you only use if youneed a huge website with tons of
(02:08):
content, maybe you have a wholetech team to run your site for
you, and that's really just nottrue.
Those all in ones, they promisesimplicity, but what they're
really doing is locking you intotheir platform and making you
totally reliant on them. So thereal problem isn't that
WordPress is too complex, it'sthat those easy website builders
(02:30):
are actually building yourbusiness on land that you don't
own, building on rented land, soto speak.
See with those platforms, youhave no control over so many
factors. What if Squarespace orWix closed down one day, or
Weebly triples their prices, or,you know, their service suddenly
(02:51):
sucks, and your website's barelyloading anymore, and you're
stuck with them. All of yourcontent gets stuck in those
sites and moving it to adifferent platform, yes, it's
possible, but it's usually avery manual process, and that
makes it super time consuming.
Ultimately, if you can start outin the place you're going to end
up, you usually do better withjust about any tech platform
(03:14):
decision, whether it's yourwebsite, your email marketing,
whatever it is, if you can startat the place that you know
you're going to end up using forthe long run, you're usually
better off that way.
These all in one platforms, nomatter which one you are looking
at using, they all have hiddenlimitations that people don't
(03:34):
recognize at first. See,sometimes they limit what you
can sell and how you can sellit. You get stuck with only the
features they've decided tooffer and how often they update
to keep up with changingtechnology. You can't always
customize them as much as youneed to, or implement certain
marketing strategies. See, thateasy appeal a lot of times, just
(03:58):
means fewer options, and thosefewer options can almost turn
into handcuffs as you're tryingto grow and you're not able to
do what you need to.
It's kind of like the differencebetween living in the dorms on
campus, where they chooseeverything—they choose the
electricity, they choose theinternet provider, they choose
if you have cable or not—versusowning your own house where
(04:20):
you're in control of all thosedecisions. In your own house, if
you know maybe your Wi Fiprovider, suddenly the internet
speed slows way down, or theytriple their price. You just
pick a new one. With those allin one platforms, you are stuck
having to move your entire houseinstead of just switching cable
companies.
Now this really is kind of whereWordPress shines. I know a lot
(04:41):
of people think of it as thisbig, complicated thing that's
for bloggers with tons ofcontent or huge companies, but
what I have learned is thatWordPress really is one of the
best platforms for any businessowner. From someone just
starting out all the way up tothose million dollar operations,
WordPress can work for anyonebecause it is so incredibly
flexible because of all thoseoptions that can sometimes
(05:04):
overwhelm people in thebeginning.
See, WordPress can grow with youfrom just starting out to as big
as you can possibly grow yourbusiness over the years. And I
know it can feel overwhelming atfirst, but WordPress really is
worth pushing through thatinitial overwhelm. And the right
guidance can make it just aseasy as those other online all
(05:27):
in one kind of builders, exceptyou own your website, you own
your content, and that is soimportant for your business long
term.
I have heard of other services,I won't name them, but I have
(07:58):
heard of services shuttingwebsites down with no warning,
and just deleting all of yourcontent that you've worked so
long for and raising pricesexponentially and all kinds of
things like that. WithWordPress, if your hosting gets
too expensive or their servicedrops, you just switch to a
different host. You still haveall of your content. So like I
(08:22):
said, it's like changing yourinternet provider versus having
to move your whole entire house.
You also get this flexibilitythat is going to grow with you
as far as you can take yourbusiness. Where other platforms
limit you to certain types ofcontent, certain features, to
what they offer, you canliterally do anything you want
on a WordPress website. You wanta blog, go for it. You want a
(08:43):
membership, you can do that too.
You need a store, absolutely.
Anything that you want to do ona WordPress site, it can be
done. Whatever you need, fromjust starting out with a brand
new small business all the wayup to that huge business that
maybe you're hoping to grow oneday.
You have practically unlimitedcustomization wherever you need
it. There's no restrictions on,you know, what you can sell or
(09:04):
how you can present it. There isa plugin for everything on
WordPress, and if there's not,there's a way to custom code
those things too. So withWordPress, you do have this kind
of one time learning investment,and there are some options and
some choices to make up front,but you have those versus more
permanent platform limitationsthat you're stuck with.
(09:25):
I think a lot of people getoverwhelmed by WordPress because
of how many options there are,but that really is what its
strength is. And maybe theoverwhelm comes from seeing all
the options at one time, butonce you've set your site up,
those choices are all made andyou don't have to worry about it
anymore. So this is really whereyou just need somebody to guide
you through which of thoseoptions work the best for your
(09:48):
business, and that's wherehiring a pro can come in handy.
So when you are looking for aweb designer, find someone who
values your independence, notcreating dependency on them.
Look for that web designer ordeveloper who values making it
easy for you to manage your ownsite down the road, instead of
one who hides features in waysthat make you reliant on always
(10:11):
coming back to them for everylittle change. I always leave my
clients with some trainings andtutorial videos on how to use
their website because I want youto be able to make small changes
yourself. When you need tochange a link or a headline or a
picture, you should be able todo that without having to come
back to me. So look for a webdesigner who is going to work
(10:32):
that way. My clients are able tocreate new pages, add their own
blog posts, whatever they needto on their site.
And then there are those kind ofpro level tasks when it comes to
bigger projects, where there'sgoing to be strategy involved,
that's where I advise my clientsto come back to me, and let me
help you with the strategy andmaking sure you implement things
(10:53):
the right way. Bottom line, it'syour website, and you should be
empowered to do what you need todo on it.
Now, can you DIY your site?
Yeah, absolutely. But what Itypically see with clients who
try to DIY their website tobegin with, is they get
overwhelmed, and they end upspending so much time trying to
learn something brand new thatthey probably would have been
(11:16):
better off from a timestandpoint, from a stress
standpoint, and even from amoney standpoint, in some ways,
to have hired a web designer tobegin with who could help walk
them through this, take off allof that stress and frustration
off their plates. Every clientthat I have worked with who
tried to DIY and then came to mesays it is so much easier and
just such a relief, such aweight off their shoulders, to
(11:38):
have someone who understandsthis stuff take care of it for
them.
See, for most business owners,you're not going to build more
than one website in yourbusiness's lifetime. Maybe you
build it and then redo it once,and spending tons of time, and
let's be real, stress andfrustration sometimes, learning
a skill you'll never need againwhen you could have spent that
(12:01):
time on things that willactually grow your business,
those things that only you cando, it's a waste of your time
and energy and effort to pour somuch into learning a skill
you'll never use again.
Alright, let's talk about whatyou need to do. Your main action
step today is to think aboutyour website platform. Think
about whether you truly own youronline business presence or
(12:23):
you're just renting space. Askyourself, what would happen if
my current platform or the toolsI'm using radically changed
their terms tomorrow. Theydouble their prices, they shut
down, they remove features thatI am dependent on, or move them
into a higher tiered pricingoption, because we all see that
happen all the time. What wouldhappen if your current platform
(12:46):
changed, and are you comfortablewith that?
And if you're thinking aboutWordPress, definitely look for
someone to help you, who isgoing to prioritize your long
term independence and you havingownership of your site, not
someone who's going to createdependency on you. So
specifically, ask questionsabout what kind of training or
tutorials you get after and howmuch of your site you can manage
(13:08):
on your own.
If you are feeling overwhelmedand you're just starting out,
remember, you just need somebodyto guide you through making the
right choices. Once it's set upthe right way, managing
WordPress is no harder than anyof those other builders, as long
as it's set up for you to beable to do that.
Look, I know WordPress can feelsuper overwhelming at first, but
(13:29):
that overwhelm is temporary. Thelimitations of those other
website builders, those arepermanent. So when you pick
WordPress, you aren't justchoosing a website platform, you
really are choosing to own yourbusiness's online home. You're
choosing that freedom to growhowever you need to without
limitations, and to changeproviders when you find that you
(13:52):
need to, to build somethingthat's really yours. And with
the right guidance, even thatinitial setup really does not
have to be overwhelming.
If you're ready to stop rentingand start owning your website,
but you need that guidance, ormaybe you've started down the
DIY WordPress path, and you needsome help finishing up, I would
love to help you with that. Headover to kristendoyle.co to learn
(14:13):
more about how we can build yourWordPress site the right way,
one that you own, that'spowerful for your business but
still easy for you to manage.
I'll talk to you soon.
Have you ever felt completely overwhelmed by
all the website platform optionsout there? Or maybe you've
wondered if the platform you'reusing is actually holding your
business back. See, a lot of myclients come to me worried about
WordPress seeming toocomplicated, so they stick with
platforms like Squarespace orWix. Now, what they're looking
(00:22):
for is simplicity, which Icompletely understand.
But here's the thing, what thoseall in one builders don't tell
you is that you're essentiallybuilding your entire business on
borrowed land. It's kind of likethe difference between renting a
dorm room where someone elsecontrols everything, versus
(00:43):
owning your own home where youmake the decisions, and the long
term consequences for yourbusiness are bigger than you
might think. So today I'm goingto show you why owning your
digital real estate matters, andhow you can do it without all
the technical overwhelm that youmight be a little afraid of.
Are you a digital product orcourse creator, selling on
(01:04):
platforms like Teachers PayTeachers, Etsy, or your own
website? Ready to grow yourbusiness, but not into the kind
of constant hustle that leadsstraight to burnout? Then you're
in the right place. Welcome toThe Savvy Seller. I'm Kristen
Doyle, and I'm here to give youno-fluff tools and strategies
that move the needle for yourbusiness without burning you out
(01:27):
in the process—things like SEO,no stress marketing, email list
building, automations, and somuch more. Let's get started,
y'all.
See, a lot of my clients come tome wondering which platform is
right, and they've heard ofWordPress, but they worry it's
(01:47):
too overwhelming, and maybe theyshould stick with one of those
all in one website builders likeSquarespace or Wix instead. See,
they see WordPress like it'sthis huge, complicated platform
that you need a whole entiretech team to manage, and I get
that. So there's this commonmisconception that WordPress is
something you only use if youneed a huge website with tons of
(02:08):
content, maybe you have a wholetech team to run your site for
you, and that's really just nottrue.
Those all in ones, they promisesimplicity, but what they're
really doing is locking you intotheir platform and making you
totally reliant on them. So thereal problem isn't that
WordPress is too complex, it'sthat those easy website builders
(02:30):
are actually building yourbusiness on land that you don't
own, building on rented land, soto speak.
See with those platforms, youhave no control over so many
factors. What if Squarespace orWix closed down one day, or
Weebly triples their prices, or,you know, their service suddenly
(02:51):
sucks, and your website's barelyloading anymore, and you're
stuck with them. All of yourcontent gets stuck in those
sites and moving it to adifferent platform, yes, it's
possible, but it's usually avery manual process, and that
makes it super time consuming.
Ultimately, if you can start outin the place you're going to end
up, you usually do better withjust about any tech platform
(03:14):
decision, whether it's yourwebsite, your email marketing,
whatever it is, if you can startat the place that you know
you're going to end up using forthe long run, you're usually
better off that way.
These all in one platforms, nomatter which one you are looking
at using, they all have hiddenlimitations that people don't
(03:34):
recognize at first. See,sometimes they limit what you
can sell and how you can sellit. You get stuck with only the
features they've decided tooffer and how often they update
to keep up with changingtechnology. You can't always
customize them as much as youneed to, or implement certain
marketing strategies. See, thateasy appeal a lot of times, just
(03:58):
means fewer options, and thosefewer options can almost turn
into handcuffs as you're tryingto grow and you're not able to
do what you need to.
It's kind of like the differencebetween living in the dorms on
campus, where they chooseeverything—they choose the
electricity, they choose theinternet provider, they choose
if you have cable or not—versusowning your own house where
(04:20):
you're in control of all thosedecisions. In your own house, if
you know maybe your Wi Fiprovider, suddenly the internet
speed slows way down, or theytriple their price. You just
pick a new one. With those allin one platforms, you are stuck
having to move your entire houseinstead of just switching cable
companies.
Now this really is kind of whereWordPress shines. I know a lot
(04:41):
of people think of it as thisbig, complicated thing that's
for bloggers with tons ofcontent or huge companies, but
what I have learned is thatWordPress really is one of the
best platforms for any businessowner. From someone just
starting out all the way up tothose million dollar operations,
WordPress can work for anyonebecause it is so incredibly
flexible because of all thoseoptions that can sometimes
(05:04):
overwhelm people in thebeginning.
See, WordPress can grow with youfrom just starting out to as big
as you can possibly grow yourbusiness over the years. And I
know it can feel overwhelming atfirst, but WordPress really is
worth pushing through thatinitial overwhelm. And the right
guidance can make it just aseasy as those other online all
(05:27):
in one kind of builders, exceptyou own your website, you own
your content, and that is soimportant for your business long
term.
I have heard of other services,I won't name them, but I have
(07:58):
heard of services shuttingwebsites down with no warning,
and just deleting all of yourcontent that you've worked so
long for and raising pricesexponentially and all kinds of
things like that. WithWordPress, if your hosting gets
too expensive or their servicedrops, you just switch to a
different host. You still haveall of your content. So like I
(08:22):
said, it's like changing yourinternet provider versus having
to move your whole entire house.
You also get this flexibilitythat is going to grow with you
as far as you can take yourbusiness. Where other platforms
limit you to certain types ofcontent, certain features, to
what they offer, you canliterally do anything you want
on a WordPress website. You wanta blog, go for it. You want a
(08:43):
membership, you can do that too.
You need a store, absolutely.
Anything that you want to do ona WordPress site, it can be
done. Whatever you need, fromjust starting out with a brand
new small business all the wayup to that huge business that
maybe you're hoping to grow oneday.
You have practically unlimitedcustomization wherever you need
it. There's no restrictions on,you know, what you can sell or
(09:04):
how you can present it. There isa plugin for everything on
WordPress, and if there's not,there's a way to custom code
those things too. So withWordPress, you do have this kind
of one time learning investment,and there are some options and
some choices to make up front,but you have those versus more
permanent platform limitationsthat you're stuck with.
(09:25):
I think a lot of people getoverwhelmed by WordPress because
of how many options there are,but that really is what its
strength is. And maybe theoverwhelm comes from seeing all
the options at one time, butonce you've set your site up,
those choices are all made andyou don't have to worry about it
anymore. So this is really whereyou just need somebody to guide
you through which of thoseoptions work the best for your
(09:48):
business, and that's wherehiring a pro can come in handy.
So when you are looking for aweb designer, find someone who
values your independence, notcreating dependency on them.
Look for that web designer ordeveloper who values making it
easy for you to manage your ownsite down the road, instead of
one who hides features in waysthat make you reliant on always
(10:11):
coming back to them for everylittle change. I always leave my
clients with some trainings andtutorial videos on how to use
their website because I want youto be able to make small changes
yourself. When you need tochange a link or a headline or a
picture, you should be able todo that without having to come
back to me. So look for a webdesigner who is going to work
(10:32):
that way. My clients are able tocreate new pages, add their own
blog posts, whatever they needto on their site.
And then there are those kind ofpro level tasks when it comes to
bigger projects, where there'sgoing to be strategy involved,
that's where I advise my clientsto come back to me, and let me
help you with the strategy andmaking sure you implement things
(10:53):
the right way. Bottom line, it'syour website, and you should be
empowered to do what you need todo on it.
Now, can you DIY your site?
Yeah, absolutely. But what Itypically see with clients who
try to DIY their website tobegin with, is they get
overwhelmed, and they end upspending so much time trying to
learn something brand new thatthey probably would have been
(11:16):
better off from a timestandpoint, from a stress
standpoint, and even from amoney standpoint, in some ways,
to have hired a web designer tobegin with who could help walk
them through this, take off allof that stress and frustration
off their plates. Every clientthat I have worked with who
tried to DIY and then came to mesays it is so much easier and
just such a relief, such aweight off their shoulders, to
(11:38):
have someone who understandsthis stuff take care of it for
them.
See, for most business owners,you're not going to build more
than one website in yourbusiness's lifetime. Maybe you
build it and then redo it once,and spending tons of time, and
let's be real, stress andfrustration sometimes, learning
a skill you'll never need againwhen you could have spent that
(12:01):
time on things that willactually grow your business,
those things that only you cando, it's a waste of your time
and energy and effort to pour somuch into learning a skill
you'll never use again.
Alright, let's talk about whatyou need to do. Your main action
step today is to think aboutyour website platform. Think
about whether you truly own youronline business presence or
(12:23):
you're just renting space. Askyourself, what would happen if
my current platform or the toolsI'm using radically changed
their terms tomorrow. Theydouble their prices, they shut
down, they remove features thatI am dependent on, or move them
into a higher tiered pricingoption, because we all see that
happen all the time. What wouldhappen if your current platform
(12:46):
changed, and are you comfortablewith that?
And if you're thinking aboutWordPress, definitely look for
someone to help you, who isgoing to prioritize your long
term independence and you havingownership of your site, not
someone who's going to createdependency on you. So
specifically, ask questionsabout what kind of training or
tutorials you get after and howmuch of your site you can manage
(13:08):
on your own.
If you are feeling overwhelmedand you're just starting out,
remember, you just need somebodyto guide you through making the
right choices. Once it's set upthe right way, managing
WordPress is no harder than anyof those other builders, as long
as it's set up for you to beable to do that.
Look, I know WordPress can feelsuper overwhelming at first, but
(13:29):
that overwhelm is temporary. Thelimitations of those other
website builders, those arepermanent. So when you pick
WordPress, you aren't justchoosing a website platform, you
really are choosing to own yourbusiness's online home. You're
choosing that freedom to growhowever you need to without
limitations, and to changeproviders when you find that you
(13:52):
need to, to build somethingthat's really yours. And with
the right guidance, even thatinitial setup really does not
have to be overwhelming.
If you're ready to stop rentingand start owning your website,
but you need that guidance, ormaybe you've started down the
DIY WordPress path, and you needsome help finishing up, I would
love to help you with that. Headover to kristendoyle.co to learn
(14:13):
more about how we can build yourWordPress site the right way,
one that you own, that'spowerful for your business but
still easy for you to manage.
I'll talk to you soon.
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