I build websites for SMBs, social enterprises, and professionals

In the era of social media, you might not need a website. Posting on social media is already free promotion. If you are already getting customers from it, building a website is unnecessary.

What you might need is an automation system. When you post, you might ask people to comment, then you DM them. If you message and follow up with every single person one by one, how many hours would that take?

Or, if your business requires customers to book time slots. How much time do these repetitive admin tasks take? If you can't respond fast enough, your customer will go to someone else.

Think from your customer's perspective. For example, if you are a professional — an accountant or a lawyer — when someone needs your professional service, what do they do first? They don't go to IG. They might ask AI, but ultimately they need a person who can help them, so they will search Google. In this case, a website is necessary.

That's right, I am a programmer. I also use AI to help me write code. I have a blog post teaching you how to build a website using AI for free. You can follow that link to build it yourself.

As for Wix, Squarespace and WordPress, I haven't used them, so I can't answer that.

There are five main marketing methods:

1. Posting on Facebook, Instagram, Threads. Free, but a hassle, and not immediately effective. You also need to know how to funnel your audience into customers. I've seen business owners spend years building a follower base, only to have Zuckerberg suspend their account — all that effort wasted.

2. Running ads on Google or Facebook. The advantage is you see results quickly, but 80% of the time people just look. Money spent, people see, nobody buys. Finding an effective ad means throwing money into the sea to test.

3. Cold calling — telemarketing. Call 100 people, maybe one will buy. Of course, with so many phone scams in Hong Kong, I've blocked all telemarketing calls. Might not be suitable for Hong Kong.

4. A marketing method suitable for Hong Kong might be seminars and webinars. Let people get to know you, teach them something, build trust, and they will come to you.

5. Another marketing method suitable for Hong Kong is networking. Relying on referrals can't guarantee a stable income though. Unlike posting, it's also hard to control.

Cons:

1. You don't know how to build one. Asking AI might not produce good results.

2. After building the website, you need to put it online. An AI agent can help, but there's no guarantee it will do it correctly.

3. Using Claude, ChatGPT is expensive, a hassle, and requires a VPN. I recommend using Hermes Agent (a free AI agent) with DeepSeek V4 Pro. Other tested, cost-effective LLMs include Gemma 4, GLM-5.2, MiniMax M3, Qwen 3.6, Grok, Kimi K2.7.

4. Hiring someone to build a website can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars or more.

5. SEO is unpredictable. Google changes its rules periodically. I can't guarantee you'll rank first on Google.

6. Building a proper website takes at least a week.

7. If you don't need to meet clients,

Pros:

1. Build trust with your customers. Think about it — when a customer wants your service, what do they do first? Look for you on IG? Ask AI? Or Google you? If they Google you and find a website plus a Google Business Profile with good reviews, it's easy for them to choose you.

2. If you are a professional providing professional services, which gives a more professional image — a website or Instagram?

3. Similarly, if you are an SMB and another company wants to partner with you, a website gives a more professional image than social media.

4. A website makes it easier for people looking for you to find you. First, understand why most people go online and use social media: people scrolling IG are there for entertainment, low purchase intent. People searching on Google have a problem they need help with, much higher purchase intent. The latter is why a website helps people who need you find you.

5. A website is a long-term marketing method. Every business wants to grow. A website becomes more valuable over time. Google has an internal scoring system — older websites tend to score higher and rank better. If you also publish YouTube videos and set up a Google Business Profile, you can increase your visibility.

Not at the moment, but in the future.

1. I'm a freelancer, not a big company. Things get done much faster.

2. Your budget isn't high, you need it fast, and you need decent quality.

3. I don't like being hard-sold to, so I won't hard-sell anyone. You're welcome to ask my opinion, ask for prices, ask questions, and compare.

4. My pricing is simple: website = one-time fee. Additional hosting, maintenance, IT support = monthly fee.

5. Tell me what you need, what content to write, and I will build your website. Done in 2 weeks. You pay only when I deliver. No risk.