What's It Like to Build a Solo Website? It Took Me 3 Months to Find Out
Last year I decided to build a standalone website to promote my SaaS product. I thought coding was my strength, but every step from domain selection to SEO was a pitfall. Three months later, the site finally brought in my first paying customer. Today I'll share my real experience as a full-stack developer building a solo website—lessons and growth beyond code.
Late one night last winter, I sat in my rented room staring at the screen—Flash Inventory had been live for nearly a month, and the user count was still zero. I had written tens of thousands of lines of code, built the PC version, mobile version, and official website, but not a single paying user. That day I stared at that big "0" on Google Analytics and thought: Did I do something wrong?
TL;DR Building a standalone website isn't just about writing code. Every step from domain selection to SEO can be a pitfall. It took me three months to start getting traffic, but the process taught me the real weakness of a full-stack developer—not technology, but marketing and operations. If you're considering building a solo website, this might help you avoid some detours.
Why Did I Decide to Build a Solo Website?
Because my SaaS product needed a "home," and I didn't want to rely on any platform.
At the beginning of 2025, I quit my product manager job to work full-time on Flash Inventory. I spent four months writing the first version, integrating the Taobao API, and building the mobile barcode scanning feature. I thought the product was solid, but where would users come from?
At first, I considered listing on app stores, but the process was tedious, the commissions high, and as a solo developer, nobody would know my product. I also thought about posting on Zhihu or Juejin, but the content would quickly get buried.
Then a friend in foreign trade told me, "Why not build a standalone website? Look at those Western SaaS companies—they all started with their own websites."
My first reaction was: A website? Isn't that just building an official site? I'm a developer, I'm not afraid of that!
But I was completely wrong.
What's the Hardest Part of Building a Solo Website?
Not writing code, but doing things you know nothing about.
I spent three days building an official site with Next.js, and it looked pretty decent. But when I was about to launch, problems emerged:
- Which domain? .com or .cn? Should it include keywords?
- Which hosting? Cloudflare or AWS?
- How to do SEO? How to choose keywords?
- What content? Product introduction or tech blog?
As a full-stack developer, I knew nothing about these. I could only write code, but a standalone website requires an operations mindset.
My first pitfall was the domain. Excitedly, I registered a cool domain—flashwarehouse.tech—thinking "Flash Warehouse" was catchy. But after launch, I found that the domain had no keywords, so users couldn't find me. Later I learned that including product keywords in the domain helps SEO. I quickly registered flash-inventory.com and set up a 301 redirect.
Second pitfall was tech stack. I initially used Next.js SSR for SEO friendliness. But later I realized that for a small website, static site generation (SSG) is more suitable—faster builds, simpler deployment, lower costs. I spent two weeks switching from SSR to SSG, and the site even returned 404s several times due to configuration issues.
Third pitfall was speed optimization. My site took over 5 seconds to load initially. Users wouldn't wait. I ran a Lighthouse audit and found unoptimized images, large JS bundles, and no CDN. I spent three days optimizing: WebP images, JS code splitting, and Cloudflare CDN. Load time dropped from 5s to 1.2s[1].
How Did I Start Getting Traffic?
Through content—useful content.
After the site was built, I stared at Google Search Console daily, expecting traffic to explode. But reality was harsh—in the first week, organic traffic was zero.
I reflected: What content did my site have? Besides product introduction and registration page, nothing. Why would users find me?
So I started writing a blog. As a full-stack developer, I had plenty to share: experiences building a SaaS from scratch, tech stack pitfalls, warehouse management insights. I wrote two blog posts per week, each around 1500 words, with keywords like "inventory management," "warehouse management," "SaaS startup."
Three months later, results started showing. Daily visits went from 0 to 50, then to 200. The first paying customer found my site via Google search for "inventory management system recommendation" and registered for Flash Inventory.
That was the happiest day since I started my business.
According to MicroConf's survey, over 60% of indie developers earn more than $100k annually[2], and their common trait is having their own website and content marketing strategy.
What Did the Solo Website Bring Me?
Not just customers, but a sense of control.
With my own website, I no longer rely on any platform. I can freely showcase my product, share ideas, and collect feedback. Whenever I want to add a feature, I just write a few lines of code and deploy.
More importantly, the website taught me to switch from a "tech mindset" to a "user mindset." Previously, I only cared if the code worked. Now I think: What would users think when they see this page? What information do they need? How can I build trust?
This shift is more valuable than any new technology I've learned.## Is Building a Solo Website Worth It?
Yes, but only if you're prepared.
If you're also an indie developer thinking about building a website to promote your product, I suggest you consider three things:
- What's your goal? Brand exposure or direct customer acquisition? Different goals require different strategies.
- How much time are you willing to invest? A website is not a one-time project; it requires continuous content updates and SEO optimization.
- Do you understand operations? If not, learn. Writing code is just the starting point; operations are the key.
My website now brings in dozens of registrations each month, some of which convert to paying customers. It's not enough to sustain me yet, but it proves the path is viable.
Key Takeaways
- The core of a website is not technology but content and operations
- Domain names should include keywords; tech stack should consider SEO
- Speed optimization is critical; aim for load time under 2 seconds
- Content marketing is key to traffic; update at least one blog post per week
- A website gives you control but requires continuous effort
If you're also building a website or have related questions, feel free to email me at [email protected]. Let's exchange ideas and grow together.
References
- Website Load Time Optimization Guide — Optimizing images, code splitting, and CDN can significantly reduce load time
- MicroConf Indie Developer Income Survey — Over 60% of indie developers earn more than $100k annually