How to Design a Website for Your Pre-Seed Startup

Introduction

You’ve got a product idea, a pitch deck, maybe a prototype. But when someone Googles you?

Crickets.

The reality? A landing page isn't a luxury. It's a necessity. Because at this stage, your website is your pitch.

Why Pre-Seed Startups Need More Than Just a Pretty Site?

Investors. First users. Beta testers. Journalists. They all land here. And when they do, what they see has to do one thing: build trust fast.

Not with features.
Not with buzzwords.
With clarity.

A good startup website doesn’t try to do everything. It just makes the next step obvious.

Can't Spend Much? That's Normal.

Most pre-seed teams don’t have thousands to burn on design. Good news? You don’t need to.

There are smart ways to launch a great-looking site on a startup budget:

• Use Webflow or Framer with a simple layout
• Start with a single landing page
• Skip features — write clear copy and guide users toward one action
• Work with an agency that gets the startup pace (hint: not the one quoting you €15K for a brochure site)

You don’t need bells. Just basics that work.

Mistakes That Burn Trust (and Budget)

We’ve seen startups waste weeks on things that don’t matter. Don’t be that team.

Here’s what to avoid:

• Over-explaining. Don’t cram your pitch deck into your homepage.
• Fancy features. Early users care about clarity, not carousels.
• Overthinking the logo. Design will evolve. Focus on what matters now: message and momentum.
• No contact option. If someone’s interested and can’t reach you? That’s a deal lost.

Web design for startups should remove friction. Not add more of it.

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A Few Smart Extras (if You Have Time)

You’ve covered the basics. Want to go a step further? Try these:

• Add a free resource: checklist, demo, preview, tool — anything that helps.
• Add a simple blog: even one article gives you SEO value.
• Set up Google Analytics + Search Console early. You’ll thank yourself later.

Even two extra hours of setup today can save 20 hours of stress later.

If you want to know more about this read our blog "Just Launched Your Website, Do These 3 Things to Rank on Google".

One Last Thing

Your pre-seed startup website doesn’t need to be perfect. But it needs to be up. Clear. And doing its job: converting curious visitors into believers.

That’s what good web design for startups does.

Want to improve your website? Get a free website audit from us, and save yourself some time.

Do you need help optimizing your website for better performance and conversions? Get a free website edit from us, use the link below to create an appointment!