Hey community! Quick question for those of you building your businesses online.

I'm just getting started with my web presence and trying to figure out the most cost-effective path. I already use Beacons for selling digital products, which handles the storefront side well. But I'm stuck on whether I actually need a full website right now, and if so, what's the smartest way to build it.

Here are the options I'm seeing:

Free or low-cost/fast builds

Claude Artifacts (basically a landing page you build with AI, no hosting required)
Base44 (AI app builder, good for simple interactive tools and pages)
Lovable (AI-powered site/app builder, more polished output)

More traditional routes

Squarespace, Wix, or Carrd (low monthly cost, drag and drop)
Framer (beautiful, modern, a little more of a learning curve)

My situation: I'm a solopreneur building a consulting and digital product brand. My Beacons page handles product sales. I'm not selling services that require complex booking or payment flows yet.

My real question: Do you actually need a website in the early stage, or is a tight landing page enough to look credible and convert?

What are you all doing? What's working, what's been a waste of money, and what do you wish you knew before you started?

Drop your setup below. I want to know the real answer, not the polished one.

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