86: From Myspace to AI: How to Keep Your Online Business Relevant in a Changing Digital World
Future-Proof Your Online Business: Spotting Trends Before They Impact Your Bottom Line
The digital landscape shifts faster than most of us can keep up. Remember Myspace? I sure do – those glittery backgrounds and auto-playing songs were my first taste of coding. But platforms change, algorithms evolve, and businesses that don't adapt can disappear overnight.
If you make your living online like I do, that reality can be intimidating. The question isn't if things will change – it's how quickly you'll spot those shifts and adapt your business before they impact your bottom line.
After a decade in the website industry, I've weathered multiple shakeups – from the responsive design revolution to Squarespace completely overhauling its editor (multiple times). I've made plenty of mistakes along the way, but I've developed strategies that help me navigate these changes more smoothly than I did in year one.
How to Spot Trends Before They Impact Your Business
There's a significant difference between being aware of changes and understanding how those changes might affect your specific business. The online world never stops evolving – AI design tools, no-code builders, algorithm updates, shifts in content consumption patterns – but you don't need to follow every trend.
Instead, I focus on identifying underlying patterns. For example, when voice search became popular, I didn't panic and completely overhaul my SEO strategy. I recognized the broader pattern: people want faster, more conversational access to information. That insight helped me realize that making my content more accessible and conversational would serve my audience better.
Similarly, for web designers watching the rise of AI design tools and drag-and-drop builders, the pattern isn't "robots are taking our jobs" – it's that the baseline for what counts as a custom website is changing. The opportunity lies in going deeper with strategy, user experience, and conversion optimization – areas where AI still struggles.
Where to Find Emerging Trends
I rely on three primary sources to spot trends before they hit the mainstream:
1. Follow Big Tech Investments
Pay attention to what major tech companies are investing in, not just what they're currently releasing. Adobe's attempted $20 billion acquisition of Figma (though it ultimately fell through) signaled where they saw the design industry heading. Shortly after, Adobe announced a partnership with Wix.
This isn't random business news – it's Adobe clearly indicating that website design is trending, and that pairing web design with other graphic design tools is the future. For designers paying attention, this opens up possibilities: What if you created website templates that came with matching social media graphics and email headers? What if your service packages included complete digital brand systems instead of just websites?
2. Monitor Forums and Communities
Forums and communities where early adopters gather are goldmines for spotting trends. The official Squarespace forum might seem like just a support channel, but patterns in the questions reveal market gaps before they become obvious.
Reddit is particularly valuable because people tend to be brutally honest about their frustrations. Subreddits like r/webdev and r/freelance often contain complaints that can spark new service or product ideas.
Even newer platforms provide insights – I've noticed significantly more discussions about website accessibility on BlueSky than on other platforms, potentially signaling growing awareness that could become a major focus in coming years.
Industry-specific Slack channels and Discord servers (like NoCodeMovement) often discuss implementation patterns months before they appear in mainstream web design conversations.
3. Talk to Your Community
Perhaps most importantly, talk directly with your community about their challenges. The frustrations people in your industry experience can signal opportunities for new approaches before they become industry-wide trends.
With over 500 tutorial videos on YouTube, I receive 5-50 comments daily. Half are encouraging messages from people who found my tutorials helpful (which I deeply appreciate!), while the other half express frustration about website issues. Both types provide valuable trend insights – positive comments show what people love and want more of, while negative ones directly identify problems needing solutions.
If you don't have an active community yet, study the comments on content from people you aspire to be like in your industry. What questions keep coming up? What are people asking for that doesn't exist yet? What complaints aren't being addressed? The best business ideas often come from simply reading comments and thinking, "I can solve that."
Diversify Your Income Streams
One of the biggest lessons I've learned is that relying on a single income stream is incredibly risky, especially for service providers like website designers. If 100% of your income comes from direct client work, consider creating alternatives to support your business:
Digital Products
Create digital products that complement your services – templates, design resources, or courses that teach clients how to use your designs. Digital products let you create once and sell repeatedly. While not truly passive income (customer support and product development still require time), the leverage is undeniable: spending five hours creating something you can sell to 500 people versus spending five hours on something for just one client.
Subscription Offerings
Consider providing ongoing maintenance, updates, or support on a monthly basis. This creates predictable recurring revenue that smooths out the feast-or-famine cycle many web designers experience.
Affiliate Partnerships
Partner with tools and services that complement what you offer. If you regularly recommend plugins or platforms to clients, becoming an affiliate can add another income stream. While it might not generate massive revenue initially, that additional stability makes a significant difference when unexpected changes occur.
I recommend starting with just one additional income stream that aligns with your strengths and meets your community's needs. Even if it generates only 10-15% of your total revenue, the added stability can be crucial during industry shifts.
How to Pivot Without Panicking
At some point, every online business will need to evolve – whether due to market changes, new competition, or changing personal interests. Having pivoted multiple times myself (often with plenty of panic in the early days), I've learned to recognize three key signals that indicate it's time for a change:
1. Consistent Audience Feedback
When multiple clients request the same service you don't currently offer, pay attention. Whether you decide to offer that service yourself or partner with someone who does, there's clearly an opportunity.
2. Declining Results Despite Consistent Effort
If your email open rates drop, site visits decrease, social engagement dwindles, or your marketing isn't converting like it used to – that's not a subtle sign, it's a billboard announcing "THIS ISN'T WORKING." Don't wait until you're the only one showing up to your own party to realize something needs to change.
3. Your Own Energy and Interest
If you're constantly drained or bored by what you're offering, that's not sustainable. Sometimes the best reason to pivot is simply that you're ready for a change. It took me years to learn that it's okay to take a break from business aspects that no longer bring me joy – even if they're profitable.
For almost a year, I ran a new workshop every month while producing free tutorials, handling marketing, managing my business, and supporting clients. I was completely tapped out – even finding myself writing slides at the bowling alley instead of enjoying time with friends. That was my clarity moment: it was time to pause workshops and explore other revenue-generating ideas that wouldn't burn me out.
When pivoting, the key is to build from strength rather than starting from scratch. Identify what's working well in your business – the skills clients value most, processes that get great feedback, or audience relationships you've built – and look for ways to apply those strengths to adjacent opportunities.
Your Action Step
Set aside 30 minutes weekly to monitor trends from five industry leaders on platforms like the Squarespace forum, Reddit, Discord, or BlueSky. Consider the bigger patterns behind what they're discussing, but don't feel pressured to change your business overnight. Awareness is the first step toward strategic adaptation.
Remember, the online businesses that thrive long-term are those that evolve gradually and intentionally, building on their existing foundation rather than repeatedly starting over. Think evolution, not revolution.
Need help with your Squarespace site? Check out my AI-powered code assistant, Custom Codey, designed specifically for Squarespacers who need answers to their code questions 24/7! Available now at CustomCodey.com
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[00:00:00] Are you old enough to remember the Myspace days? I definitely am. I had that perfectly customized profile, that song that automatically played when someone visited, and I'm pretty sure my first coding experience was spending hours tweaking the HTML just to get my glittery backgrounds just right. But you know what?
Myspace is pretty much ancient history at this point, because that's the thing about this digital world. Platforms change, algorithms shift, and businesses that don't adapt, they can vanish. If you make a living online like I do, that can be a little frightening, because the real question isn't if things will change.
It's how quickly you'll spot the shifts and adapt your business before they impact your bottom line. In my decade plus of working with websites, I've weathered multiple industry shakeups. From the responsive design revolution, to Squarespace completely changing its editor multiple times. I've definitely made my share of mistakes along the way, but I've also figured out some strategies that have really helped me learn to adapt these changes.
Things I wish I knew in year one, [00:01:00] and that's exactly what I want to talk to you about in this episode.
Welcome to Think Inside the Square, a podcast full of tips and tricks to help you create a website and a business that you're proud of. I'm your host, Becca Harpain, Squarespace expert and educator, and creator of InsideTheSquare.co.
And in this episode, I'm breaking down some of my favorite tips to help you future proof your business.
Whether you're a solo designer worried about AI taking your clients, or a Squarespace specialist who's wondering about how you can stand out in this increasingly crowded market, or you're someone who wants to build a business that can weather the inevitable storms of change, this episode is for you.
I'm going to talk about watching trends before they hit the mainstream, skills worth sharpening now, and some practical strategies for quick pivots when the industry shifts underneath your feet. For a transcript of this episode, along with the links to any resources mentioned, visit insidethesquare.co/podcast
The term Squarespace is a trademark of Squarespace, Inc.
This content is not affiliated with Squarespace, Inc.
The web design landscape today looks completely [00:02:00] different than it did even five years ago. Remember when clients were impressed by simple, responsive design? Now they're all asking about AI integrations and complex user journeys before I've even sent a proposal.
This pace of change isn't slowing down. If anything, it's accelerating. But that doesn't mean that you have to consistently chase every shiny new trend or live in fear of becoming obsolete. In fact, most of the small businesses that are thriving online right now aren't necessarily the ones that use the most cutting edge tools.
They're the ones who have positioned themselves strategically, diversified their income streams, and built a business that can adapt when necessary. And that's exactly what we're going to dive into today. Let's talk about how to spot trends before they actually impact your business. Because there's a big difference between being aware of what's changing and actually understanding how those changes might affect you.
The online world is constantly evolving. Whether it's AI design tools, no code builders, changes to algorithms, shifts in how people [00:03:00] consume content. The challenge isn't keeping up with these changes, it's figuring out which ones will actually matter for your specific business. So here's my approach, I don't try to follow every trend, instead I focus on the underlying patterns.
For example, when voice search started becoming popular a few years ago, I didn't immediately panic and overhaul my entire SEO strategy. Instead, I looked at the bigger pattern. People want faster, more conversational access to information. That insight helped me realize that making my content more accessible and writing conversationally would be a really good direction to take things.
So I did. Now for web designers specifically, we've all seen the rise of AI design tools and drag and drop builders. It would be super easy to see these as threats. But the pattern here isn't robots are taking our jobs. It's that the baseline for what counts as a custom website is changing. The opportunity is going deeper with strategy, user experience, conversion optimization, all the things that AI [00:04:00] still struggles with.
Now, where do you find these trends before everyone's talking about them? I have three go to sources or concepts, I should say, okay? The first, I pay attention to what big tech companies are investing in, not just what they're releasing now.
I'm gonna give you one of my favorite very recent examples. Adobe was all set to acquire Figma for a massive, like, 20 billion. This is a huge signal about where they saw the design industry heading. They had had website builders for years and some of them totally crumbled like Adobe Muse. But this Figma deal, it was on a completely different level.
Now that Figma deal totally fell through due to regulatory issues, but what did Adobe announce just a few months after it fell through? A partnership with Wix. Wix and Adobe Express specifically. Now this isn't just random business news. It's Adobe clearly signaling that website design is trending, and that pairing web design with other graphic design tools is the key to the future.
For anyone paying attention, that opens up some [00:05:00] possibilities. What if you created website templates that also came with matching social media graphics, email headers, or digital ad assets? What if your service packages included a complete digital brand system instead of just a website? Adobe is betting billions that designers need integrated solutions across platforms, not just isolated website tools, and that could be a pretty cool trend to follow.
One of the second sources for getting these ideas here is that I follow forums and communities where early adopters hang out. Places like specific subreddits, Discord channels, emerging social platforms, these spaces are gold mines for spotting trends, because there where people will usually openly discuss challenges and sometimes share experimental solutions.
The official Squarespace forum might seem like a support channel, but if you pay attention to the patterns in the questions, you could notice there are some trends that emerge. What are people consistently asking for help with? What features are they're trying to push beyond their intended use? [00:06:00] Those types of patterns and conversations can reveal gaps in the market before they become too obvious.
Now Reddit, it's one of my favorites. It is particularly valuable for this kind of research because people tend to be brutally honest about their frustrations there. The whole subreddits of webdev and the freelance subreddit, those often contain complaints that can spark a new service or product idea.
Even newer platforms can provide insights. BlueSky is still relatively new at the time of recording this, but if you search for tags related to your industry, you might spot conversations that aren't happening anywhere else. I've noticed more discussions about website accessibility on BlueSky, way more than other platforms.
And I think that's signaling growing awareness that could become a major focus in the upcoming years. Now, don't forget about industry specific Slack channels and Discord servers either. The NoCodeMovement Discord, for example, it's been talking about AI implementation patterns that are only just now starting to appear in mainstream web design [00:07:00] conversations.
It's pretty fascinating. Even if you don't want to participate in the chat, the key here is to look for the problems and the pain points that keep coming up in these communities. What are people constantly struggling with? What workarounds are they creating? Those friction points are often where the next big opportunity lies.
Now the third point I want to talk about is arguably the most important. Talk to your community about their challenges. People in your industry are experiencing frustrations and those can signal an opportunity of a new approach before it becomes an industry wide trend. Now I've got a pretty easy of this department with over 500 tutorial videos on YouTube.
I get anywhere from 5 to 50 comments a day. I'd say half of them are super sweet and encouraging, people telling me that a tutorial solved their problem and saved their day, and I love those comments, please keep them coming. If you've ever left one, thank you, I read them all and it totally made my day.
But the other half of the comments, they are from frustrated people expressing some serious exasperation about their website [00:08:00] issues. Now here's the thing, both types of comments are pure gold for spotting trends. The positive ones show me what people love and want more of. When I see multiple comments praising a specific technique or an idea, or even a particular type of content block, that's a signal to create more content about that.
And those frustrated comments, they are literally telling me exactly what problems need solving. When I notice the same pain points coming up repeatedly, that's my cue to develop a solution, whether it's a new tutorial or even just changing up my teaching technique. Those negative comments can be really insightful for ways that I can grow and improve as a business.
Now, if you don't have an active community just yet, don't worry. You can still use this approach. I want you to check out the folks that you aspire to be like in your industry. Look at the comments on their YouTube videos, their Instagram posts, their blog. What questions keep coming up? What are people asking for that isn't out there just yet?
What complaints are they voicing that nobody seems to be addressing? These [00:09:00] conversations are happening in public. Just waiting for someone like you to pay attention and spot the opportunity. Sometimes the best business ideas come from simply reading the comments and thinking, I can solve that, or better yet, I already did solve that.
And then all you have to do is figure out how to share that solution. The number one takeaway about spotting trends is that you need to stay curious without getting overwhelmed. Set aside a specific time each week, even if it's just 30 minutes, to check in on what's happening in your industry. But once that 30 minutes is up, Stop.
Take a breather. You don't need to be in this 24/7. You don't need to act on everything that you learn. Just file it away until you start seeing the same thing pop up from multiple sources. That's usually when it's time to pay attention. Trendspotting aside, one of the biggest lessons I've learned over the years is that relying on a single income stream is incredibly risky.
This is true for any online business, but especially for service providers like website designers. If 100% of your income comes [00:10:00] from direct one on one client work, I really want you to consider creating some alternatives to support your business. Let's start with a super popular one, digital products.
I think that it's a great idea to consider creating digital products that complement your services. For web designers, this could be templates or design resources, or even a course about using your designs later on, giving clients the ability to improve what you've created for them. The beauty of digital products is that you create them once and you sell them repeatedly.
Now, to be clear, Customer support will still take a lot of time, and making this product as amazing as it can be, that's gonna take some time. There's nothing truly passive about the income you make from digital products, and anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to sell you something. But spending five hours designing and selling something epic to one person isn't going to support your business goals as much as spending five hours designing something epic that you can sell to 500 people.
It's about leverage, not passive income. Now, second, look at subscription offerings, but I'm [00:11:00] not talking software here. Could you provide ongoing maintenance updates or support for your clients on a monthly basis? This can help create predictable recurring revenue that can smooth out that feast or famine cycle that a lot of us web designers seem to fall into.
And finally, think about affiliate partnerships with tools and services that complement what you offer. If you're regularly recommending different plugins or platforms to your clients, Why not become an affiliate? It might not be a huge chunk of change, but it's a little something to support your business as you grow and diversify your income.
Now, I don't recommend trying all of these at once, okay? Start with like one additional income stream that feels really aligned with your own personal strengths and what your community needs. Even if it's just generating 10 or maybe even 15 percent of your total revenue, that added stability can make a huge difference when things change unexpectedly.
And plus, it's a great way to test your ideas! Now, just last year, I created two new digital toolkits to help teach people about consistent [00:12:00] content creation, and no one gave a hoot. Seriously, crickets. But while I won't get back the time I spent making those products, I learned something incredibly valuable.
My business doesn't need to shift in that direction. I need to stay in my square space lane. Instead of funneling more time and effort in promoting those two underperforming products, I pivoted and created something completely different. The world's first Squarespace AI assistant, Custom Codey. And Custom Codey?
Definitely not a flop. People loved it. Within the first two weeks, I had over 500 Squarespacers using it, and with every conversation they have, it's getting better and better. My AI code companion is now answering code questions faster than I can. Selling access to an AI assistant is not what I had in mind when I first started designing on Squarespace, but here we are.
I took a pivot, and I'm glad I was able to adapt and create something that truly helps people. Now, full shameless plug here. Custom Codey is amazing, and I'm very proud of it, and I genuinely believe that [00:13:00] every Squarespacer needs it.
Codey doesn't just know all the code secrets I know. They know the nuances of Squarespace and can offer you one-on-one chat based support 24/7.
If you're not chatting with Codey yet, pause this episode and sign up right now at CustomCodey.com
that's CustomCodey.com
okay, gotta get back to the episode, but I couldn't help but throw in that shameless plug because I am so proud of what I was able to pivot and create based on industry trends, and that seems pretty applicable to this episode.
I want you to remember diversification is not just about having multiple income streams. It's about having income streams that are affected by different factors. That way, when one area of your business faces challenges, the other areas can help you stay afloat while you adapt. Now let's talk about how to pivot your business without panicking when you need to make a change fast, because let's be honest.
At some point, every online business will need to evolve, whether that's due to market changes, new competition, or simply [00:14:00] changing your own interests. And I'm sharing this perspective as someone who absolutely did panic the first few times I had to pivot. There were sleepless nights and quite a few stress headaches along the way.
I've gotten better at this over time, and that's exactly why I want to share what's helping me navigate these transitions more smoothly now. To say it again, I'm not claiming to be an expert by any means, just sharing my experience as a business owner who's been doing this for a while. Now the first question is, how do you know when it's actually time to pivot?
There are three main signals you can look for. The first is consistent feedback from your audience that something isn't working or that they need something that you're not offering. If you've had multiple clients request the exact same service that you just don't offer yet, that's a sign to pay attention.
Whether or not you offer that service or partner with someone does, there's an opportunity for you to pivot there. Now, the second signal is when your audience starts to ignore you and your results decline despite consistent effort. If your [00:15:00] email open rates go down, your site visits drop, engagements on social starts to dwindle, if your marketing isn't converting like it used to, or you're working harder for fewer clients.
All of those, my friend. That is not a sign. That is an announcement. That is a billboard and a plane pulling a banner skywriting, THIS ISN'T WORKING . Don't wait until you're the only one showing up to your own party to realize that something needs to change. And the third signal, this one is so important, your own energy and interest.
If you're feeling constantly drained or bored by what you're offering, that is not sustainable in the long run. Sometimes the best reason to pivot is because you're ready for a change. This is something I'm still working on myself and why I said it was so important. I really struggle with overextending my energy long after I feel drained.
It has taken me years to learn that it's okay to take a break from the parts of my business that don't give me joy anymore. To be clear, I'm not talking about like bookkeeping or taxes or customer service. That's just part of running a business. I'm talking about the [00:16:00] offers, the programs, the things you used to be pumped about, that you'd now rather sit in traffic than do for one more person.
I don't care if it makes you thousands. If you genuinely don't enjoy it anymore, it's time to let it go. For almost a full year, I tried running a brand new workshop every single month and I simply had to stop. I love teaching. I love deep dives into cool and important and interesting topics.
But the amount of work that it took to create the quality of content I wanted to share in those workshops on such a consistent basis. While still producing free tutorials, doing marketing and management of my own business, all the customer support and client work, I was completely tapped out. I didn't have the energy to enjoy life outside the square and I actually found myself writing a slide outline while I was bowling.
Bowling. I love bowling. Work does not belong in a bowling alley. That was my moment of clarity. It was time to pause the workshops and work on other revenue generating ideas that could support my free content and help me pay my [00:17:00] bills without burning me out. Your energy is a finite resource, and when you're pouring it into something that no longer lights you up, everything suffers.
The quality of your content, your mental health, and ultimately, your business growth. So once you've decided it's time for a change, how do you do it without throwing away everything that you've built? The key is to pivot from strength rather than scratch. Start by identifying what's working well in your business right now.
The skills your clients value the most, the parts of your process that get great feedback, or the audience relationships that you've built, and then look for ways to apply those strengths to adjacent opportunities.
Pivoting doesn't always mean a complete transformation. Sometimes the most successful pivots in business are subtle shifts in positioning or audience or even delivery method rather than totally new services. The online businesses that thrive long term are the ones that evolve gradually and intentionally.
Building on their existing foundation rather than starting over. Think evolution, not revolution. Alright, this [00:18:00] episode's getting long, and my dog Hank would really like to go to the park, so let's quickly recap what we've covered. Spotting trends before they impact your business, diversify your income streams for stability, and know when and how to pivot without panicking.
We covered a lot today, so there's one action step that I want you to take. I want you to open up your favorite public posting platform, be it the Squarespace forum, be it Reddit, Discord, hop onto BlueSky, and I want you to follow five different industry leaders. So you can start monitoring their trends.
Set aside 30 minutes a week and do a quick check of what they're talking about and just think about it from a high level perspective. It doesn't have to change your business overnight, but awareness is the first step. Thank you so much for tuning into this episode of Think Inside the Square. I truly hope you enjoyed it.
If you did, let me know in the comments or drop me a DM on Instagram at thinkinsidethesquare. Let me know which of these strategies resonated with you and if you're getting ready for a business pivot.
Be sure to subscribe to this podcast if you haven't already, and most [00:19:00] importantly, have fun with your website. Bye for now.
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Custom Codey: customcodey.com
Bluesky: bsky.app
Squarespace Forum: forum.squarespace.com
Adobe & Wix Partnership: blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2022/10/18/teaming-with-wix-introducing-adobe-express-embed-sdk
Adobe Figma Collab Article: simplea.com/Articles/figma-adobe
