My plan to create a website for cheap

First things first. I'm a designer. Not a programmer.

I do know HTML and CSS. I've learned a ton about javascript and built 2/7's of an app (don't ask) with React and 3/7's of an app with Next.

So not a programmer. But I need a good website for my startup.

What is my startup?

Sales Software Co.

I run a design studio called Rob Metcalf Design. That is how I fund my life. It actually is pretty awesome. I work with startups. I've heard it called productized services but that name sounds... strange. I have a few long term clients I've found who are great. That pays the bills until I can get a startup off the ground.

But... the main way I learned to get clients is actually sales.

I'm a big people person so pitching has always been a blast for me. But getting leads... hard! A few years ago my friend Matt told me about cold email sales. And that is how I've gotten 60% of my clients in the past.

But all the products to use it are #1 FREAKING expensive #2 built by VC funds who build features for big companies #3 are SUPER complicated and #4 don't hit the hardest part of sales... being consistent.

So I partnered with my buddy Ben to make it. Check it out if you want, but it isn't ready yet so don't give me money.

Why make not use Webflow?

Honestly I love Webflow. Love it to death! I've used it to make some cool sites for clients I've worked with. And if this experiment doesn't work I probably will use it again. But I'm cheap. $30 per month feels like a lot. They have started to charge for sites with a lot of traffic. Plus... why not save money?

The plan

Make a website with a CMS that doesn't cost $30 per month. And that I can copy if Sales Software Co fails.

I heard from someone, I think Marc Lou (who I love), a while ago that you can host as many websites as you want on Vercel. And that sounds awesome! So I'm going to try it... make a website with Vercel, Next.js 14, and Tailwind. Oh and Sanity for the CMS.

Here it goes. I'll let you know how it goes in the next post.