I build a complete website for a local business at no cost, in exchange for permission to show the finished work in my portfolio.
The business decides whether to keep it only after they have seen it. Nothing is built until they have replied and agreed to that condition. There is no speculative build, and no link is sent before the agreement exists.
If you received an email from this address
- What the message was
- An offer to build a replacement website at no cost, on the condition that the finished work may be shown in a portfolio. Nothing is built and no link is sent before the business has replied and agreed.
- Where the address came from
- From the published website of the business, on a named page, on a recorded date. The email itself names which page and which date.
- How to stop it
- Every message carries an unsubscribe link in its footer. Following it removes the business immediately and no further messages are sent. Replying and asking to be removed does the same thing.
- What is not done
- Nothing is tracked. There is no record of whether a message was opened or whether a link was followed, because nothing capable of recording it is used.
- Who to reply to
- The address that wrote to you. Replies reach the same person who sent the message.
What the arrangement is
It is an exchange, and it is stated plainly before any work begins. I offer to build a complete replacement for a small business website at no cost. My condition is that, if you are satisfied with the result, I may show the site in my portfolio and name the business it was built for.
Nothing is built until they have replied and agreed to that condition. There is no speculative build, and no link is sent before the agreement exists. Once you agree, The site is built from what is already published about the business: their current site, their listing, their reviews, their photographs. I then send a private link to review.
If you want it, you pay to keep it and it moves onto your own domain. If they do not want it, nothing is payable and the work still earns me something I can show. That symmetry is the whole reason the offer is credible: An offer of work at no cost that does not explain its motive reads as a scam, and correctly so.
Nothing up front, and nothing at all if they decide against it. They pay only if they want to keep the site and put it on their own domain. The figure is agreed after they have seen the prototype, never before. No deposit is taken at any stage.
How it works
- You reply and agree to the portfolio condition. Nothing is built before this. There is no speculative build.
- The site is built from what is already published. The current site, the listing, the reviews, the photographs. Nothing is needed from you.
- A private link arrives, with a password for your own admin panel. A few days. A real deployed website on a live address, not a picture of one. It is not indexed by search engines and it is never published as your live site.
- You keep it or you decline. If you keep it, it moves onto your own domain and the price is agreed then. If you decline, nothing is payable.
Changes are requested by marking them directly on the page, and each round is turned around within a day or two.
What is included
- The prototype
- A complete multi-section website built for one business: their real services, prices, photos, hours, reviews and contact details, on a live URL. Mobile first, light and dark, fast, and readable by a screen reader. Not a template.At no cost, and with no commitment to take it.
- The site, kept
- Moving the prototype onto their own domain, turning on search indexing, handing over the accounts, and the site becoming theirs.Price agreed after they have seen it.
- Self-service content panel
- A password-protected admin area on their own site where the owner edits their own text, prices, gallery and team without asking anyone. It is the part a cheap site quietly leaves out.Included, not an add-on.
- Review and revisions
- They open the site, draw on it, drop a comment where they want something changed, and press send. Two rounds inside the first week. No briefs, no email threads describing where a button should go.Included.
Who this is for
Owner-operated local businesses in the United States whose current website is holding them back: it does not work on a phone, it has not been touched in years, the opening hours or prices cannot be found, or the booking link is broken.
Hairdressers, beauty and nail salons, dentists and clinics, restaurants and cafes, trades such as plumbing and electrical work, law and accounting practices, gyms and studios.
Businesses with no website at all are out of scope. No site means no published address to write to. Most people in this trade sell a promise and open with a call. I ask for nothing but a reply, and the work is done before any money is discussed. The site is built from scratch for that one business rather than assembled from a template, and it passes an automated build, accessibility, performance and end-to-end test gate before it is ever sent.
Questions
What does it cost to see the site?
Nothing. I build the prototype at no cost and send you a private link. You pay only if you decide to keep it and put it on your own domain, and the figure is agreed after you have seen it, never before. No deposit is taken at any stage.
What is the catch? Nobody does work for nothing.
The catch is the portfolio, and it is stated in the first letter rather than discovered later. My condition is that if you are satisfied with the result, I may show the site in my portfolio and name the business it was built for. Work that a real business is using is worth considerably more as a reference than something invented. That is what I earn if you decide against keeping it.
Where did you get my email address?
From your own published website, on a named page, on a recorded date. The email I sent you names which page and which date. Every message carries an unsubscribe link, and following it removes you immediately.
What do you need from me to build it?
A reply agreeing to the portfolio condition. Nothing else. I build from what is already published about you: your current site, your listing, your reviews, your photographs.
How long does it take?
A few days from your agreement to the finished site. Afterwards each round of changes is turned around within a day or two.
Can I change the text and prices myself afterwards?
Yes. The site comes with a password-protected admin area where you edit your own text, prices, gallery and team without asking anyone. It is included rather than sold separately.
Will it work on a phone?
It is built for the phone first and then checked on larger screens. It is also fast, works in light and dark, and is readable by a screen reader.
Do I keep my current domain?
Yes. The review copy sits on a temporary address. If you keep the site it moves onto your own domain, and your email is untouched.
What happens if I say no?
Nothing is payable. You owe me nothing and I do not contact you again about it. The work still earns me something I can show, which is why I am able to make the offer at all.
What exactly goes in the portfolio?
The site itself and the name of the business it was built for. If you would rather it were not shown, say so and it is removed.
Do you write the content?
Yes. I write it from what is already published about you, and you correct anything that is wrong during the review rounds. Nothing is invented about your business.
Will my site look like every other site?
It is built from scratch for your business rather than assembled from a template, using your own services, prices, photographs and hours. If it looked like a template you would have no reason to keep it.
Will my business appear in Google under a half-finished site?
No. The review copy is not indexed by search engines until you decide to keep it, so nothing appears in search under your name without your permission. The link is private and unlisted, and nothing is ever published pretending to be your live site.
Did a bot write this? Is this automated?
The build is heavily automated, and that is precisely why I can offer it at no cost. A person could not do this for nothing and a machine can do most of it. Every site is reviewed by me before it is sent, and you are dealing with one person throughout.
How do I know you will not disappear after taking my money?
You see the finished site before any money is discussed. There is no deposit and nothing is payable up front, so there is nothing to take. You pay at the point the site moves onto your own domain and the accounts are handed to you.
Can you also do SEO, advertising or social media?
No. The offer is the website. This is not a full-service agency.
What is not claimed here
- This is one person and a great deal of automation. There is no team and no office.
- No client is named who has not agreed to be named.
- No number of clients, no revenue figure and no ranking improvement is claimed anywhere on this site, because none of it could be shown.
- A site built for a business that decided against keeping it appears in the portfolio only for as long as they are content for it to, and it is removed on request.