The Free Website Initiative
I'm selecting five established businesses to receive a professionally designed website, with no design or development fee within an agreed scope. Domain, hosting, and other third-party costs stay with the business.
The Context
Most web design offers start with a pitch. I wanted a way to work with businesses that have real goals and a genuine need, without asking them to take a leap of faith on price first.
The Thinking
I want to work with businesses that have real goals, demonstrate what I can build, and create opportunities for long-term relationships — not just deliver one project and move on. That's a different aim to a typical one-off client job, and it changes what "success" looks like here.
The Approach
Instead of an open-ended "get in touch," the offer is scoped tightly: five spots, an application that asks real qualifying questions (business age, paying customers, what they actually need), and a clear boundary — the design and build is free within an agreed scope, but domain, hosting, and third-party costs are the business's own. That boundary matters: it keeps the offer sustainable rather than open-ended, and it filters for businesses that are ready to move, not just curious.
The Outcome
The initiative is live now — applications are open and being reviewed as they come in. I haven't closed the first round yet, so there's nothing to report on outcomes until the first sites are built and launched.
Next Steps
Finish reviewing applications for the current round, confirm scope with the businesses I select, and get to work building.
Started 28 October 2026