Data Sales Science
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Website Design · Do it yourself

Build your own website and deploy in minutes.

Here's the simplest workflow available to you now. It's the same stack we use for client sites, and every step has a free tier to start.

00

Set up a password manager

Time
10 minutes
Cost
Free tiers available. LastPass Premium, Bitwarden, and 1Password paid plans run a few dollars a month.

Do this first. You're about to create accounts on GitHub, Vercel, a database, and GoDaddy. If every login lives in a password manager, you can share access with a developer or teammate in seconds, and cut them off just as fast, without ever reading a password out loud or sending it in a text.

LastPass (what we use) ↗Bitwarden ↗1Password ↗
  1. Create your password manager account with a strong master password you have never used anywhere else. Turn on two-factor authentication immediately.
  2. Install the password manager's own browser extension and phone app.
  3. Create a shared folder (LastPass), collection (Bitwarden), or vault (1Password) called something like "Website".
  4. Every account you create in the steps below gets saved straight into that folder.
  5. When someone needs access, share the folder. When they're done, remove them. Then change the passwords they could see.

Say no to Chrome saving passwords

If you walk away from a computer with the browser open, anyone sitting down has your passwords. Turn off "Offer to save passwords" in Chrome settings (how) and let the password manager handle it, since it locks itself.

Generate, never invent

Use the manager's generator: 16+ characters, letters, numbers, and symbols. A different password for every site, no exceptions.

Add one character only you know

After generating a password, add one character you memorize to the front or back of it, and don't save that character in the manager. Even if your vault were ever exposed, the stored passwords alone wouldn't work.

Put a comma in it

Include a comma in your passwords. When stolen credentials get dumped and converted to a CSV file, a comma splits your line into the wrong columns and corrupts it.

Turn on two-factor everywhere

Use an authenticator app, not text messages, on GitHub, Vercel, your database, and GoDaddy. Save every set of recovery codes in the password manager.

Use a business email

Sign up for everything with a company address you control, not a personal Gmail or an employee's inbox. Accounts follow the email.

Common pitfalls
  • Sharing passwords over text, Slack, or email. Those messages live forever.
  • Forgetting to change passwords after removing someone from a shared folder.
  • Losing two-factor recovery codes. Without them, getting back into GitHub or GoDaddy can take days.
01

Design it in Claude Design

Time
30 minutes to a few hours
Cost
Included with a paid Claude plan.

Describe the site you want in plain English and Claude Design builds it as real, working pages. You review it, comment, and refine until it's right.

Claude ↗
  1. Start a new project and describe your business, your audience, and what the site needs to make happen (calls booked, products sold, emails collected).
  2. Upload your logo, photos, and any copy you already have.
  3. Review each page, leave comments, and ask for changes until you're happy.
  4. Make sure the homepage file is named index.html. That's the page hosts load first.
  5. Download the project as a folder (zip) to your computer and unzip it.
Common pitfalls
  • Leaving placeholder text or stock images in before launch.
  • Renaming files after download. Links between pages break.
  • Skipping mobile: preview every page at phone width before you export.
02

Put the code on GitHub

Time
10 minutes
Cost
Free.

GitHub stores your site's files and keeps a history of every change. It's also what Vercel watches: every time the files on GitHub change, your live site updates automatically.

Sign up for GitHub ↗
  1. Sign up with your business email and save the login to your password manager's Website folder. Turn on two-factor authentication.
  2. Click New repository. Name it after your site (for example, my-company-site). Private is fine.
  3. On the new repository page, choose uploading an existing file.
  4. Drag in the contents of your unzipped folder, not the folder itself, so index.html sits at the top level.
  5. Click Commit changes.
Common pitfalls
  • Uploading the outer folder, so index.html ends up one level down and the site shows a 404.
  • Committing passwords or API keys in a file. Anything in the repository should be safe to see.
  • The web uploader limits file size (about 25 MB per file). Compress large images before uploading.
03

Deploy on Vercel

Time
5 minutes
Cost
Free Hobby plan for personal projects. Commercial sites need Pro (about $20/month per member).

Vercel takes the files on GitHub and puts them on the internet, fast and secure, with a free web address you can share immediately.

Sign up for Vercel ↗
  1. Sign up with Continue with GitHub so the two accounts are linked. Save the login in your password manager.
  2. Click Add New → Project and import the repository you just created.
  3. Leave the framework preset as Other. A plain HTML site needs no build settings.
  4. Click Deploy. In under a minute you'll have a live link like my-company-site.vercel.app.
  5. From now on, any change you commit to GitHub goes live automatically.
Common pitfalls
  • Using the free Hobby plan for a business site. Vercel's Hobby plan terms require Pro for commercial use.
  • Giving Vercel access to all your GitHub repositories when it only needs the one.
  • Changing files directly on your computer and forgetting to upload them to GitHub. Vercel only sees GitHub.
04

Add a database (only if you need one)

Time
15–30 minutes
Cost
Both have free tiers. Supabase Pro starts around $25/month. Firebase charges by usage on its Blaze plan.

A brochure site doesn't need a database. If your site has logins, forms you want to store, bookings, or anything that saves data, pick one of these.

Supabase ↗Firebase (Google) ↗
  1. Supabase is a real SQL (Postgres) database with logins and file storage built in. Choose it if your data looks like spreadsheets: customers, orders, appointments.
  2. Firebase is Google's platform: Firestore for flexible data, plus Data Connect when you want SQL. Choose it if you're already in the Google ecosystem.
  3. Sign up with your business email, save the login to the Website folder, and turn on two-factor.
  4. Create a project and copy its connection keys (URL and public key).
  5. In Vercel, open your project → Settings → Environment Variables and paste the keys there, not into your code.
Common pitfalls
  • Putting the secret (service role / admin) key in front-end code. Only the public key belongs in the browser.
  • Leaving Supabase row-level security or Firebase security rules open. Lock them down before launch.
  • Free Supabase projects pause after a week with no activity. Upgrade before you go live.
05

Connect your GoDaddy domain

Time
15 minutes, plus up to 48 hours for DNS to update
Cost
Domains are typically $10–25/year. Watch the renewal price.

Point your own domain (yourcompany.com) at the site on Vercel. You only change two records at GoDaddy.

GoDaddy ↗
  1. Buying a new domain: search for it on GoDaddy and buy it. Skip the add-ons (website builder, hosting, email), since Vercel hosts the site. Save the GoDaddy login in your password manager and turn on two-factor.
  2. Already own one: log in to GoDaddy and find it under My Products → Domains.
  3. In Vercel, open your project → Settings → Domains, add yourcompany.com and www.yourcompany.com. Vercel shows you the exact records to create.
  4. In GoDaddy, open the domain's DNS settings. Edit the A record for @ to the value Vercel shows, and set the CNAME for www to the value Vercel shows.
  5. Back in Vercel, wait for both domains to show Valid Configuration. Vercel adds the free security certificate (https) automatically.
Common pitfalls
  • Leaving GoDaddy domain forwarding or a "parked" page turned on. It overrides your new records.
  • Changing nameservers when you only needed to change two records. It can break your business email.
  • Letting the domain lapse. Turn on auto-renew and keep the payment card current.

Prices and plan limits change. Check each provider's pricing page before you sign up.

Want us to set it up for you?

We'll design, build, and launch it on your domain, with every account in your name and every login in your password manager.

Get in touchSee our website work