Site builder guide

Getting started

You build your site in your client portal. Create an account (or sign in), click Build your own site, and the checkout walks you through it:

1. Name your website and pick its web address, the part before .sites…. Your site is always reachable there, even before your own domain connects.
2. Pick your domain (like yourname.com) — a flat $25/yr. You can also choose it later from your dashboard; it's already paid for.
3. Choose a monthly hosting plan, which keeps your site hosted, secure and backed up, billed monthly from today.
4. Pay with PayPal — the builder itself is free; you pay your domain and hosting — and you land straight in the editor.

Picking your design

The first thing you see is the template picker: 13 layouts built for different kinds of business (services, restaurant, shop, guesthouse, salon, grocery, professional practice, portfolio), each in 5 color schemes. Pick the one closest to your business; every part of it can be edited afterwards, and you can switch the colors anytime from the editor's Site settings.

Your new site starts with a home page and an about page filled with placeholder text that tells you what to write in each spot. Replace it with your own words and photos.

Editing your pages

The editor shows your page exactly as visitors will see it. Your page is a stack of sections — 14 kinds to choose from: a hero banner, services, testimonials, questions & answers, text, a call-to-action band, a photo gallery, image with text, a price list or menu, a location map, opening hours, an announcement banner, video and your team.

Two sections take a link instead of typing: the location map wants a Google Maps embed link (in Google Maps: Share → Embed a map → copy the address inside src="…"), and the video section takes any YouTube link. Paste anything else and the section simply shows without a map or video — nothing breaks.

• Click a section to edit its text and options in the panel beside the preview.
• Add a section from the section menu and drag it where you want it. Drag sections to reorder; remove ones you don't need.
• Site settings (top bar) holds what appears on every page: your phone, email, address, WhatsApp number, social links, logo and colors.
• Save stores your changes. Nothing reaches your live site until you save, and your site must be published for visitors to see anything at all.

You can't break the design: sections keep their layout, spacing and mobile behavior no matter what you type. If you want something the section menu doesn't offer, that's a job for our custom tier. Ask us.

Photos and images

• Sections with an image field have an Upload button. JPEG, PNG, WebP or GIF, up to 5 MB per image, up to 120 images per site.
• Phone photos work well. For faster pages, prefer photos under 1 MB; most phones have a "reduce size" share option.
• Only upload photos you own or have permission to use.

Adding pages

Add page in the top bar creates a new page. Give it a name and it appears in your site's menu automatically. You can have up to 20 pages, including subpages like /services/weddings. The home page can't be deleted; any other page can.

Commerce: live stock lists & payment buttons

On the Commerce Hosting plan ($24.99/mo) your section menu gains an inventory section: products or menu items with a photo, a price you write as text, and a stock count. An item at zero shows a muted "Out of stock" badge — it never disappears unless you delete it. Your dashboard also gets a quick stock update screen, so day-to-day you change quantities without opening the editor, and the live site updates within a minute or two.

You also get a payment button section: paste a payment link from your own provider (a PayPal or Stripe payment link, or another processor's hosted checkout page) and the studio personally vets it before it appears on your live site — the editor shows you its status honestly. The button sends your customer to your provider's own secure checkout page; your money and your customers' card details go through your provider, never through us.

Advertising & analytics

If you run ads or want visitor statistics, open Site settings → Advertising & analytics and paste the ID from your provider — just the short ID, never the code snippet they offer. We place the provider's official tracking code on your published site for you; the editor itself never loads it, so your own editing doesn't show up in your numbers.

• Google Analytics 4 — Measurement ID (looks like G-ABC123XYZ ). In Google Analytics: Admin → Data streams → your web stream — the Measurement ID is at the top right.
• Meta (Facebook) Pixel — Pixel ID (looks like 1234567890123456 ). In Meta Events Manager: Data sources → your pixel — the ID is under the pixel's name.
• TikTok Pixel — Pixel ID (looks like ABCDEF123456GHIJ7890 ). In TikTok Ads Manager: Tools → Events → Web Events — the ID is shown under your pixel.

One honest note: these tools track your visitors, and telling visitors about it is your responsibility as the site owner — most businesses do it with a short privacy note on their site (a text section works fine). Our own privacy policy covers only what the platform does; it doesn't cover trackers you add to your site.

Going live

Your site starts unpublished: only you can see it, in the editor. Click Publish when you're ready and it goes live at your .sites… address within a minute or two (and on your own domain once it's connected). You can unpublish anytime, and every save after publishing updates the live site the same way.

Publishing needs an active plan: if your subscription lapses, your site comes off the air a few days after the period you paid for ends, and comes back when your plan is active again. Your content is never deleted.

Your domain

• The flat $25/yr domain line covers a standard registration. A few domains are unusually pricey. The checkout tells you before you pay, shows the adjusted amount, and you can always pick another to stay at $25.
• After payment we register and connect it automatically. It typically works within the hour (occasionally a few hours; DNS takes time to spread).
• Chose "later" at checkout? Your dashboard has a claim your domain link. Pick it whenever you're ready, still included.
• If your first choice can't be registered after payment, you pick another at no cost, and anything extra you paid for it comes back automatically.

Billing

• The builder is free. At checkout you pay your $25/yr domain — that's your site, your domain, and your setup.
• Hosting bills monthly from today through PayPal, on the plan you picked.
• Cancel anytime from your dashboard. Your site stays live until the end of what you've paid for.

Getting help

Stuck on the editor, your domain, or billing? Contact us and a real person replies. If you'd rather we build the whole thing for you, that's our Done-For-You package.