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A website template for non-technical professionals who need a simple, professional web presence to share their work without the complexity or cost of traditional website builders.

Project Status

This project is currently in early development. The goal is to create a template that solves a specific problem I've observed: professionals who need web presence without web complexity.

The Problem I'm Solving

Many professionals struggle with their online presence, not because they lack content, but because the tools available are mismatched to their needs.

  • Services like Squarespace/Wix/WordPress feel expensive ($16-30/month) for what's essentially a collection of text documents
  • They don't need e-commerce, booking systems, or drag-and-drop page builders
  • They want something professional that loads fast and won't break
  • They'd rather spend time on their work than learning website administration

So often people are looking for a easy-to-use and speedy way to get themselves out there on the internet. So, when I have been asked for my advice in the past I have recommend solutions like public Notion pages, over website builder services, which cost a high monthly fee for access to unnecessary features.

People want an easy, fast way to get online. When they've asked for my advice, I have mostly recommended public Notion pages over website builders like Squarespace or Wix. You can publish in minutes instead of hours, and you're not paying monthly fees for features and an AI you're not going to use.

Project Goals

This template aims to serve people whose primary content is text-based and who value:

  • Simplicity - Edit markdown files, push to GitHub, automatic rebuild
  • Cost-effectiveness - Free hosting, optional domain ($10-15/year)
  • Longevity - Built on stable, open standards (Next.js, markdown)
  • Performance - Static sites that load instantly
  • Professional appearance - Clean, accessible design that doesn't look like a template

Intended Features

The plan is to provide:

  • Homepage with bio and recent work
  • Publications/projects listing with filtering
  • Individual pages for each piece of work
  • Contact page
  • RSS feed
  • Mobile-responsive design
  • WCAG 2.1 accessibility compliance

Easy customization through:

  • Simple config file for colors, fonts, layout
  • Add/remove sections as needed
  • Swap in your own branding
  • No code required for content updates

Intentionally excluded:

  • E-commerce or payment processing
  • Built-in contact forms (use email or external services)
  • Comments or user accounts
  • Visual page builder
  • Feature bloat

Design Decisions

The template deliberately trades flexibility for simplicity:

  • No database to maintain
  • No plugins to update
  • No security patches
  • No server rendering or database queries

Your content lives in plain text files you control, not locked in a proprietary CMS. If this template doesn't serve your needs in future, migrate the markdown files to whatever does, you're not trapped.

Who This Isn't For

This template won't suit everyone, and that's intentional:

  • Need e-commerce, booking, or user accounts → use Squarespace/Shopify
  • Want drag-and-drop visual editing → use Wix/Webflow
  • Uncomfortable with text files and GitHub → use WordPress
  • Content changes hourly (news, real-time data) → you need a dynamic system

Development Approach

This project is being built using the same technical foundation as my portfolio site, allowing me to:

  • Validate the architecture with real-world use
  • Identify and solve problems before others encounter them
  • Ensure the template reflects actual needs, not assumed ones
  • Demonstrate the solution before offering it to others

The focus is on creating something stable and useful rather than feature-rich and complex. If it solves the problem well for a narrow use case, that's success.

Why This Matters

I believe in:

  • Tools that match the problem they're solving
  • Plain text ownership over platform lock-in
  • Stability over novelty
  • Low friction over infinite options

This project is my attempt to create that for a specific audience: professionals who need web presence without becoming web developers.

Next Steps

Current development priorities:

  1. Refine the core template structure
  2. Validate the content management approach
  3. Test accessibility and performance
  4. Create clear documentation for non-technical users
  5. Build deployment guides for common hosting platforms

The goal is a template that someone can fork, populate, and deploy in an afternoon, then mostly forget about while it quietly serves their professional presence.