The Build Guide

Your website is built from what you put in the form — nothing more, nothing less. Ten unhurried minutes here saves days of back-and-forth later. This page explains what to write, which photos work, and exactly what happens after you press Submit.

What happens after you submit

  1. 1

    We build your site — within 72 hours

    A designer direction is chosen for your brief, then the site is built and quality-checked on desktop and mobile.

  2. 2

    You get a live preview link by email

    A real, working version of your site on the web. Open it on your phone, send it to a friend — it's yours to inspect.

  3. 3

    Happy? Pay R649 and claim it

    The email includes a secure payment link. After paying, you claim the site into your own free here.now account — it's then yours, permanently, with no monthly fees.

  4. ✕

    Not happy? You pay nothing

    If you don't claim the site, there is no charge. Tell us what's off and we'll take one round of changes on board.

Writing your description

This is the single most important field in the form. We write your site's words from it, so give us the raw material: what you do, who it's for, what makes you different, and what a visitor should do next. Aim for 40 words or more — a few honest sentences beat polished marketing speak.

A great description

"We're a family-run mobile dog grooming service covering the northern suburbs of Cape Town. We come to your home in a fully kitted van, so nervous dogs stay calm. Most of our clients book a monthly wash-and-trim; first groom is half price. We want the site to get people to WhatsApp us for a booking."

Too thin to build from

"Dog grooming business. Make it look professional."

Include real details — years in business, area you serve, prices you're happy to publish, your opening line to a new customer. If you have wording you love, paste it in; we'll polish, not replace.

Choosing a style

The Style / Vibe dropdown steers the whole design — layout, type and mood. See all five directions live in the example gallery. In short:

Can't decide? Choose Designer's choice and we'll pick from your industry and tone. Use the optional "More about the look" field for anything specific — "like a boutique hotel", "dark and moody", "nothing corporate".

Colours

Three ways to guide us, in order of how well they work:

  1. Upload your logo. We derive a palette from it so the site matches your brand exactly.
  2. Pick an accent with the colour picker — the little preview under the field shows the rough feel immediately.
  3. Describe it in words — "earthy greens and cream", "navy and gold", "soft pastels".

Leaving it blank is fine too — colour is part of the design work. One thing to avoid: asking for many colours at once. Good sites usually run on one main colour, one accent, and calm neutrals.

Photos & your logo

Photos make or break a site. You have two good options — and one to avoid:

Upload your own (best)

Real photos of your work, your venue, your food, your face. 3–8 photos is the sweet spot. Recent phone photos are perfectly fine if they're sharp and taken in good light — daylight, no heavy filters. Landscape (wide) photos work best for big banner areas; portrait (tall) shots suit team and profile spots. Aim for at least 1200 pixels wide — basically any modern phone photo.

Tick "Use stock images"

No photos of your own? Tick the box and we place professional, royalty-free photography matched to your subject. Tell us in the notes what to show — "coffee and pastries, not people", "Cape Town scenery".

Neither

The form won't accept a brief with no imagery choice at all — a website without images isn't one you'd pay for.

Logo: upload the biggest, cleanest version you have — ideally on a plain or transparent background. No logo? No problem; we'll set your name in fitting type.

Pages & sections

Your site is a single beautiful page that scrolls through sections — Hero (the big opening), About, Services, Gallery, Testimonials, Contact and so on. Tick the ones you want; leave it empty and we'll use the proven set for your site type. Fewer, fuller sections beat many thin ones: if you don't have testimonials yet, skip that section rather than padding it.

Site types, one by one

What we build for each type, and which details matter most.

Wedding

Your names, date and venue become the heart of the page, with your story, the day's schedule, a gallery and an RSVP section your guests fill in on the site itself.

  • Partner names — exactly as you want them displayed ("Nadia & Sipho").
  • Story — how you met, the proposal, anything guests would smile at. Put it in the description field.
  • Schedule & venue — ceremony and reception times, venue names, dress code if any.
  • RSVP — tick it and guests RSVP right on the site (meal choices, plus-ones, dietary notes). You see every response.

See it live: Editorial Split demo

Event

Conference, workshop, fundraiser, milestone birthday — the site sells the event and captures registrations.

  • Date & venue — plus directions or parking notes in the description.
  • Agenda — even a rough running order helps the layout enormously.
  • Speakers or highlights — names, one-liners, photos if you have them.
  • Registration — tick RSVP and attendees sign up on the page; you get the list.

Business

A proper storefront on the web: who you are, what you offer, why you're trusted, and a contact form that sends enquiries straight to you.

  • Services — list them one per line, with prices if you publish them.
  • Service area & hours — which suburbs, which days.
  • Trust signals — years in business, certifications, guarantees, real testimonials (with permission).
  • The one action — what should a visitor do: call, WhatsApp, or send the form?

See the feel: Banded Storyteller demo

Portfolio / Personal

For photographers, designers, writers, architects, freelancers — anyone whose work is the pitch. Your pieces lead; the words support.

  • Work to feature — name each project or piece, one per line, and upload the matching images under Brand Images.
  • Bio — short and human. Who you are, what you make, who hires you.
  • CV / LinkedIn link — added as a clean button.
  • Enquiry form — built in, so prospects can reach you without exposing your email to spam.

Quiet, work-first look: Quiet Narrative demo

Restaurant / Café

Menu, hours, location, mouth-watering photos, and a booking-request form — the four things every hungry visitor wants, plus the one that fills tables.

  • Menu highlights — sections, dishes and prices. You don't need the whole menu; your best 10–15 items sell harder than all 60.
  • Hours — exactly as they should appear, including kitchen-close if it differs.
  • Photos — real food photos beat everything. Shoot in daylight, near a window.
  • Bookings — visitors send a booking request from the site; you confirm by phone or WhatsApp.

Bold and appetite-led: Poster Hero demo

Something else

Choose Other and describe what you need in your own words — a club page, a fundraiser, a product launch, a family reunion. If it fits on one great page, we build it. Pick the closest style in the vibe dropdown so we start in the right place.

RSVPs, bookings & enquiries — collected for you

Forms on your site (RSVP, contact, booking, registration) store their submissions safely with your site — no third-party form service, no extra monthly fee. Visitors can submit but can never see anyone else's entries; only you can read and export them.

One honest note: on the preview link, forms show a "preview mode" message instead of storing entries — they switch on the moment you claim your site.

Ready when you are

Five minutes of form, 72 hours of building, R649 only if you love it.

Start your brief