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Boilerplate Websites for Makerspaces and Makers

Your website is your unattended door greeter left to its own devices.

I am a passionate maker, door greeter, and web dude who made a maker-friendly streamlined process for making repeatable makerspace door greeters that serve the maker population.

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What I am offering

I provide clean cut boilerplate websites for makerspaces and makers based on 12 years of passionate experience in the Maker Movement myself + 12 years experience as a web dude who is passionate about clean and effective user experience.

I normally charge $4-6k for my full web design process, but I cut out repeatable phases like discovery, user experience architecture, "user persona research" and user empathy wheels, design, and much of the development.

I am able to offer my starter website for makerspaces only $2.5k* with full training to get your team in to easily change all the content out and go live.

I provide fully-managed hosting and support for a discounted $50/month (normally $95 to non-maker clients), or I can help take live to your hosting for you to manage.

*: 501(c)3 makerspaces receive a steep $1k discount - get started for $1.5k, instead

View "Bare Bones" Demo Homepage

What are "user personas?"

Let's let a deep dive video explain this better. This is an extended case study I ran through with a client that shows empathy maps, other user experience architecture exercises, and wireframes that I typically do collaboratively and custom for each client.

I ran through this exercise already for makerspaces as a deeply involved maker since 2012 at Knox Makers, previously serving on the Board of Directors as Webmaster and as a passionate door greeter who got to know several types of users.

Video below is showing the process I did, but for a client, to give you a better idea of why this streamlined process makes sense to just run once for makerspaces instead of charging everyone for the same thing that will likely result in the same deliverables.

My user personas I ran through were:

  • new makers
  • experienced makers
    • non-technical makers
    • technical makers
    • networking makers
    • researchers and students
    • prototypers and entrepreneurial makers
  • community partners
  • general public

Here is that video:

View Case Study Video

$50/month is a lot for hosting.

Absolutely, having been deeply involved in my local makerspace, I understand this.

I can offer two routes:

  • Fully managed hosting ($50/month, normally $95/month for non-makers)
    • I do everything
    • Security monitoring and responses
    • Updates to the platform and related plugins
    • Quarterly check-ins that include collaboration, coaching, and mentoring for the web
    • Learning Day Zoom meetups for all clients ranging from SEO to getting a Google AdWords for Nonprofits grant for $10k/month ad spend for qualifying 501(c)3s
    • Training
      • Refresher training when new Board members, officers, or other volunteers tap in to help throughout the year
    • Help with items like content entry if your team gets stuck or overwhelmed
    • Full hosting including email hosting
  • Roll-your-own hosting (transition to your hosting is included in the project, no additional fees involved)
    • I help advise on hosting such as at GoDaddy, Bluehost, or similar
    • I help take it live
    • I am still around as an advisor and, within reason, willing to help a little bit pro bono if you get stuck
    • I can give one-off quotes for special work you might need later on, if you have any requests to tag me back in
    • Yearly check-in for collaboration, coaching, and mentoring for the web
    • Invitation to all Learning Day Zoom meetings that paid clients have access to
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