She needed a website in 4 days. Here's how we did it.
Week 44: a Monday meeting that became a live website by Friday, the strangers who weren't real, two receipts that never arrived, and the start of Season 1.
On Monday morning I sat in a conference organiser's office in Kingfisher. She had an event coming up and nowhere to send people to register. By Friday at six in the evening, her website was live on her own address.
Here’s how that week went. Every Sunday I write down my week here: what I built, what broke, and what I learned along the way.
The meeting ended before lunch, and the proposal went out that evening. On Wednesday afternoon she said yes, and the deposit came in the same day. On Thursday she saw a private preview. That night I decided not to wait for the date in her plan. We would go live as soon as it was ready.
On Friday evening it went live: every Register button leads to her form, the funding-claim guide downloads, and her old web addresses still work. Four days from the first conversation to a working website, and the rest of her site is coming next.
One new paying client a week. I want to be the name Sabah business owners are proud to recommend, and that starts with earning new clients, not just looking after the ones I have. So far: 0. The season starts today.
What went right this week
This is what went live this week, plus two that are still waiting for their owners to say go. Swipe to see them all.
A marine services company. I found their old site hacked on Monday. The new one was live on Tuesday.
The conference organiser from the top of this post. First meeting Monday, live Friday.
A recovery centre in Kota Kinabalu. A free redesign, live on Wednesday, so families can reach help in one tap.
A spa's new reflexology page, built for people walking past with tired feet.
A chauffeur and tour company. I built the homepage before they signed, so they could see it first.
A hotel's free rebuild, on a private preview until they say go.
I cleaned 7 dead links off my own portfolio
Seven old client sites had gone dead or been taken over by someone else, so my page was sending visitors to them. Now it lists 79 projects, all working.
Customers' photos and card messages now reach the shop
On five gift products, the photos a customer uploaded and the message for the card were being lost. Fixed on Tuesday and proved with a test order, which I then cancelled.
Two things I built that pay for themselves
One already paid: it's the conference website from the start of this post. The other is a small change that should keep paying for a long time: a one-tap way for a florist's customers to come back.
1 · One client, one week: everything we made for the conference
The website was only the start. The same week, we made everything the organiser needs to fill the room: the ads, the flyers, a brochure and eight short clips from their podcast. All of it shares one look, so the event feels the same wherever people find it.
The website: a homepage and a conference page
Live on their own address on Friday. Every Register button goes straight to the sign-up form.
The ads: four ideas, every size
Four ad designs, each made in every size LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram ask for. One sells the funding claim, one the speakers, one the topic, one the group rate.
The flyer: three versions to pick from
Redesigned with the new speaker photos and the early-bird price. They pick the one they like best.
The brochure: 11 pages, redesigned free
The full programme, the speakers and how to register, in one document they can print or send.
The podcast clips: eight short videos
Their speakers already had a podcast full of good stories. We cut eight short clips from it, about a minute each, with captions burned in, so people can watch with the sound off. Tap one to play.
For you: running an event and still sending people to a spreadsheet form? WhatsApp me the link → I'll look for free.
2 · A “buy this again” button for our flower shop
Most flower shops win a customer once and never hear from them again. At Happy Florist, the flower shop my wife and I run, every customer now gets their own reorder link, ready to open the shop with the same details filled in. It isn't in customers' emails yet, so it hasn't earned anything. That's the next step.
For you: if your customers buy more than once, make the second order one tap. WhatsApp me →
Three things broke. Here’s how I fixed them.
The task I keep avoiding
Three weeks in a row, the same job sat at the top of my list and didn't move. Here it is, with two other misses from the week.
The first batch of "rebuild your old website" messages. I made it my main task, but the WhatsApp message templates were not ready on Monday, and I have no record of the batch going out this week. Changing: batch 1 goes first, ahead of anything new I build.
My ChatGPT ad page: 22 visits, 1 WhatsApp tap, 0 real chats. Counted from 28 to 30 Oct. I paused the ads on Friday night. Changing: I am not buying more until I have a lead path that works on a phone.
Building Slow video 1 is still not recorded. I parked the draft on Sunday because the script did not make sense. Changing: I record a video first, then edit the words with Claude.
What’s coming next week
Three proposals still open. Four went out Monday to Wednesday and one became the conference job above. One client asked about fees and I sent a revised version. A stationery shop asked seven questions and I answered them. One, sent Wednesday, has not replied yet.
A hotel's new website and a listed group's rebuild. Both are on private previews. Neither is live.
The conference's full website. The landing page is live; the rest is in progress.
Show the full weekEverything else from the week, in six lines.
- For clients: five sites or pages live, a new team page on a law firm's site, a hotel's contact form tested end to end on a phone, and a hosting renewal for one client.
- For new business: four proposals sent, and a stationery shop that asked seven follow-up questions I answered in a day.
- For Bingo: my portfolio cleaned, a new ad page for ChatGPT ads (paused on Friday night after 0 real chats), and a trial of Pipeboard for reading Google Ads accounts.
- For SabahGuide: the bot check, a directory lookup my WhatsApp helper can use, a first batch of 35 notices to directory listings, and 8 sponsor emails sent.
- For my florists: the photo fix, the reorder link, order receipts switched on, and the email limit I hit.
- For the long game: two draft pitch videos, one for Bingo and one for HelloReply.
That’s my week. How was yours? Tell me on LinkedIn or in the comments on Substack. Next one lands next Sunday.