A free website for a Big Island business
You've built something worth sharing, and I'd like to help you share it well.
Apply for the free websiteApplications are open now, and I'm picking one business for my next free website.
A website from a bedroom in Kona
I grew up in Kona as a bodyboarder. I spent most days in the waves at Wai'aha, the birthplace of the sport. In 1999, when I was 14, I talked my parents into co-signing a loan for an iMac DV. Every Wednesday my brothers, a few friends and I stuffed advertising inserts into West Hawaii Today, and that's how I paid it off.
That iMac is where I edited my first surf video. At 16 I built my first website, sp02ger.com, to share our surf videos and photos with anyone interested. YouTube and social media didn't exist yet. I ran it out of my bedroom for four years, and it got millions of visits from people who wanted to see Hawaii's waves.
I didn't know it then, but that iMac was the first step into the work I do today. Now it's organizations and businesses instead of a crew of bodyboarders, but it's still the same work.
What came after
- 2003 Moved to Australia at 18 and spent the next nine years in youth ministry.
- 2012 Started working in marketing and communications.
- 2019 Went out on my own as a freelancer.
- Now Back home in Kona since 2018, helping people communicate their vision through websites and apps.
Why I'm doing this
Kona raised me, and now it's where I'm raising my own kids. It's also where I first saw what a website could do.
Costs are higher in Hawaii and the market is smaller, so for a lot of businesses the website gets pushed to later.
I've spent most of my life getting better at this work. My business has grown a lot in the last couple of years, so this isn't about making money. I'd like to use what I know to be a blessing to my community.
sp02ger worked because I cared about something specific, and that came through the screen.
You care about your business like that, and the people you serve can tell when they meet you. Your website should show it too.
I'm going to build that website for one business here on the island, for free, and I'd love for it to be yours. And this is just the beginning as I hope to turn this into a recurring project to serve more of you here on the island.
The last free website I built
Nā Pōkiʻi Soccer Club
Nā Pōkiʻi is a youth soccer club in Kailua-Kona. Parents use the site to check the game schedule and add the whole season to their own calendar.
Visit napokiisoccer.com
What I'll build
- Up to five pages
- A contact form, so every inquiry comes straight to you
- One round of revisions
- Help getting comfortable updating the site yourself
- 30 days of fixes after launch
What you cover
- HubSpot Starter, the platform your site runs on, in your own account. Right now it starts at $7 a month billed annually, or $10 billed monthly, for new customers. The regular price is $20 a month per seat. See HubSpot's Starter pricing
- A domain registered in your name, usually $10 to $25 a year
I also offer ongoing help after launch, and it's optional.
Tell me about your business
Anyone on the Big Island can apply, and I'll choose one business for this website.