You build it. This list tells you how. You bought the $97 Self-Serve package: the complete list to go by, in order, no step skipped. Work it top to bottom, check boxes as you go. Got your notebook? Good. Let's build.
What you bought: the Self-Serve website package — $97, one time. This checklist plus guidance: if you get stuck on any step, message Steven and you'll get pointed the right way. Want AI to draft the structure for you? The Website Build Engine ($50) pairs with this checklist — it generates the whole site structure, you follow this list to finish it.
Phase 1 — Foundation (do this first)
Domain + hosting + platform
Get your domain. YourBusinessName.com if it's free. Short, no hyphens, no clever spellings. Register it somewhere you control (Porkbun, Cloudflare, Namecheap — pick one).
Get hosting — or opt into ours at $15.99/month and skip this whole bullet. If DIY: any basic shared host works for a small business site.
Pick your platform. WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Carrd — doesn't matter which. Pick the one you'll actually open. Simple beats powerful here.
Connect domain to hosting. Your registrar has a help article for this. It takes 10 minutes and feels like 2 hours the first time. Normal.
Turn on HTTPS (the little lock). Most hosts do this free now. No lock, no launch.
Phase 2 — The pages you need
Four pages. That's the whole site.
Home — who you are, what you do, who it's for, one clear button (call, quote, book).
Services — what you offer, plain list, with prices if you can. No prices? Say "call for quote" and mean it.
About — your story in 5 sentences. People buy from people.
Contact — phone, email, address/hours, and a simple form. That's it.
Optional later: FAQ page, gallery, testimonials. Not at launch. Launch with four.
Phase 3 — The words
Write like a human
Every page answers three questions in the first screen: what is this, who is it for, what do I do next?
Write in your customers' language, not industry jargon. Read it out loud — if you wouldn't say it to a customer, rewrite it.
One page, one job. Home sells the visit. Services sells the service. Contact collects the message.
Every page ends with a clear next step: a button, a phone number, a form. Never leave a visitor wondering.
Phase 4 — The photos
Phone photos are fine
You, your work, your shop, your team. Real beats stock every single time.
Landscape orientation, decent light, wipe the lens. That's 90% of "good photos."
One strong photo per page beats ten weak ones. Pick your best, delete the rest.
No logo? Skip it for now — your business name in clean text works fine at launch.
Phase 5 — The working parts
Forms, map, hours
Contact form wired to YOUR email. Then test it — send yourself a message and confirm it arrives.
Map + hours + directions if customers come to you. Embed the map; don't make people hunt.
Phone number clickable on mobile (tap-to-call). Most of your visitors are on a phone.
If you take payments or bookings: connect YOUR accounts (Stripe, PayPal, booking tool). Your money, your accounts — from day one.
Phase 6 — The Google basics
Be findable
Page titles: "Your Service in Your Town | Your Business Name" — every page gets one.
Descriptions: one plain sentence per page saying what it is. This is what shows under your link in Google.
Add your business details (name, address, phone) the same way everywhere — site, Google Business Profile, socials.
Claim your free Google Business Profile if you haven't. It's the fastest win in local search.
Phase 7 — Launch checklist
Don't launch until these are checked
Open the whole site on your phone. Every page. If anything looks broken, it is.
Click every link and every button. All of them.
Submit the contact form and confirm the email lands in your inbox, not spam.
Check the little lock (HTTPS) is on.
Read every word once more. Typos kill trust faster than bad design.
Tell one real customer it's live and watch them use it. Fix what confuses them.
Your Responsibility (read this)
Your products, your accounts, your content. You put your own products on the site and connect your own accounts — payment processor, email, domain, booking tools. Digital Wolf Media gives you the list and the guidance; we are not responsible for your products, your accounts, or anything you sell.
Keep your logins somewhere safe. If you lose your domain or hosting login, that's a you-problem — write them down today.
Back up your site once it's live. Whatever your platform offers — turn it on.
Stuck? Message Steven — guidance is part of what you bought. And if halfway through you decide you'd rather have it built for you, talk to Steven about the Done-For-You build ($497).