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Selling Static Sites
Table of Contents
Charge for the build and pass-off; hosting is a clear line item, not a mystery bundle.
Key Concept
- My margin is labor, not hosting markup.
- What I quote: discovery and Static Site Client Scope yes/no before I touch a theme repo.
- Cloudflare setup with
HUGO_VERSIONandNODE_VERSIONpinned. - Theme and layout, content migration, and contact form pass-off priced separately from retainer updates.
- Domain (~$12/year) and hosting priced as their own lines - no bundled fog that hides labor behind server rent.
- I already run jorap.com on Hugo, GitHub, and Cloudflare Pages for about the cost of a domain.
- Not the $12/month PHP plan I used to share with a client.
- Client work uses the same lane: markdown content, a theme, git push, live in about ninety seconds.
- I quote work that moves the needle; I do not resell “hosting” as a monthly mystery fee.
- Pass-off models (pick one with Plain Commitments at Work clarity): see Client Site Pass-Off - Git lesson, retainer, showroom branch, or Git-Based CMS.
- Bad pass-off: promise WordPress-style daily edits to five non-technical staff without training.
Level 1 - Recognize
Selling static sites means charging for the build and pass-off - margin lives in labor, not hosting markup.
Level 2 - Explain
Static hosting is a minimal cost - the sale is craftsmanship and transfer, not inflated infra bills resold monthly.
Level 3 - Use
Quote discovery and scope yes/no before you touch a theme repo - domain and hosting as separate line items.
Level 4 - Connect
Because bundled fog hides labor behind server rent, pass-off models need Plain Commitments at Work clarity upfront.
Level 5 - Create
Productize delivery and care as the offer - Client Site Pass-Off and Static Site Client Scope extend the labor-margin model past reseller hosting.
Examples
- Glad the neighbor portfolio quote named build, domain, and a modest hosting line - no mystery monthly package.
- Pastor wanted a sermon archive - static fit; said no to member login and scoped brochure plus archive pages only.
Note Relationships
| Relationship | Wikilink | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| contradicts | Building a Personal API | when the client needs a live database or authenticated app, not a static brochure |
| extends | Client Site Pass-Off | One publish path named and priced before deposit |
| extends | Creative Output | Client sites are shipped output, not notes hoarded in the garden |
| extends | Free Tier Hosting Stack | GitHub plus Cloudflare Pages is the default pipeline until limits bite |
| extends | Git-Based CMS | Client pass-off lane - git-based CMS keeps them editing without you |
| extends | Lean Startup | Pilot site, measure what breaks, then package the offer |
| extends | Minimum Viable Product | One paid pilot before I over-build the service menu |
| extends | Plain Commitments at Work | Clear pass-off model - Git lesson, retainer, or scope no |
| extends | Ship It | Ship the first client site before polishing the sales brochure |
| extends | Static Site Client Scope | Say no early to jobs the stack cannot carry |
