I've been putting together a lot of small websites lately and noticed that the real challenge isn't the design or development, but rather getting the content and structure right. Tasks like writing content, organizing sections, and gathering business information consume a lot of time, especially for basic projects like small business sites, landing pages, and portfolios. To tackle this, I created a small internal tool that allows users to upload a document to generate a content structure or pull business data from sources like Google Maps to automatically create a basic site. My goal is to streamline the process so that the focus can be on refinement instead of starting from scratch. I'm curious if anyone thinks such a tool would fit into their workflows or if people generally prefer to create everything manually.
6 Answers
Are you just using AI prompts to generate the site? I do something similar with AI as well, assuming that's what you're doing.
You've hit on a major pain point; agencies often wait ages for clients to provide content. A couple of things that could make this tool even more valuable include: intelligent content extraction that understands business context, templates that fit specific business needs (like a restaurant versus a law office), and SEO-friendly auto-generated content. Another thing to consider is how well it handles tricky situations like multiple businesses listed at one address or outdated Google info. If you nail this, it could be a game-changer for agencies pushing out many basic sites. Your approach of simplifying the initial structure while letting clients provide input is spot-on—lots of them struggle with starting from scratch but can give good feedback on something tangible.
Totally agree! If you ever want to share the MVP, I'd love to try it out.
It might be a good idea to create a minimum viable product and gather feedback from potential users without charging anything. Make it clear you’re seeking advice rather than trying to sell something—this can help avoid any backlash on platforms. Overall, I think this concept has potential!
I've already built an MVP! Just let me know if you'd like to check it out.
My method is to organize all related documents in one folder and then feed them to AI tools for content suggestions. It’s quick and efficient!
Sure, that's one way to handle it, but my goal is to cater to those who aren't tech-savvy and may not know about AI tools.
I really think the 'generate first, refine later' method for small business sites is pretty handy, but it all comes down to the quality of the output. Many freelancers spend way too much time just trying to get branded content from clients, so anything that makes that process smoother sounds promising. The idea to pull data from Google Maps is smart since that info can be structured well for websites. However, be prepared for clients to want changes after seeing the initial output. Often they might like what you generated but will ask to rewrite a lot of it once they see it live. The tool might be more about giving clients a tangible preview that speeds up their feedback process. For freelancers managing several small sites monthly, this could save tons of time. Just know it might be more of a framework for custom projects rather than a complete solution. Any feedback could really help in refining its features.
Exactly! This tool could be really beneficial for businesses wanting a quick landing page without the fuss.
You're right about the bottleneck; most clients take significantly longer to provide content than to approve the design. Anything that streamlines that process could be valuable!
Thanks for the insight! If you want to check out my MVP, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Yes, I do use AI for generating relevant content based on context.