Jun 03, 2025·8 min
Create a Founder Website for Open Build Logs (Step-by-Step)
Learn how to create a founder website that supports open build logs: structure, platforms, writing workflow, SEO, email signup, and launch checklist.
Learn how to create a founder website that supports open build logs: structure, platforms, writing workflow, SEO, email signup, and launch checklist.
An open build log is a public record of how you’re building your product—what you shipped, what broke, what you learned, and what you’re trying next. It’s not a polished marketing page or a “success story.” It’s closer to a lab notebook that other humans can follow.
Done well, a build log website becomes a single, trustworthy home for your progress. People can understand what you’re building, see momentum over time, and decide whether they want to join you as a user, collaborator, or supporter.
Most founders start build logs for one of these outcomes:
A good build log website should support all of these without turning every post into a pitch.
Be explicit about your audience so your posts stay focused:
You don’t need to satisfy everyone in every post—but you should know who you’re prioritizing.
Readers stick around when they know what to expect. Consider stating:
That balance—open, consistent, and responsibly selective—is what makes an open build log sustainable.
Before you touch design or tooling, decide what you want the site to do. Open build logs work best when they’re not just “updates,” but a clear path for the right readers to follow.
Write down the top 2–3 things a visitor should be able to do within a minute:
If a page doesn’t support one of those jobs, it’s optional.
Open build logs attract the wrong kind of pressure if you measure everything. Choose one or two metrics that match your current stage:
Avoid vanity metrics as your “north star.” Pageviews are useful, but they don’t tell you whether you’re building trust.
Consistency beats intensity. Pick a schedule that fits your life for the next 3 months:
A smaller post shipped on time is better than a deep dive that never ships.
Be intentional: technical vs. non-technical, and short updates vs. deep dives. You can mix both, but choose a default so readers know what to expect—and so writing doesn’t become a weekly debate with yourself.
A build log site works best when readers can answer three questions quickly: What are you building? What’s new? How can I follow along? Keeping the structure simple also keeps your publishing routine light.
Start with a small set of pages and let the content do the heavy lifting:
Make the build log a dedicated hub at /build-log. Treat it like a timeline:
This keeps every update findable without forcing readers to dig through your Home page.
Use clear, optional calls-to-action in predictable spots (top nav and end of posts):
Keep the top navigation to 4–6 items, use short labels (“Build Log,” “Product,” “Now”), and make the primary CTA a single button. On mobile, readers should reach your latest post and your follow CTA within one thumb scroll.
Picking a platform is less about “what’s best” and more about what you’ll actually use every week. Open build logs work when publishing is frictionless.
Examples: Medium, Substack, Ghost(Pro), Beehiiv.
You get the quickest setup and the least maintenance. Editing is smooth, publishing is one click, and newsletters often come bundled.
The tradeoff is control: design and site structure can be limited, and some platforms make it harder to own your audience (or move your content later). Speed is usually fine, but you’re tied to their templates and features.
Examples: WordPress, Webflow CMS, Ghost (self-hosted), Squarespace.
A CMS gives you a “real website” feel: custom pages (About, Now, Changelog), categories/tags, and better control over layout. The editing workflow is still friendly for non-technical founders, especially if you’ll publish often.
Tradeoffs: slightly higher cost, more settings to manage, and occasional upkeep (updates, plugins, or template changes depending on the tool).
Practical default for most non-technical founders: a hosted CMS (like Webflow CMS, Squarespace, or managed WordPress). You’ll get a custom domain, a clean publishing flow, and enough control to make the site feel like yours—without becoming your own IT department.
Examples: Hugo, Jekyll, Next.js + MDX.
Static sites can be extremely fast and inexpensive to host. They also give full design control.
The tradeoff is the workflow: you’re often writing in Markdown, using Git, and deploying changes. That’s great if you enjoy developer tools—or if your product is already code-first. It’s not great if publishing needs to happen from your phone between meetings.
If your main blocker is time (not technical ability), consider using a vibe-coding tool to generate the site structure and iterate by conversation. For example, Koder.ai can create a simple founder website (Home, Build Log, About, Contact), wire up clean URLs, and help you evolve layout and components quickly—while still letting you export source code later if you want to take full control.
Before committing, confirm you can do these basics:
If two options feel close, choose the one that makes posting feel easiest. Consistency beats perfect tooling.
This is the “plumbing” that makes your build log feel real: a stable domain, secure browsing, and URLs that won’t change every time you tweak your site.
Buy a domain you can keep for years (often your name or company name). Then:
Even if they’re short, publish:
Choose a consistent post URL style and stick to it:
/build-log/how-we-chose-pricing/build-log/2025-01-15-pricing-experimentAvoid changing URLs later; it breaks links and search history.
Create a friendly 404 that:
If your platform supports it, enable basic site search so readers can find past experiments quickly.
Your build log is only as useful as it is readable. A clean design doesn’t have to look “fancy”—it has to feel calm, predictable, and easy to scan when someone is deciding whether to invest their attention.
Pick a simple theme and resist heavy customization. Prioritize readable type (16–18px body text), generous line-height, and plenty of whitespace. Strong headings make it easy for readers to skim updates and jump to what matters.
A good default: one column, limited max width, and obvious link styles. If you add a dark mode, make sure it’s equally legible.
Trust builds faster when readers immediately understand what they’re looking at. Near the top of each build log entry, add a small “context block” that answers:
This helps first-time visitors and makes returning readers feel oriented.
At the end of posts, include a short author box: who you are, what you’re building, and 1–2 clear contact paths (email, X/LinkedIn, or a simple /contact page). Keep it human and brief—your goal is to make it easy for the right people to reach you.
Accessibility is part of credibility. Ensure adequate color contrast, sensible font sizes, and visible focus states for keyboard users. Use descriptive alt text for images and screenshots (especially charts), and avoid conveying key information with color alone.
Consistency beats perfection. A build log format should be easy to repeat when you’re tired, busy, or not feeling inspired—because that’s when most founder blogs quietly stop.
Use the same structure every time so readers know what to expect, and you spend less energy deciding how to write.
Template: Goal → Progress → Metrics → Learnings → Next
You can keep each section short:
If you already publish updates elsewhere, you can turn them into posts using the same structure. That makes posting feel like “formatting” rather than “writing.”
A little evidence goes a long way for trust. When possible, include:
These elements help non-technical readers understand progress instantly, even if they don’t read every paragraph.
Open doesn’t mean exposing everything. A good rule: share what you learned and what you’ll do next, but keep private anything that could hurt customers, your team, or negotiations.
Examples of what to keep private: specific pricing negotiations, personal data, security details, employee performance, or anything under NDA. You can still write: “We heard the same objection in five calls, so we changed the onboarding copy,” without quoting anyone directly.
Tags make your archive useful over time. Start with a small set and reuse them:
Shipping, Customer calls, Experiments, Hiring, Fundraising
Over time, readers can filter by what they care about—and you’ll have an easier time spotting patterns in your own decisions.
A build log only works if you can publish consistently without turning it into a second job. The goal is to reduce “blank page” time and make each post feel like a repeatable routine.
Keep your workflow lightweight and visible. A basic loop is enough:
Idea list → capture anything worth sharing (wins, failures, decisions, numbers, screenshots).
Outline → pick one idea and turn it into 5–7 bullets (problem, what you tried, result, what’s next).
Draft → write the post in one sitting when possible. Don’t polish early.
Publish → add title, links, and a clear “next step” for readers.
Share → one short post on the channels you already use, linking back to your site.
Most founders don’t lack stories—they lose details. Set up a few “capture paths” you’ll actually use:
When you sit down to write, these artifacts become your outline.
Batching reduces overhead:
Before you hit publish, run a fast review so quality stays steady:
The best workflow is the one you’ll follow on a busy week. Keep it simple, keep it repeatable, and let consistency do the compounding.
A newsletter is the easiest way to keep readers close without turning your build log into a sales funnel. The trick is to make the signup feel like a convenience feature: “If you want the next update, here’s how to get it.”
Add an email signup on your Home page and after each post. On the Home page, it works as a gentle “stay in touch” option for first-time visitors. After a post, it catches people at the moment they’ve decided your updates are worth following.
Keep the form minimal (email + button). If you ask for a name, make it optional.
Skip big promises and PDFs. A straightforward lead magnet works best for open build logs:
That’s it. It matches the intent of the reader and doesn’t create extra work for you.
Right next to the form, tell people what they’ll receive and how often. For example:
“I send 1–2 emails per month with new build logs, decisions, and results. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.”
This reduces hesitation and attracts subscribers who actually want the content you plan to publish.
Create a short welcome email that:
This single email often does more to build trust than weeks of social posting.
Build logs aren’t usually “viral” content—and that’s fine. SEO for build logs is about being consistently discoverable when someone searches for the exact problem you’re working on, the tool you’re building, or the journey you’re documenting.
Skip giant keywords like “startup” or “SaaS.” Instead, choose a few core phrases that match your product and your posts:
Use those phrases naturally in your post titles, intro paragraphs, and headings. You don’t need to force them into every post—just be consistent.
Search results are mostly driven by your title and snippet.
Write titles that say what the reader gets, plus context:
Keep URLs short, readable, and stable. If your platform allows it, avoid dates in the URL so older posts don’t feel irrelevant later.
Meta descriptions should be plain, specific, and under ~160 characters. Treat them like a promise: what will the reader learn, and who is it for?
Build logs often reference earlier decisions. Make that connection explicit with internal links.
Link:
A simple rule: every build log should link to at least one older post and one “business” page.
An RSS feed helps readers (and some tools) follow along without social media. Many platforms generate it automatically; if not, create one and link it in your footer.
Also publish a simple sitemap (often at /sitemap.xml). It’s a small setup step that helps search engines discover new posts faster and understand your site structure.
If you want a deeper checklist later, add a short “SEO basics” note to your publishing workflow so each post ships with the essentials, not as an afterthought.
Analytics shouldn’t be a scoreboard for pageviews. For open build logs, it’s a feedback tool: which updates attract the right readers, which topics build trust, and which posts turn curiosity into action.
Choose a tool that collects the minimum you need and doesn’t rely on invasive tracking. A lightweight setup is often enough for a founder site: one script, a short dashboard, and clear definitions.
Before you install anything, write down what “success” means for your build logs. For many founders that’s not “more traffic,” but “more of the right people taking the next step.”
Set up goals/events around intent, not vanity metrics. Common high-signal actions:
If you share posts on social, tag links with UTMs so you can tell what actually drives engaged readers. Example:
/blog/2025-01-build-log?utm_source=x&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=build_log
That lets you compare channels based on outcomes (signups, contact clicks), not just visits.
Once a month, do a 30-minute review and capture notes in your own log. Focus on:
Then make one small change: update internal links in your best post, add a clearer call-to-action, or write a follow-up answering the most common query. Over time, this turns analytics into steady compounding improvements—without turning your founder website into a numbers obsession.
A build log site is never really “done”—but it should feel dependable from day one. A clean launch plus light, consistent maintenance is what keeps readers coming back (and keeps you from dreading updates).
Before you share the link widely, do a quick pass that catches the most common credibility killers:
Performance is part of trust. You don’t need fancy optimization—just avoid the usual slowdowns:
If you have a /now or /updates page, it can double as a lightweight “what’s new” feed without extra overhead.
If you collect emails, run analytics, or use cookies, add simple legal pages:
Keep them plain-language and honest—no need to overcomplicate.
Community input is fuel, but comments can become a second product.
If you want the simplest option, use a reply-to email: “Hit reply if you spot an issue or have an idea.” It’s low-friction and private.
If you do add comments, set expectations: light moderation, clear rules, and a way to report problems.
Pick a cadence you can keep: a monthly link check, occasional refresh of your “Start Here” page, and small improvements as you notice friction. Consistency beats perfection.
An open build log is a public, ongoing record of what you’re building—what shipped, what broke, what you learned, and what you’re trying next. It’s closer to a lab notebook than a polished case study, and it works best when it stays specific and honest (not promotional).
Aim for outcomes like:
Pick 1–2 primary goals so your site structure, CTAs, and analytics stay focused.
Write primarily for one group at a time (you can rotate):
If you try to satisfy everyone in every post, the writing usually becomes vague.
State your boundaries early so the log is sustainable. Common “do not share” areas:
You can still share the lesson and the decision without exposing harmful details.
A durable starter sitemap is:
Keep it small so publishing stays the main work.
Use /build-log as the hub with:
This makes updates easy to browse without burying them on the Home page.
Choose based on which workflow you’ll actually keep:
Before deciding, confirm custom domain, RSS, clean URLs, SEO fields, and content export.
Pick a URL pattern you can keep for years, like:
/build-log/how-we-chose-pricingOptional: include dates, but only if you’re confident you won’t want to change them later. Avoid changing URLs after publishing—broken links and lost search history compound over time.
Use a repeatable structure like:
Keep sections short. The point is consistency: a small post shipped on time beats a “perfect” deep dive that never publishes.
Track actions that signal intent, not just traffic:
Do a 30-minute monthly review, then make one improvement (better internal links, clearer CTA, or a follow-up post answering the most common question).