Build Your Website Essentials
Whether you're redesigning or starting from scratch, you shouldn't have to do it alone.
Share your site and feel good about it!
A lot of people feel awkward about sending people to their website.
Maybe it feels messy and cluttered, or someone helped you build a website but it doesn't feel like you. Or maybe your website makes you feel icky and overly promotional. Whatever the reason, your website needs to be aligned with your vision – but you know this. It's why you're checking out this program.
You can build the website that grows your business – and get the essential support through each step.
Imagine this:
Want your website to tick all of these boxes? You can get there. You just need the right support. Build Your Website Essentials is the only cohort-based program that keeps you focused on the content and gives you professional 1:1 development from a team of experienced web designers.
⏰ Next series of live sessions begins in Spring 2023. Enroll here
See the full program, skills framework, and everything included below.
5 Week Cohort ~ Full Year of Support
Next session is Spring, 2023!
Build Your Website Essentials is a cohort based program that includes a draft website and helps you develop your content and skills for using your website to grow your business.
There are three 5-week sessions (all recorded and updated) offered throughout the year, and as a student you can build a schedule that works for you between recorded lessons and activity based assignments.
Use the 16 skill based lessons to support your work, and use our 5 step process to stay focused on what you need to complete each phase of building or improving your website.
✅ 1 - Craft Your Strategy: You'll work with me to clarify how your website will achieve your goals with our website research document. No more guessing what works.
✅ 2 - Develop Your Content: You'll outline each of your website pages and get your content and images ready. During this time I'm actually setting up your draft website based on the strategy you already completed.
✅ 3 - Build Your Pages: Your draft website is ready for you to add content and styles you've clarified in the previous week's live trainings and coaching sessions. Our team is here to help you in this important learning step.
✅ 4 - Polish Your Design: You'll polish and tidy up your site for launch. We'll work with you to make your website attractive and effective.
✅ 5 - Prepare Your Launch: Since the technical aspect of the launch is done for you, This step is about developing your plan for growing your audience and attracting traffic to your new website.
With Build Your Website Essentials, you're not just learning, you're taking action each week.
At the end of this program, you will be able to:
- Create a conversion-focused website
- Outline your content
- Add a newsletter signup form
- Plan your marketing strategy to get more traffic and leads
- Keep your website updated easily
Schedule & Logistics
Enrollment includes one-year of access to BYWE live cohorts and skills based workshops.
Live exercise-based sessions take place on Tuesdays from 11-12:30 PM Eastern. In these classes you won't just be learning, you'll be working to clarify your website content, style, and actually setting up pages.
The skill based lessons are set up as reference material. Each includes a short video, additional resources, and an exercise you can use to level up your website in that particular area.
We host office hours, website clinics, and co-working sessions to support you in completing your your project, and 1:1 consultations all throughout the 5-week cohort.
Included in BYWE
The next cohort begins Summer 2023.
The BYWE Skills Framework
Focused on the essentials so you can make meaningful progress
Instead of giving you an overwhelming amount of information and a blank page, BYWE is based on 5 core milestones, each with its own fillable workbook.
BYWE Is Outcome Focused
"My ability to create a website that is attractive, clear, and valuable for my audience"
To support your learning (and to save you time) we provide a MySnapshot Accredited Assessment to students in the program. Answer 16 questions (click on examples below) and establish your baseline. Then, take another snapshot after spending some weeks working on your website. Your site will grow through each iteration.
This assessment is based on our 4 point skills rubric, containing 16 lessons. The weekly assignments will are supported by 2-3 of these skills each.
(click any of the images below to see a sample page)
What Can Build Your Website Essentials Do For Your Business?
"I knew nothing, so I have literally learned every single thing I now know about websites either from Ryan, or from resources that Ryan made or recommended. I would still be miserable and stuck on Weebly if it weren't for Ryan!
My favorite part of the program is design, and learning how to think through the map of how your website is structured. I also really enjoy having access to Maple Builder and having so much creative freedom!
I finally feel like my website reflects me and my business - I can change and tweak it so it's always current and perfectly in sync with where my business is in real time."
~ Rachel Conroy, Kinship and Company
✨ Community Showcase!
Here are some of the websites created using the process, workbooks, and curriculum of Build Your Website Essentials. Each of them is active, supported by one of our care plan packages, and in various stages of growth.
The next cohort begins Spring 2023.
I had to figure it out on my own.
Hi, I’m Ryan and I’ve been exactly where you are. When I first started working on websites it was for a community organization I cared about, but I wasted countless hours trying to figure it out on my own.
I've tried templates that were always more complicated than they looked. I've struggled to follow instructions about customizing pages, and I've even spent far too much money hiring an agency that never came through.
For years I struggled to understand web design. My first websites were hand-coded with HTML, but working with code was agonizing for me. I shifted my focus to activism and media, but when it came to sharing my work it always came back to websites.
When I started using WordPress, I had no idea it would become the standard for professional bloggers, educators, and small businesses who wanted to own the platform they published on.
For years I struggled with themes, plugins, and feeling overwhelmed by the options. Even though I was able to get support from friends and colleagues, it felt like an endless cycle of troubleshooting with no clear answers.
Despite this, I was determined to figure it out, so I kept going. My friends would tease me for being obsessed and always testing the latest tools. I was volunteering to build websites for pretty much every project I was involved with – and the more I learned, the more I was able to get results.
For small businesses and community groups, this had a huge impact. A good website could run an effective fundraiser, enroll people in a program, and increase monthly revenue in a way that could better sustain their important work.
This is how I started Maple, and why it's so important to me to have the right tools and be able to provide a platform and care plans that allow clients to manage their own websites. Of course, I'm still available for professional design, I love it, but I also love that I can teach my process and save people from needing to learn the hard way.
The most valuable thing I discovered from working with clients is that every website project could be planned out like a curriculum.
Even if I was hired to build the entire website, clients still have to compile images, content, and learn the essentials of what makes a website effective.
Education was built into the project, and it's part of what makes the projects so valuable for clients.
While I absolutely LOVE my clients and the focus I can dedicate to their projects, I wanted to be able to share what I've learned with more people, with you.
Online programs are perfect for learning web design – and by creating a combination of services with self-paced learning, I knew I could have a bigger impact and help more people finally have a beautiful website they can manage themselves.
So with that, I welcome you to join us in Build Your Website Essentials.
Choose Your Package
A professional website and support have an impact with your work.
If you have any questions about which tier is best for you, or would like to request a custom design project (starting at $5,000), please book a discovery call here.
Sapling
- Everything you need to log in to your new website and start building with confidence. This type of project is perfect if you’re looking to upgrade to a fresh professional website.
- ⭐️ Live, Interactive Training
- ⭐️ 5 Assignments that build toward completed project
- ⭐️ 16 Concise, skill-based lessons
- ⭐️ Website Skills Assessment to measure your growth
- ⭐️ One on one consultation to clarify your strategy
- ⭐️ Full year access to the community & cohorts
- ✅ Your own pre-configured draft website, ready for your content and style ($500 value)
- ✅ 12 months on our Basic Care Plan for hosting & support ($540 value)
- ✅ Valet website launch service so you can focus on your big announcement ($300 value)
- Upgrade Anytime For Premium Support
Professional
- Extra guidance with your marketing strategy and content – as much like a service as a course. This type of project is perfect for people starting from scratch who want the benefits of one on one support.
- ⭐️ Live, Interactive Training
- ⭐️ 5 Assignments that build toward completed project
- ⭐️ 16 Concise, skill-based lessons
- ⭐️ Website Skills Assessment to measure your growth
- ⭐️ One on one consultation to clarify your strategy
- ⭐️ Full year access to the community & cohorts
- ✅ Your own pre-configured draft website, ready for your content and style ($500 value)
- ✅ 12 months on our Basic Care Plan for hosting & support ($540 value)
- ✅ Valet website launch service so you can focus on your big announcement ($300 value)
- This upgrade includes one of the following day-rate projects to move you even further past the finish line. Choose from any of the following services:
- ➕ Email automation to welcome new subscribers and direct them to appropriate offers ($975 value)
- ➕ Professional Design for larger websites ($950 value)
- ➕ E-Commerce store setup, product import, and custom layouts ($950 value)
- ➕ Detailed SEO optimization and website content audit to increase your traffic and conversions ($950 value)
Scholarships are available!
Contact me at ryan@buildwithmaple.com to discuss scholarship options.
Testimonials From Students
"I primarily work as a birth doula and an herbalist, so certainly techie web stuff has been something I've avoided most of my adult life.
In the past, I've tried to make my own websites using templates and confusing hosting places. Ryan's course was amazing for me to get together my own content and my own vision with mentorship – I definitely recommend working with Ryan at Maple to make your new website."
~ Emma, Birth doula and herbalist
"You won't just learn website design – he really works with you on marketing your services. You can have a beautifully designed site, but if you aren't really getting across your message to people – they aren't going to stay on your site very long.
And so Ryan is really gifted at being able to not only help you get a good site or a beautiful site designed, but he can also help you as far as communicating your message and attracting more customers or clients based on what you have to offer."
~ Jamala Harrison, Refine Virtual Solutions
"I didn't have a clue about how to launch a course or really do anything and so I had the good fortune to get hooked up with Ryan and he really has helped me understand the online world, how to have a good website, and have it be effective.
It was the first time ever that I did it and it was more successful than I could have imagined – and I really believe it's because Ryan's incredible skill.
He's a great teacher too, so if you're going to do any courses with him, man, I would jump right in there because you're going to learn so much. Ryan has taken my business to a whole other level. So have fun working with Ryan."
~ Pam Montgomery, Partner Earth Education Center
"I have gone from not knowing if I'd have a website at all, to having a website that I can manage for myself and see great results with.
Ryan is understanding of where people are and their process and their journey. He is as technically minded and equipped and adaptive as he is helpful, friendly and proactive in getting a bigger picture into a business's needs and the business's audience."
~ Shayna Grajo, Shoji Arts, Ithaca NY
“I went from having a bland, formulaic template website, to one that speaks clearly to my ideal client!
And best of all, I did it myself!
Ok, at least I did the “decorating” part myself... This program guided me to make impactful changes, and gave me direction on polishing and refining my website.
The refining will continue, but I feel so confident after this class, and I know I made the right choice to continue working with Ryan and Maple Creative. Do your business and your mental health a favor, and just take the class. Now.”
~ Laurie Neronha, Viriditas Beauty
You don't need to be alone in building your website. We've got your back.
With Support
Without Support
Questions?
You mean, you actually build me a website?
Yes! This is a service + cohort-based course focusing on getting you set up with a draft website and showing you how to add your content and style. The Maple Team will work together to build your website based on the strategy you share with us, then we guide you through the process of learning to publish and grow forward.
My business is going through a big change. Is this course right for me?
As long as you know for sure that you have something valuable to offer then what you need most is a chance to focus those ideas into a clear, public invitation to participate.
I’m here to finally make that happen for you. Your website is the way you can organize these ideas into something tangible.
Also, this is a coaching program – and I won't shy away from asking tough questions and holding you accountable for your goals.
What is the MySnapshot Accredited Assessment?
I took this program offline for 6 months so that I could work with Charlotte Crowther, founder of MySnapshot. This is a tool for dedicated educators to clarify their knowledge framework and offer an assessment to students.
In BYWE you can get a baseline measurement of your website skills by answering 16 questions. This actually covers 4 important areas of your work; content, design, marketing, and tech tools.
Then, at the end of the program you can take your snapshot assessment again and see how you've grown. Like rings on a tree, you can visually see the growth areas, what you need to focus on next, and where your strengths are. Pretty cool right?
This is just one of the ways that I'm dedicated to your learning. Not only will you have a completed website to celebrate, you'll be tracking your growth around these core areas of your business.
I work in a Fire Tower and am currently 100 ft in the air and miles in the bush. Will there be other cohorts?
This was a fun question to receive!
Yes. This program is offered three times a year, Winter, Summer, and Fall. When you join today you can choose which cohort best fits your schedule and gain access to the workbooks, lessons, assessment tools, and community.
When you enroll you’d have access to the welcome lesson, and could even spend the rest of your time in the fire tower reflecting on the strategy questionnaire and working on your content.
What if I'm just starting my business?
The premium tier was designed to give someone who is starting from scratch the ability to have extra support in creating content and layouts that will help your business grow. Part of the course is focused on branding and marketing to help you clarify your message and design that will benefit all of your work.
If you need more direct 1:1 design help, consider a full design and development project.
If you're operating on a budget, and you have more time to spare, then I suggest a free landing page from ConvertKit. This gives you a chance to validate your business ideas, build an audience, and you can focus on a website once you have those things in place.
What pages (and how many) will you build for me?
The Sapling website is a draft website with around 7 pages pre-built and configured. It's ready to be pruned, and edited to fit your vision.
If you join with the premium tier I will personally design your homepage based on the preferences, images, and goals you provide me. I’ll happily set up as many main pages as you need. Since you’ll become confident at publishing new content you'll be able to add pages whenever you need to.
How long will I have access to the course?
This is a 5 week series of live sessions and a full year of community and support. The recordings, materials, and lessons will be yours to keep as long as you need them.
After 1 year, you will be invited to renew community and care plan membership with Maple Creative.
How much time do I need to commit?
There is one 2 hour workshop each week. There are additional office hours sessions, student meetups, and coworking sessions. There are 5 weeks total of classes.
Live workshops are Tuesdays, 1-3 PM Eastern.
There are additional assignments to help you make progress and you can put as little or as much as you want into them. To get the best outcome set aside at least 3 - 6 hours a week when you can focus. Tell your friends and family you'll be working on this weekly for the period of this class so you can really dedicate to the project.
What if I can't make the live calls?
You can build your own schedule, and participate in future cohorts as well. That said, if you want the accountability of the 5 week sprint then it's helpful to carve out space to participate live.
If you miss a session you can watch the replays, and make sure to schedule time to work through the assignment for the week. The classes will be recorded and provided in our student community where you can always access them.
What is the care plan that is included?
All websites require hosting, security, caching, regular backups, updates, and maintenance in order to be available for your audience online – and this program comes with $420 toward a Maple Creative Care plan (starting at $420/year).
Care plans include hosting, security, licensed software, a tutorial library, and personalized support from our small team at Maple Creative.
One of the big benefits of the Maple care plan is the bundled pricing on website software – the stuff you'll learn how to use in the training. Care plans are sliding scale, $35 - $120 /month and provide everything from chat support to weekly office hours to bring any questions you have about your website (or website strategy).
Do I need to continue the care plan after 3 months?
You have the option to continue hosting your website with Maple, or taking your website to another hosting service of your choice. From the start you will have full access to your website files, a login to your hosting account, and the ability to move everything. Some clients already have a preferred hosting provider and that is totally cool.
What if I’m completely new, or feel slow on computers?
If you have not yet learned to “drive” your computer, the tasks in this course may take longer and you may want some additional support. Check out the free event schedule and see if you are comfortable applying what you learn in our live events before jumping into the live program.
I don’t have images, colors, or logo, can I still build my website?
Yes. At least half of my clients are in this place when they start. I'll show you how to choose the best color and typography palette, find a logo you can start with, and select images that make your work attractive and unique.
What if I don’t complete my website?
You have a full year of access to the program and multiple opportunities to join 5-week cohort experiences.
If you show up live and complete the assignments, it is very likely you will complete your website.
However, you will have lifetime access to the lessons and the ability to continue working on the Maple website that was set up for you in the beginning. This program is designed so you can work at the pace that feels comfortable to you.
Perfectly Reasonable Refund Guarantee
Because your success with the course and community experience depends on your commitment, and because BYWE includes a draft website that our team builds for you, we provide refunds within the first 7-days of enrollment. If you are not sure if this program is right for you, please contact us and we can share more details about the course and service provided.