Website Deployment

PENNOLA Launch Checklist

Step-by-step guide to get PENNOLA live on the internet with a custom domain in under 30 minutes.

Your Launch Plan

Check off each step as you complete it. Progress is saved in your browser.

Website Hosting
$0
Netlify free tier — forever
Domain Name
~$10
per year (pennola.com)
Business Email
$0–$6
Zoho (free) or Google ($6/mo)
Launch progress: 0 of 16 steps complete

🎉 PENNOLA is Live!

All steps complete. Your website is published and ready for customers.

1

Upload to Netlify FREE

Get the site live in under 5 minutes — no account needed initially

  • Open app.netlify.com/drop in your browser
  • Open Finder → go to Desktop → PENNOLA folder. Select ALL files inside (⌘A), then drag that selection onto the Netlify drop zone.
  • Netlify gives you a temporary URL like random-name-123.netlify.app — your site is live! Open it and verify all pages work.
  • Create a free Netlify account (Sign Up button) and claim your site so you don't lose it after 24 hours. Use your email.
Important: Drag the files inside the PENNOLA folder — not the folder itself. Select all with ⌘A, then drag the selection.
2

Register pennola.com

One domain covers both the customer site AND the owner tools — no second domain needed

🌐 How your one domain covers everything:

www.pennola.com  →  Customer portal (what the public sees — quote form, services, marketing)
pennola.com/owner  →  Business Plan dashboard (owner only)
pennola.com/bid  →  Bid Estimator (owner only)
pennola.com/financials  →  Financial Dashboard (owner only)
pennola.com/sba  →  SBA & 8(a) guide (owner only)
pennola.com/quote  →  Customer quote form (share this link with clients)

Netlify routes everything automatically — this is already configured in netlify.toml.
  • Go to namecheap.com and search for pennola.com (also check .co or .net as backup)
  • Add to cart and purchase. Enable WhoisGuard (free privacy protection for your contact info) during checkout.
  • In your Namecheap dashboard, go to Domain List → Manage → Advanced DNS. You'll add Netlify's nameservers here in the next phase.
3

Point Domain to Netlify FREE

Takes 10 minutes to set up, up to 24 hours to fully propagate

  • In Netlify: go to your site → Domain Management → Add a domain → type pennola.com and confirm.
  • Netlify shows you 2 nameserver addresses (like dns1.p01.nsone.net). Copy both.
  • In Namecheap → Advanced DNS → change Nameservers from "Namecheap BasicDNS" to "Custom DNS" and paste Netlify's 2 nameservers.
  • Back in Netlify → HTTPS → Verify DNS configuration → Enable HTTPS. Free SSL certificate is auto-issued. Wait up to 24 hours for full propagation.
⏱ DNS changes can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 24 hours globally. Your temporary .netlify.app URL keeps working the whole time.
4

Set Up Business Email FREE option available

Get info@pennola.com — use Zoho (free) or Google Workspace ($6/mo)

  • Option A (Free): Go to zoho.com/mail → Free plan → add your domain pennola.com. Create info@pennola.com.
  • Zoho gives you DNS records (MX records) to add in Namecheap Advanced DNS. Copy and paste them in — Zoho's setup wizard shows exactly where.
💡 Google Workspace alternative: $6/month at workspace.google.com — gives you Gmail interface with info@pennola.com. Better if you already use Google products.
5

Enable Quote Request Emails FREE

Connect Formspree so customer quote requests arrive in your inbox

  • Go to formspree.io → Sign up free → New Form → name it "PENNOLA Quote Requests" → set email to info@pennola.com
  • Formspree gives you a Form ID (8 characters, like xbjvkpqz). Open customer.js in VS Code and replace PENNOLA_FORM_ID on line ~165 with your actual ID.
  • Re-upload the updated customer.js to Netlify: go to your site → Deploys → Drag & drop the PENNOLA folder again to redeploy.
📧 Free Formspree allows 50 quote form submissions per month. Paid plan ($10/mo) removes the limit if you get busy.