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
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Open app.netlify.com/drop in your browser
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Open Finder → go to
Desktop → PENNOLAfolder. 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 ~$10/yr
One domain covers both the customer site AND the owner tools — no second domain needed
🌐 How your one domain covers everything:
Netlify routes everything automatically — this is already configured in netlify.toml.
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.
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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
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In Netlify: go to your site → Domain Management → Add a domain → type
pennola.comand 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.
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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)
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Option A (Free): Go to zoho.com/mail → Free plan → add your domain
pennola.com. Createinfo@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
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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). Opencustomer.jsin VS Code and replacePENNOLA_FORM_IDon line ~165 with your actual ID. -
Re-upload the updated
customer.jsto 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.