The Problem

Jeanette had built a loyal readership on Substack: accomplished women, especially 50+, interested in creating a business aligned with their expertise and experience, creating the impact and income they deserve. But Substack alone wasn't giving her the control she needed.

She wanted a standalone home for her brand that could capture new subscribers, reflect her literary voice, and sync seamlessly with her email platform (Kit), without the overhead of a CMS or the generic feel of a template.

She also needed a way to manage the site herself going forward without depending on a developer for every content change.

She came into the scoping session knowing she wanted a landing page, but Kit's default templates didn't fit her brand or give her the flexibility she needed. The scoping session helped define what a custom solution would look like and what it would take to build it.

What We Built

We started with a scoping session that gave Jeanette a clear plan: what would be built, how it would work, and what it would cost. She left with a scoping document she could reference throughout the project, and the confidence to move forward.

Custom Brand Identity

Deep purple and warm gold palette, elegant serif typography (Cormorant Garamond + Source Sans 3). Warm, spacious, and authoritative without being loud, designed to reflect Jeanette's literary voice.

Standalone Landing Pages

Not a full website, but purpose-built product pages. Each new offering Jeanette creates gets its own dedicated page, keeping the architecture lean and focused.

Subscriber Automation

FastAPI backend handling form submissions and automated Substack-to-Kit subscriber sync. New Substack subscribers automatically appear in Kit with the right tags and sequences. No manual exports, no CSV uploads.

Email Capture

Kit API integration for direct subscriber management from the landing page. Leads go straight into the right sequences.

AI-Powered Self-Service Editing

A custom MCP (Model Context Protocol) module that lets Jeanette make content edits and create new landing pages using AI tools like ChatGPT. After a hands-on walkthrough, she was independently editing her own site. No developer needed.

Simple Architecture

Static frontend (Vite + TypeScript) for speed and low cost, deployed via GitHub Actions. Dynamic backend only where needed: form handling and subscriber sync. No bloated CMS. No vendor lock-in.

Tech Stack

Vite TypeScript FastAPI Kit API GitHub Actions Let's Encrypt SSL VPS (Hostinger)

Launched in 2.5 weeks from kickoff to live site.

Subscriber sync running automatically with zero manual intervention. Jeanette is actively editing her own site using AI tools. No ongoing developer dependency. A brand-consistent web presence she owns and controls, independent of any platform.

The Partnership

Jeanette was highly collaborative on brand and voice decisions, and trusted SSLab on the technical execution. Exactly the right division of labor.

The scoping session was the unlock: it transformed uncertainty into a clear, budgeted plan. From there, the project moved fast because the decisions were already made.

Ideal For

Newsletter creators, authors, coaches, and solopreneurs who've outgrown their platform but don't need (or want) a heavyweight CMS, and who want to manage their own site without learning to code.

Services Used

Scoping Session

Clear plan, defined scope, and a budgeted roadmap before any code was written.

Landing Page Build

Custom brand identity and standalone product pages built for speed and flexibility.

Backend Integration

FastAPI backend with Substack-to-Kit subscriber sync and email capture automation.

MCP Self-Service Add-on

AI-powered editing capability so the client can manage their own site independently.

Need something like this?

Landing pages, subscriber automation, AI-powered tools, built fast and built right. Let's talk about your project.

Get started