5 ms·

Turn spreadsheets into website designs

30 points by seestraw 4y ago

Hi HN members, I've been facing this problem recently. As a startup founder, I am managing a lot of Google Sheets. I want to hire a developer to convert it to custom websites but I couldn't find a place I could get it designed. I decided to solve it myself. I tried this out with one company and they were quite happy with the solution. So I'm opening it up to everyone. I'd love to see if anyone else has the same problem.

cube00 4y ago
This is as great example of how you can test the market when you have an idea before you sink too much into the setup. Single launch page, a price, "contact us" just goes to a regular email.
- unsafecast 4y ago
  If every website had a 'contact us' button that just goes to email the world would be a better place.
butz 4y ago
Useful, but are there any risks that accidentally including some dubious information might get your Google account suspended, including all its data? How do you make backups?
- michaelmior 4y ago
  I don't understand the concern or why backups would be necessary. My understanding is that customers create their design as a spreadsheet (possibly using Google Sheets) and then simply pass that off to a designer to be converted into a Web design (presumably CSS/HTML?) I don't see why account suspension or backups are relevant here.
  - butz 4y ago
    Google without any prior warning can just block your account for some reason, like violation of TOS. While it's seems to be unlikely for casual user, but must be considered.
donbox 4y ago
Great that you were able to build it. Something similar https://www.sheet2site.com/ https://www.sheet2site.com/ Also google search yeilds at least 5 similar services.
zachallaun 4y ago
Kinda funny UI thing: I’m on my phone, and it took me longer than I care to admit to realize that the triple dash next to the logo on the top left wasn’t a fancy hamburger icon to open mobile nav. =) I actually thought there might be a bug preventing my touch press from being captured, before realizing that I was just being a bit of a doofus.
- jypepin 4y ago
  it only appears on mobile tho, so i'm not sure what it's supposed to be...
flanbiscuit 4y ago
looks cool! Sort of related but not exactly the same, there's a YC funded startup that also turns spreadsheets into apps called Glide https://www.glideapps.com/ https://www.glideapps.com/ https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19163081 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19163081
akpa1 4y ago
It looks like you forgot to update the page's `<title>` - it still says "Business - Webflow HTML website template"
frittata 4y ago
Smart idea. I could find a use for this. But I have to say that I hate the word 'unlimited' when it comes to a service business. It works for software, but it is impossible for a service business. If you got just a handful of clients sign up for this then unlimited tasks could turn into hundreds of man-hours.
xuding 4y ago
You can also check out https://sitefast.live/ https://sitefast.live/, which does something similar. The difference is that it offers a drag-n-drop page builder.
lupire 4y ago

30 points by seestraw 4y ago

cube00 4y ago

This is as great example of how you can test the market when you have an idea before you sink too much into the setup. Single launch page, a price, "contact us" just goes to a regular email.

unsafecast 4y ago
If every website had a 'contact us' button that just goes to email the world would be a better place.

butz 4y ago

Useful, but are there any risks that accidentally including some dubious information might get your Google account suspended, including all its data? How do you make backups?

michaelmior 4y ago
I don't understand the concern or why backups would be necessary. My understanding is that customers create their design as a spreadsheet (possibly using Google Sheets) and then simply pass that off to a designer to be converted into a Web design (presumably CSS/HTML?) I don't see why account suspension or backups are relevant here.
- butz 4y ago
  Google without any prior warning can just block your account for some reason, like violation of TOS. While it's seems to be unlikely for casual user, but must be considered.

donbox 4y ago

Great that you were able to build it. Something similar https://www.sheet2site.com/ https://www.sheet2site.com/ Also google search yeilds at least 5 similar services.

zachallaun 4y ago

Kinda funny UI thing: I’m on my phone, and it took me longer than I care to admit to realize that the triple dash next to the logo on the top left wasn’t a fancy hamburger icon to open mobile nav. =) I actually thought there might be a bug preventing my touch press from being captured, before realizing that I was just being a bit of a doofus.

jypepin 4y ago
it only appears on mobile tho, so i'm not sure what it's supposed to be...

flanbiscuit 4y ago

looks cool! Sort of related but not exactly the same, there's a YC funded startup that also turns spreadsheets into apps called Glide https://www.glideapps.com/ https://www.glideapps.com/ https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19163081 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19163081

akpa1 4y ago

It looks like you forgot to update the page's `<title>` - it still says "Business - Webflow HTML website template"

frittata 4y ago

Smart idea. I could find a use for this. But I have to say that I hate the word 'unlimited' when it comes to a service business. It works for software, but it is impossible for a service business. If you got just a handful of clients sign up for this then unlimited tasks could turn into hundreds of man-hours.

xuding 4y ago

You can also check out https://sitefast.live/ https://sitefast.live/, which does something similar. The difference is that it offers a drag-n-drop page builder.

lupire 4y ago