Forest industry professionals reviewing their new business website together at a cabin table
The Forest Business School  ·  Free Guide

A Professional Website for Your Business. For $0.

A step-by-step method built for forestry and working landscape professionals. No developer. No monthly fees. No coding required.

No web developer
Zero monthly fees
You own the files
Update it yourself, anytime
Start the Guide ↓
$0Hosting Cost
1 FileYour Whole Site
4 StepsStart to Live
YoursForever
Preparation

What to Bring to the Site Build

Before you open Claude AI, collect four things. The AI does the heavy lifting — your job is to show up with the raw materials.

📋

Business Description

Who you are and what you do — a paragraph or two in plain language. Don't polish it; the AI shapes the copy.

📷

Visuals

Clear photos of your equipment, yard, or finished products. Phone photos are perfectly fine.

📍

Contact Info

Your phone number, email, physical location, and domain name if you have one.

📜

Assets

A resume, old brochure, price list, or outdated website links to use as reference.

1
Step One

Design with Claude AI

Claude is your AI architect. You bring the materials; it builds the site. The entire process happens in plain English — no technical knowledge required.

A

Account Setup

Sign up at claude.ai via email. Mobile phone verification is required.

B

Upload & Describe

Upload your info and photos, then ask Claude to build a professional business website.

C

Refine in Plain English

Change colors, text, or layout by simply describing what you want. No coding required.

Prompt tip: Start with — "I need a professional one-page business website. Here are my company details and photos. Build a clean, modern site I can download as a single HTML file."
🔒

Crucial Step: Name the File Correctly

Once satisfied, download the file Claude provides. Rename it exactly to:

index.html

No capital letters. No spaces. This single file is your entire website.

2
Step Two

Claim Your Digital Plot on GitHub

GitHub is where your file lives on the internet — for free. Think of it as a filing cabinet that doubles as a web server.

🔐 Account Setup

Sign up at github.com. Complete email verification and the mandatory Two-Factor Authentication (2FA).

📁 Create a Repository

Click New Repository. Give it a simple lowercase name. Set it to Public so visitors can see your site.

⬆️ Upload Your File

Drag and drop your index.html into the repository. Click Commit changes.

Why public? GitHub's free hosting only works for public repositories. Your code is visible to anyone who looks — but that's completely normal for business websites.
3
Step Three

Go Live with GitHub Pages

This is the switch that turns your uploaded file into a live website. Takes under two minutes.

1

Open Settings

In your repository, click the Settings tab at the top.

2

Find Pages

In the sidebar, click Pages under "Code and automation."

3

Select Branch

Under "Source," pick main branch and click Save.

4

You're Live

Your URL appears: yourusername.github.io

🚀

Your Site Is Live

After a minute or two, your site is accessible at https://yourusername.github.io

Share this now — or continue to Step 4 to connect your custom domain.

4
Step Four (Optional)

Connect Your Custom Domain

Own a domain like www.mybusiness.com? Point it to your GitHub Pages site with two changes — one at GitHub, one at your registrar.

At GitHub Pages

Go to Settings → Pages. In the "Custom domain" field, enter your domain and click Save.

At Your Registrar

Log into GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc. Add the DNS records in the table below to direct your domain to GitHub.

HTTPS — Automatic

GitHub issues a free HTTPS security certificate automatically. The padlock in visitors' browsers is handled for you.

Record TypeHost / NameValue / Target
CNAMEwwwyourusername.github.io
A@185.199.108.153
A@185.199.109.153
A@185.199.110.153
A@185.199.111.153
DNS takes time. Changes can take minutes to 48 hours to propagate. If it doesn't work right away, check back tomorrow.
Ongoing

Updating Your Site Is Just as Simple

Update your site anytime, no developer needed. The whole cycle takes minutes.

🔄

Iterative Design

Bring your existing index.html back to Claude anytime. Describe your changes, download the updated file.

⚡

Rapid Deployment

Re-upload your new file to GitHub and changes go live in minutes. No approvals. No invoices.

🕰️

Version History

GitHub keeps every version you've ever uploaded. Roll back to a previous design anytime.

🖥️

Hard Refresh

If changes aren't showing, press Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac) to force-load the latest version.

The Promise

Clean, Professional, and Yours to Keep.

When this is done, you have something most small businesses pay hundreds of dollars a year to maintain — and you own every piece of it.

Start Building at Claude.ai → Set Up GitHub
Last Cohort · Vermont

Ready to Go Further Than a Website?

The FBS Essentials Program is a six-month Program of Study for mid-career forestry and working landscape professionals who want to build a stronger, more profitable business — not just a web presence. There is nothing else like it in the forestry world. This is the last Vermont cohort we're running. When it fills, it's done.

  • Six months of deep, structured business development
  • A Program of Study built for working professionals — not classroom theory
  • Small cohort, real accountability, lasting results
Learn More & Apply → vtfbs.com
Last Vermont Cohort

The Forest Business School
Essentials Program

vtfbs.com