A launch with no website and a deadline
Lindsay was getting ready to launch Variation, her first educational game. The game was nearly done. The concept was clever. But there was no website — and launch day was approaching fast.
She needed a site that could explain the game, introduce her company, and build trust with early visitors. Something that would make people stop and say, "Oh, this looks legit."
Before designing anything, we talked. I asked her about her goals, what made Science Geek Games different, and why she made the game in the first place. A few things stood out right away:
- She wanted the games to be educational but still genuinely fun — not edutainment by obligation
- No AI-generated content — everything had to feel handcrafted and intentional
- Scientific accuracy mattered deeply — this wasn't a game that could afford to get things wrong
That gave me a clear direction. The website didn't need to be flashy. It needed to feel real. Friendly. Smart. Something that matched the tone of the game — and her.
Building a brand that felt handcrafted
We used Wix because it gave Lindsay flexibility to make updates later without needing to call me every time she wanted to change a line of text. For a solo founder launching her first product, that independence matters. But we didn't use a template — I built a custom layout and created all graphics in Photopea so the brand had its own visual identity rather than looking like every other Wix site.
The design direction was: playful but not childish, scientific but not clinical. Friendly enough for parents browsing for their kids, credible enough for educators considering it for a classroom.
A site that feels like her — live on launch day
The final site does exactly what it needs to. It tells Lindsay's story, shows off Variation, and makes early visitors feel confident in the brand. It's simple, fast, and easy to update — and it feels handcrafted, because it is.
We hit the launch deadline. The cost savings on the platform meant real money back in her budget. And because I set her up to own and update the site herself, she's not dependent on a developer every time she needs to add a page or update content as the game grows.
For local businesses and indie creators in Rochester, MN and across Minnesota who need a launch-ready website that doesn't look like a template and doesn't cost a fortune to maintain — this is the kind of work I do at Tarku Digital.