FreshConnected Studio website built on its own platform

Project overview

FreshConnected Studio is the website subscription for service-based SMEs: a fixed website foundation with hosting, SSL, CMS, domain name, and mailbox for a fixed monthly fee. Studio’s own website has to explain that offer and demonstrate it at the same time. That is why the site is built on Studio itself.

That makes the website the platform’s own best proof. Sections, theme, portfolio, pricing tables, and the request form all come from exactly the same building blocks a client later manages in their own CMS. What a visitor sees on the site is what they get.

Collaboration

This project was developed internally by FreshConnected. Brand, proposition, pricing structure, copy, and technology were worked out in one movement, which positioned Studio more sharply alongside the regular custom track instead of drifting next to it.

The collaboration was mainly about boundaries: making clear what Studio is meant for, and when a regular project on freshconnected.io is the better choice.

The question behind the project

A website subscription immediately raises questions for business owners: what exactly do I get, what does it really cost, what can I manage myself, and what happens after the contract term? As long as those questions stay open, the threshold stays high, no matter how good the product is.

The website therefore had to remove those objections before the conversation: clear package boundaries, no hidden costs, and an honest comparison with a regular project. At the same time, the site had to demonstrate the platform, because a subscription site that fails to convince on its own sells nothing.

What was delivered

• A dedicated showcase website for Studio with a clear route from explanation to request
• A transparent package structure with a fixed base, three packages, and explicit package boundaries
• A showcase and portfolio in which real Studio sites demonstrate what is possible
• An honest comparison between Studio and a regular custom project, including a referral to freshconnected.io
• Supporting pages such as frequently asked questions, service areas, and the legal basis

Technical implementation

• Built with Astro and Kirby CMS as the fixed Studio foundation, with Tailwind 4 and TypeScript for the front-end
• Composed entirely from the Studio section library, so the platform uses its own components instead of one-off exceptions
• Theme presets as the basis for the brand style, so styling changes can be made without code
• A forms inbox in the CMS itself, so requests arrive without an extra tool or subscription
• A multilingual content structure, keeping Dutch and English copy manageable side by side

Challenges

• Explaining a subscription without making it feel like a cheap alternative to custom work
• Naming limits, such as package size and contract term, without making the site sound defensive
• Positioning Studio alongside freshconnected.io rather than in competition with the wider service range
• Demonstrating the platform with its own building blocks while keeping the site itself distinctive

Result

Studio has its own place with its own story, separate from the main website. An interested business owner can check what a package includes, what it costs, and where the limits are, and only then get in touch. Conversations therefore start further along in the process.

Because the site is built on Studio, every improvement to the platform immediately improves the website too. New sections, theme adjustments, and portfolio items are added without development work, which keeps the offer maintainable while Studio continues to be refined.

Reflection

This case shows the value of building a product on itself. Every choice that chafes on our own site is a choice clients would run into as well. That makes the website not only a sales channel, but also the first and strictest test environment for the platform.