ウェブサイト作成ツールを開発した方法
月商 — · 創業者1人 · 従業員0人 · Verona, VR, Italia
Edoardo Valenza（Founder, Codelia）· 創業 June 2021 · 記事掲載 — · codeliacms.com · 元の記事
創業者自身がフリーランス開発者だった時の課題から生まれた。当初はサイドプロジェクトとして開発され、コロナ禍のロックダウン中に本格化。集客はFacebook広告、Instagram広告、Emailマーケティング、Product Huntなどのスタートアップ・ソフトウェア掲載サイトへの登録、TwitterなどのSNS、Google、YouTubeを通じて行われた。月商・利用プラン別の料金体系・人数は記事に記載なし
売値の出典: 確認できず（2026-10-14 取得）
Read a lot of books because through books it’s possible to learn a lot of useful things relevant to a specific business.
広告: Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads
分析: Google Analytics, Google Tag Ma...
customer service: crisp
デザイン: Adobe Creativ..., Adobe Suite, Adobe XD
メール配信: Klaviyo
freelance: Fiverr
決済: Stripe
ネットショップ: trello
業務: G Suite, Google Workspace, Slack, Trello, Calendly
reviews: Trustpilot, Capterra, Product Hunt
SNS: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube
stack: Custom Built
The idea has come up from my experience as a web developer. In fact, before this project, I was a freelance web designer and web developer. I was working with the usual CMSs to build websites and e-commerce for my customers, and I faced some troubles regarding the flexibility while developing, my productivity while working with these platforms, and the speed of the end website or e-commerce. Read a lot of books because through books it’s possible to learn a lot of useful things relevant to a specific business. I had to work with the specific programming language with which the CMS was built, with pre-built functions and with a specific database structure. I could not manage the database changing its structure based on my needs managing all the content in the way I wanted, and when I had to develop extra features without using third-party plugins, it was really difficult due to the lack of flexibility. In addition to this, if my co-workers (the marketers) had to change the content structure of the project adding new types of content, for example, I (the developer) needed to work on the code implementing the specifics needed. So I thought of a solution that could bring me maximum flexibility while developing and that could bring to my co-workers the possibility to work without the need to write extra code. I decided to develop a CMS that had these characteristics, so I created Codelia.
During the first time, the software had a black and white interface, because at first, I was planning to create it only for my work, so the only people that had to use it were me and my co-workers, and it also had a different name from the actual one. It had to be simple, intuitive, and fast to use. I wasn’t caring about the UI but more about the UX, because I and my coworkers were the final users. This is why there were no colors on the first draft of the design. I was taking inspiration from other tools that I was already using to understand how to design the layout, while all the features were coming to my mind thanks to all the troubles that I was getting with other popular CMSs. I knew the problem and so I knew the solution. Due to the big evolution of the product, my coworkers didn’t have the chance to view this first draft as a completed product, but they saw directly the current version, giving me positive feedback. I was building this as a side project, I had other jobs to work on as a freelance developer. I started to develop this project when here in my country (Italy) there was a total lockdown due to Covid. Then without the time to go out in my spare time, during this period, I was working on this project, keeping a good balance with the other projects. Only after this first period, I decided to put it commercially and to start a business with it, offering this solution even to other developers - like me - and marketers. So I started to design a real interface, a logo and to work developing all of the features. I had to register the logo and the software before the launch, and these procedures took me some time and some money. The big challenge was the total amount of money to pay to register the logo. There was other money kept for the launch ads campaign, but finally, I found this myself without getting financed.
My launch happened after a lot of tests on the final version of the software. It started with social media ads and email marketing. We started with Facebook Ads capturing some leads before with a landing page and then with a lead ad form. The process of getting leads was to offer a lead magnet (ebook) in exchange for their email address. Firstly it was hard to collect leads, and we changed different ads testing different copies, images, and videos. Then after the first month/month and a half, we found the right way to collect leads, and we started getting 1 or 2 leads per day, but not every day. After multiple tests, we started getting around 4 or 5 leads every day. We are using Klaviyo is an email marketing platform, and all the leads are managed through it. We started testing some email flows and after some time we got the good ones. There are different flows: some for the leads and some for the users, and it changes based on which plan the users are subscribed to. After some time I decided to add the software and the company on Product Hunt and some startup listing websites. These procedures brought users and the product started to get known. Thanks to the first users obtained through these platforms, we were able to improve the product with a better UX and new features. The biggest lessons that I’ve learned from this product launch, are that things take time and they happen when you least expect it.
After the launch, the publication of the project on startup listing websites and software listing websites such as Product Hunt, BetaPage, Alternative.me, Crozdesk, Capterra, and many others work well to attract more users and get more exposure. In addition to this, getting the subscribed users engaged was a very important point. So I created a customer training program to send to all users that are using Codelia. In this way, they can learn with some emails which are the features and how to leverage them. This solution creates interest in users. Twitter is another platform that is powerful to increase brand awareness organically, in addition to Google and YouTube. On Google and YouTube, there is very high competition in topics about development and marketing, so it’s hard to get results on these platforms, it takes a lot of time. Instead, with Twitter, it’s possible to connect directly with a lot of people that could be interested in these topics, so it’s easier to get awareness. Even in this case, it requires time.
Today Codelia is getting more exposure and is acquiring more users, so I expect growth during the next few years. Today I’m optimizing the website, the software, and the email marketing with the marketing team, and I’m always thinking about new features to develop to increase Codelia. Every time that something comes up in my mind I take note immediately, and with Trello, I’ve created a deadline were to add all of these ideas, evaluate them deeper, and schedule the development.
Through starting the business I learned to be patient and I understand that growing a project requires time. I also learned to be open to every opportunity. Often I receive emails with commercial proposals such as listings or additional marketing services. I always read all of those emails and I consider every opportunity that can benefit my business.
I’m using Klaviyo for email marketing, Google Analytics, and Hotjar for analytics, Fiverr to hire some freelancers and Google Workspace for the emails. Another very useful tool for planning all the activities to do on the software is Trello.
The best books that I read are in the field of marketing. One of the most interesting and useful even for my company is Influence: Science and Practice by Robert Cialdini, where the author explains which are the mechanisms that are used to influence people in everyday life. The next ones are The purple cow by Seth Godin and Dotcom secrets by Russell Brunson.
One of my best advice is to read a lot of books because through books it’s possible to learn a lot of useful things relevant to a specific business. In addition to this, it’s important to study the competition. By studying the competition on a deep level, it’s possible to get some clear ideas to differentiate the product from the competition.
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