I'm not a developer.
I can't write JavaScript from scratch. I don't use a terminal. My entire deployment workflow is drag-and-drop on GitHub's web interface.
And yet I built and launched https://petpawcalc.com — a free pet calculator site with 9 tools and 15 blog posts — entirely for free, without touching a local dev environment once.
Here's exactly how I did it, and what I'd do differently.
The Stack (All Free)
Jekyll — static site generator, handled by GitHub Pages automatically
GitHub Pages — free hosting, builds Jekyll on every push
Cloudflare — domain DNS (registrar + proxy)
Google Analytics + Search Console — traffic and SEO monitoring
Zero monthly cost. Zero server management.
How Deployment Actually Works
I never run jekyll build locally. I never open a terminal.
My workflow:
Write or edit a file
Go to the GitHub repo in the browser
Add file → Upload → Drag and drop
Commit
Wait 60–90 seconds for the Actions tab to show a green checkmark
That's it. GitHub Pages builds Jekyll automatically on every push. For someone without a dev environment, this changes everything.
The Site Structure
Every page uses one of three layouts defined in _layouts/:
default.html — about, contact, static pages
tool.html — calculator pages
post.html — blog posts
Blog posts are Markdown files in _posts/ with front matter. Tools are plain HTML files in tools/. One CSS file handles everything.
The only manual step when adding a new tool: update the card grids in index.html and tools/index.html by hand. Jekyll doesn't auto-generate those.
What's Actually Working (Search Console Data)
The site is ~6 weeks old. Current numbers:
how-often-vet-visits-dog — ranking 6.4 on Google
how-much-should-senior-dog-eat — ranking 11.5, 68 impressions
Total: 117 impressions, 0 clicks (still climbing)
The strategy: calculator-first, long-tail keywords only, avoid direct competition with PetMD and AKC. So far the niche seems to be working.
What I'd Do Differently
Start with Search Console from day one. I set it up early but didn't submit a sitemap immediately. A few weeks of indexing delay was avoidable.
Write longer content earlier. My first few posts were 500–600 words. AdSense and Google both want substance. Everything is now 900+ words.
Don't add tools just to add tools. Quality over quantity. A calculator that gives a genuinely useful, specific output is worth more than three that just spit out a generic range.
The AdSense Application
Applied yesterday. 9 tools, 15 blog posts, all content 900+ words, privacy policy and disclaimer pages in place.
Will update this post when I hear back.
If you're thinking about building a niche tool site and assuming you need to be a developer — you don't. Jekyll on GitHub Pages is genuinely usable without a terminal if you're willing to learn the file structure.
Happy to answer questions about the setup.
👉 https://petpawcalc.com
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