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Jason Martin
Jason Martin

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I Built a Client Portal That Does Less on Purpose

Every client tool I tried wanted to run my entire business. So I built one that doesn't.


I'm a freelancer. I design things, I build things, and then I have to figure out how to actually get that work to my client.

For years my workflow looked like this: finish the work, zip it up, attach it to an email, type "Hey, here are the files — let me know what you think," and hit send. Sometimes I'd use a Google Drive link. Sometimes Dropbox. Once I even used WeTransfer like it was 2014.

None of it ever felt professional. I'd spend hours making the work look great, then deliver it through a channel that made me look like I was winging it.

So I looked into "real" tools. Dubsado. HoneyBook. Basecamp. Plutio. They all promised to solve this problem. And they did — along with about forty other problems I didn't have.

The Bloat Problem

Every client portal I evaluated came with invoicing, contracts, a CRM, scheduling, time tracking, team chat, and a dozen integrations I'd never configure. The onboarding tutorials were 30 minutes long. The pricing started at $20/month and climbed from there.

I already had an invoicing tool I liked. I didn't need a CRM for my twelve clients. I definitely didn't need "team collaboration" features as a solo freelancer.

All I wanted was a clean page where my client could see their project, download files, and read my updates. That's it. One simple thing.

I couldn't find it, so I built it.

What Delivr Actually Does

Delivr does three things:

You share files. Upload a deliverable, your client downloads it. One click. No digging through folders, no expired links, no "which version is the latest?" confusion.

You post updates. Write a quick note — "Round 1 designs are ready" or "Waiting on your feedback for the logo." Your client sees it immediately. They can reply right there.

You look professional. Your portal uses your name, your colors, your brand. When a client visits, they see your studio — not some generic tool's interface.

That's the whole product.

What Delivr Doesn't Do

This is the part I'm most proud of.

Delivr doesn't do invoicing. It doesn't do contracts. It doesn't do time tracking, scheduling, CRM, team chat, or project templates. It doesn't have a Gantt chart. It doesn't have Kanban boards. It doesn't have AI-powered anything.

And that's the point.

You already have tools for those things. Maybe you use FreshBooks for invoicing and Google Calendar for scheduling. Maybe you use Notion for your own project management. Whatever your setup is, it works. You don't need another tool trying to replace all of them.

Delivr handles the one thing those tools can't: giving your client a clean, branded place to see their work.

How It Works

The setup takes about five minutes.

You sign up, name your studio, and your portal is live. You create a project, enter your client's email, and they get a link. You upload files and post updates. Your client sees everything in one place.

No onboarding tutorial. No configuration wizard. No "getting started" checklist with 15 steps.

Your client doesn't need to learn anything either. They click a link, they see their project, they download their files. If they want to leave a reply, there's a text box. That's it.

The Technical Side

For anyone curious about the stack: Delivr is built with Next.js 14, Prisma, and PostgreSQL. Authentication runs through NextAuth with role-based access — freelancers see the dashboard, clients see the portal. Email notifications go through Resend.

I'm a solo developer running this out of my apartment. There's no team, no investors, no runway. Just a product that solves a problem I had.

Who This Is For

Delivr is for the freelancer who has 3-15 clients and wants to look more professional without adding complexity to their workflow.

You're a designer sending brand assets. A developer delivering a website. A photographer sharing edited galleries. A consultant sending reports. A videographer delivering cuts for review.

You don't need a business management suite. You need a clean way to share work and keep clients in the loop.

Try It

Delivr is live at delivr.studio. Free to start, set up in five minutes, cancel anytime.

If you're a freelancer and you've ever felt weird about emailing a zip file to a client, this is for you.


I'm building Delivr in public. If you have feedback, there's a feedback button in the app — I read everything. You can also find me on Twitter/X.

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