For Founders
Complete Deployment Guide
Plain English — no coding experience required. Read this once and you'll have Path To Work live on the internet in under 30 minutes.
What Files You Have
You currently have 5 HTML files and 3 additional documents. Here is exactly what each one is for:
🏠
pathtowork-landing.html
Your homepage. This is what visitors see first — the marketing page with waitlist signup, features, FAQ, and pricing. Start here.
⚡
pathtowork-app.html
The actual career assessment tool. Users take their 15-question quiz, get results, see their roadmap, and build their resume here. Works in English and Spanish.
💼
pathtowork-sales-kit.html
YOUR sales tool — not for users. Contains your 7 buyer segments, cold email scripts, 9 megachurch contacts, and downsizing company strategy. Keep this private or share only with your team.
🔒
pathtowork-privacy.html
Your privacy policy. Required before collecting any emails. Already linked in your landing page footer.
📋
pathtowork-pilot-agreement.docx
Word document — your 90-day pilot contract template. Fill in the partner org name and send. No lawyers needed yet.
📊
pathtowork-pitch-deck.pptx
8-slide PowerPoint pitch deck for B2B sales meetings — dark theme, amber accents, full narrative.
✅ The 4 files you put on the internet: landing page, app, privacy policy, and optionally the sales kit (but only if you want it public). The DOCX and PPTX stay on your computer for sending to prospects.
Step 1 — Set Up EmailJS + Firebase (Collect Emails) Do This First
Right now the waitlist form says YOUR_FORM_ID — that's a placeholder. You need to replace it with your real EmailJS + Firebase ID so emails actually come to you. This takes 5 minutes.
1
Go to emailjs.com and create a free account
Use your email (pathtoworkadmin@gmail.com). The free plan handles 50 submissions/month — plenty for launch.
2
Click "New Form" and name it "Path To Work Waitlist"
EmailJS + Firebase will give you a form ID that looks like: xabcdefg
3
Open pathtowork-landing.html in a text editor (or Notepad)
Search for the text YOUR_FORM_ID — you'll find it in the waitlist form's action URL.
4
Replace YOUR_FORM_ID with your actual EmailJS + Firebase ID
Change https://emailjs.com/f/YOUR_FORM_ID to something like https://emailjs.com/f/xabcdefg
5
Save the file
That's it. Every waitlist signup will now arrive in your Gmail inbox instantly.
Step 2 — Put Path To Work on the Internet (Netlify) Free
Netlify is the easiest way to host HTML files for free. You literally drag and drop a folder. No coding. No servers.
1
Create a folder on your desktop called "pathtowork-site"
Put these 4 files in it: pathtowork-landing.html, pathtowork-app.html, pathtowork-privacy.html, and rename pathtowork-landing.html to index.html (this makes it your homepage).
2
Rename pathtowork-landing.html → index.html
Right-click the file → Rename. Type index.html. This tells Netlify it's the homepage. The other files keep their names.
3
Go to app.netlify.com and sign up for free
Use your Gmail. It takes 30 seconds.
4
Click "Add new site" → "Deploy manually"
You'll see a big drop zone that says "Drag and drop your site folder here."
5
Drag your entire "pathtowork-site" folder into that drop zone
Netlify will upload all files and give you a URL like https://random-name-12345.netlify.app in about 10 seconds.
6
Click that URL — your site is live
You can share this URL with anyone right now, even before connecting your domain. It's already live on the internet.
✅ Pro tip: In Netlify's Site Settings → Site name, you can change your URL to something like pathtowork.netlify.app which looks cleaner while you wait for your domain to connect.
Step 3 — Connect Your Domain (pathtowork.org)
If you already own pathtowork.org (or any domain), connecting it to Netlify makes your site appear at that address. If you don't own it yet, skip this step and use your free netlify.app URL for now.
1
In Netlify, go to your site → Domain Management → Add a domain
Type in your domain: pathtowork.org (or whatever you own)
2
Netlify will show you DNS records to add
These look like: CNAME www → your-site.netlify.app and an A record for the root domain.
3
Log into where you bought the domain (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains, etc.)
Find "DNS Settings" or "Manage DNS" — it's different on every registrar but always findable.
4
Add the DNS records exactly as Netlify shows them
Copy and paste. Don't change anything. Save.
5
Wait up to 48 hours for the domain to propagate
Usually takes 15–60 minutes. Netlify will automatically add a free HTTPS certificate (the padlock icon) too.
⚠️ Don't own a domain yet? Buy pathtowork.org (or pathtowork.com) at namecheap.com — .ai domains cost about $50–70/yr, .com is $10–15/yr. You don't need a domain to launch. Your Netlify URL works perfectly for a pilot.
Step 4 — Test Everything
Before sharing with anyone, run through this 5-minute checklist on your live site:
1
Open the homepage — does it look right?
Dark background, amber ⚡ logo, hero headline, waitlist form visible.
2
Submit the waitlist form with a test email
Check your Gmail — did you receive the EmailJS + Firebase notification? If not, re-check your form ID.
3
Click "Try the free demo" → run through the full assessment
Answer all 15 questions. Check that results appear, roadmap loads, tasks are checkable, and resume builder works. Click 🇪🇸 Español to test Spanish mode.
4
On the resume screen, click "Print / Save as PDF"
Your browser's print dialog should open. The resume should appear clean in black and white.
5
Click the Privacy Policy link in the footer
It should open the privacy policy page at pathtowork-privacy.html
Step 5 — Share It
Here is your complete link set. Bookmark these and share the right ones for each audience:
🌐
Homepage / Waitlist
yourdomain.com · Share with everyone — partners, donors, orgs, press
⚡
Free Assessment App
yourdomain.com/pathtowork-app.html · Share directly with participants and program users
📊
Pitch Deck
Email pathtowork-pitch-deck.pptx directly to prospects · Do NOT host this publicly
📋
Pilot Agreement
Email pathtowork-pilot-agreement.docx to interested orgs · Fill in their name first
Step 6 — How to Update Files Later
Every time you change something (like your EmailJS + Firebase ID or website copy), you need to re-upload the files to Netlify. It is exactly as simple as the first upload:
1
Make your changes in the HTML files on your computer
Open in Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit in plain-text mode (Mac) or any text editor.
2
Go to app.netlify.com → your site → Deploys
You'll see a drop zone again.
3
Drag your updated "pathtowork-site" folder into the drop zone
Netlify detects what changed, updates just those files, and your site is live within seconds. No downtime.
Step 7 — Track Visitors (Optional)
You'll want to know how many people visit, how long they stay, and whether they complete the assessment. Google Analytics is free and takes 10 minutes to set up.
1
Go to analytics.google.com and create a free account
Sign in with Gmail. Create a new "Property" — call it Path To Work.
2
Google will give you a Measurement ID — looks like G-4TX97EX16K
Copy it.
3
Open pathtowork-landing.html and pathtowork-app.html
Find the comment that says <!-- Analytics placeholder... near the top.
4
Remove the <!-- and --> comment markers and replace G-4TX97EX16K with your real ID
The analytics code will now be active and tracking visitors.
5
Re-upload both files to Netlify
Within 24–48 hours you'll start seeing visitor data in your Google Analytics dashboard.
Phase 2 — Backend (When You're Ready) Future
Right now Path To Work uses your browser's built-in storage (called localStorage) to save progress. That means progress only exists on the user's device — if they switch computers or clear their browser, it's gone. Phase 2 fixes this with a real backend. You don't need this to launch or run pilots.
When to think about Phase 2
When you hit any of these milestones, it's time:
- → You have 50+ regular users who care about keeping their progress
- → A partner org needs to see individual user dashboards
- → You want users to access their account from multiple devices
- → You're ready to charge for premium features
The recommended stack (no technical experience needed to understand)
🗄️
Supabase (supabase.com)
Free database and login system. Handles user accounts, progress storage, and data. Free tier is generous. No server management needed — they run everything.
📧
Resend (resend.com)
Send automated emails — weekly check-ins, streak reminders, and progress reports. Free tier: 3,000 emails/month.
💳
Stripe (stripe.com)
Accept payments when you add premium features. Widely trusted, no monthly fee — they take 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.
When you're ready for Phase 2, come back and tell me. I will write every line of the integration code for you — you won't have to write a single character.
Troubleshooting
The waitlist form submits but I don't get an email
Check your spam folder first. Then log into emailjs.com and verify that your form ID is correct and your email is confirmed.
The site looks broken or unstyled
Make sure all your HTML files are in the same folder when you upload to Netlify. The files reference each other by name, so they all need to be in the same place.
The assessment doesn't save progress when I refresh
This is expected — the assessment uses sessionStorage which clears on a full page refresh (Ctrl+R). The task checkboxes in the roadmap use localStorage which does persist. This is Phase 2 territory for full account-based saving.
The Spanish toggle doesn't appear on the welcome screen
It appears as a small button in the top-right corner of the welcome screen. Look for "🇪🇸 Español" or "🇺🇸 English". It's also in the nav bar on all other screens.
The Print / Save as PDF button doesn't show a clean resume
Make sure you're on the Resume screen (last screen) before printing. The print style hides all navigation and shows only the resume. In your browser's print dialog, choose "Save as PDF" as the destination.
Netlify won't accept my folder
Netlify requires you to drop a FOLDER, not individual files. Right-click your "pathtowork-site" folder → Compress to zip → then drag the zip file. Netlify accepts zipped folders too.
⚡ Quick Reference — Your Whole Stack
🌐
Hosting
Netlify (free) — netlify.com
📧
Email Collection
EmailJS + Firebase (free tier) — emailjs.com
📊
Analytics
Google Analytics (free) — analytics.google.com
🔒
HTTPS Certificate
Netlify handles this automatically — free
💰
Total Monthly Cost Right Now
$0.00 — until you scale and need Phase 2
Path To Work is built to launch for free and scale when you're ready. You don't need to spend a dollar until the business earns one.