The Story of Ambassador Robert Popp: How to Build 100 Websites in One Year

From the beginning, Solidpixels has been built in a way to give everyone who builds websites the opportunity to create almost impossible things in record time. However, when ambassador Robert Popp came to us last year saying he wanted to build 100 sites in a year, we were very skeptical, even based on our own experience. But he proved to us that it can be done. And he told us how he did it.

"When I announced my intention to Radek (Botos - a solidpixels co-founder) some time ago, he looked at me doubtfully and said something along the lines of 'Well, I'm curious about that, Robert'." Robert recalls. "Maybe I didn't realize the implications of the challenge myself at the beginning. But if I make a promise, I always try to keep it, and I knew I had a powerful tool in my hand to make it happen." he continues.

How it used to be

What was Robert's life like before solidpixels? "We used to have to solve everything using code and constantly update, but maintaining our own code for a large number of clients was hell. With solidpixels, those worries go away. The advanced design settings give us the ability to see changes in real time, updates happen automatically, and the tool has grown greatly even within the year we've been using it with great new features like saving entire pages, animations, Spotlight, etc." he says. "The environment is also intuitive, which allows us to train new colleagues quickly and efficiently. This way I don't have to spend time checking a web designer's CSS, HTML and JS skills. Our work with solidpixels results in clean code, which is ideal for websites and their SEO."

Training his colleagues was crucial for Robert, as he managed to build his 100 websites with the help of his small team. "It's safe to say that most of the websites were created by me personally. However, my colleague Marcela provided invaluable help. She was just learning to use solidpixels and was new to the web development environment, which turned out to be a great advantage, thanks to which she has the ability to explain problems to clients in a very understandable way. In addition to Marcela, Michal, whom I taught in the past at an elementary school programming class, has helped me immensely. He focused on the final fine-tuning of details that I didn't have time for. In the beginning there were three of us and today we have an internal team of six people. We try to provide a comprehensive service, so we have an external team of professionals around us who are dedicated to online advertising." he explains.

Intense home straight

What did Robert's typical work day actually look like during the challenge? "We spent the morning on support, because a large proportion of our clients are salons whose owners usually respond after their working hours, which is end after ours. In the afternoon we focused on creating and in the evening on catching up on anything we didn't get to during the day. Of course, as the end of the challenge approached, we had to work on the weekends too, and a lot of coffee, sweets and energy drinks were involved, but we got it all done in the end." He says.

"Ambassadors don't come to us with this kind of challenge every day. Robert's enthusiasm was a huge inspiration for us as well, after all, creating a new website every three days for a year in a constant frequency must seem a bit like science fiction even to those experienced in this field. That's why we wanted to get to know him better and thank him symbolically, so we decided to take Robert and a few colleagues from his team out for dinner." says Radek Botoš. "I was very pleased." Robert recalls the experience with the solidpixels founders. "Solidpixels was a great support for me all the time. Even though our requirements were sometimes challenging, they always accommodated us and the human approach of a solid team was only confirmed at the dinner, which was a great bonding experience and a nice end to the whole challenge." he adds.

The key to satisfied long-term clients? Maintenance

We know that the increase in the number of websites created means a lot of work in the future with updating and maintaining them. If an ambassador chooses to act as a technical support for their clients, it means a big time investment for them. "I think we are well prepared for that." Robert is convinced. "We have found our own system of handling requests from clients and we are constantly trying to make our job easier in this respect. I dare say that our service is excellent, especially in terms of support. As a result, very few people leave us. It's important to have a strong pro-client orientation and dedication to maintenance once the site is created." he explains.

Which project has proved more challenging than originally expected? "Well, it was definitely the fbaprepared.com website, which we took over directly from solidpixels." Robert replies. "We were trying to implement SEO for the UK, Germany and other European countries, which didn't quite work out. But I take it as a valuable experience where we have well explored our limits and defined the boundaries of what we do. While we now provide SEO for websites, we mainly take care of the website's customization, mobile optimization and other aspects that are our forte." he says. "We have a great in-house team, but even our day is only 24 hours long, so we sometimes deal with the overflow of demand by handing projects over to our experienced ambassadors." Radek Botoš explains. "Thanks to them, we have an extensive network of pros who are able to help and handle client needs that don't require major development intervention on our part." he adds.

On the other hand, one of Robert's favourite projects is the website of the glamping accommodation Bouda Budka. "This project is my heartthrob. It's located in the woods, where nature has its say and offers peace and total privacy. It was also a personal thing for me because I found refuge there after my job burnout last year. It was there that I understood the true value of my time and energy, because time is the one commodity that can never be returned. Since this phase of calming down and realization, I have started to focus more on myself and my future business, which solidpixels is now a part of. I am so grateful to have come across you and to be working with you today." he describes.

Another hundred in sight

Although the challenge was difficult for Robert, he has other personal goals he would like to achieve with solidpixels. "Sprinting is no longer important to me, as it was in our challenge this year. I've already been through that and I'm done. I plan my next steps with calmness and discretion, at the same time I have more colleagues available today than a few months ago. With Dan, who is our project manager, we have set KPIs for the next period. By the end of 2024, we want to have 200 websites completed and I believe we will achieve this. My personal goal is to one day manage 500 websites on solidpixels. With the exponential growth of our business, we could reach it by 2026. So keep your fingers crossed for us." he concludes.