From Wix to Squarespace: The Bumpy Journey to Building Perfect Match Resumes

Hello everyone,

I'm Shaun, the guy behind Perfect Match Resumes, and I thought it was time to share the not-so-smooth path that brought this site to life. If you've ever wondered what it's like to dive headfirst into building a project from scratch (without any formal background in web development), here’s a little behind-the-scenes look.

Starting with the Wrong Host and Name

The journey began with another web host and a completely different name. Yes, brace yourselves: my first attempt at a site was called salmon-bumblebee-treg. That's the actual name I shared with a couple of my friends, who obviously had a field day poking fun at it. Imagine sharing a service you're passionate about, only to hear jokes about bees and fish. As funny as that was (and yes, it still lives in my Squarespace URL, even after buying a domain), I knew I needed to rethink the branding and setup.

I was rolling with Wix at first, but once I started trying to implement AI, the pain kicked in. I initially tried using Zapier with some Zaps and prompts to streamline things, but it just wasn’t working. The AI was way more complex than I anticipated. Wix wasn’t cutting it, so I had to hit reset.

Switching to Squarespace: New Site, Same Headaches

After realizing Wix wasn’t going to support my AI needs, I decided to dust off my old Squarespace skills and start over. I liked Squarespace’s interface and found that it seamlessly integrated the chatbot I wanted to use. This is where the fun started—clicking a bunch of buttons, paying for some services (Squarespace, Zapier, and a domain), and hoping everything would work out.

Now that I had a proper domain, I was optimistic. But those darned salmon-bumblebee-treg vibes still haunted me in the URL. I still haven’t quite figured out how to shake that one, but hey, it gives me something to laugh about!

Bot Programming: The 150 Copy-Paste Trials

Next came the real challenge: bot programming. Trial and error became my best friend as I found myself copy-pasting around 150 times to get the right outcome. Every little thing required so much back-and-forth: I’d have to copy and paste my own resume, then find a job description and do the same. And if something abnormal happened, I had to reset the bot and start over. That process got old real fast.

Midway through, I got so bored of the repetition that I used AI to generate a few fake resumes and job descriptions just to break the monotony. It definitely helped lighten the load!

I lost some serious sleep the first night trying to get it right, but after waking up at 6 AM (thanks to my dog), I returned with fresh determination. No more sleep that day, but the bot was finally honed in.

Building the Site... But Who’s Actually Visiting?

Once I had everything set up, the next question hit me: who even knows this site exists? I sent the link to seven friends—some of whom poked more fun at the salmon-bumblebee-treg legacy—but I could tell from Google Analytics that only a couple of them even checked it out. Frustration set in when no one tried the bot feature I had worked so hard on.

That’s when the brainstorming sessions started with friends. Many of them began throwing around ideas about monetization. "You should charge for it!" or "Why not offer premium services?" were suggestions that kept coming up. But honestly, my heart wasn’t in monetizing. I didn’t create this to get rich—I genuinely want to provide a free service for people who need it. Veterans, job seekers, anyone who’s struggling financially—I wanted to make this accessible to them without a price tag.

To Monetize or Not to Monetize

Even with those conversations swirling around, I knew I wanted to stick with providing this service for free as long as possible. Still, I needed natural leads, so off I went to LinkedIn. I figured I’d make an account for Perfect Match Resumes (find it here: linkedin.com/company/perfect-match-resumes). Then came the big temptation: sniping people in the comments of job postings.

I considered dropping a line like, "Hey, free resume bot here—try it, no strings attached!" but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’m not one for spamming others. So, I went back to the drawing board and considered how to grow the site and help more people without monetizing.

My Takeaway: The Path is Still Unfolding

So far, it's been a bumpy ride—filled with self-inflicted torture, trial and error, and a lot of button-clicking. But you know what? It’s been worth it, and I’m far from done. Whether it’s figuring out more ways to get the site out there or helping just one more person land their dream job, I’m excited to see where this journey takes me next.

Thanks for following along as I continue to document this wild ride. More updates to come!

Best,
Shaun

Wait… Now I’m Writing to Myself?

Wait… now I’m realizing I’m writing this almost like a diary entry. Who’s even going to read this? And how did you get here? Was it a random scroll that landed you on this page? Hopefully, the story is relatable enough that you stay and maybe even try the bot!

More importantly, how do I get more people to read this during their scrolling session? That’s my next hurdle to tackle...