Om said:
You’re cooked. I say forfeit and take the L before somebody gets hurt.
This, also pushy clients want things done by yesterday, red flag. Just say no, it ain’t worth it.
Why on earth did you take this on?
Astro might do the job. You can use any FE framework you like.
You can grab a theme: Themes | Astro
You don’t specify what functionality is needed, but if it’s a landing page + brochure site later, then Astro might be worth a look. You can use v0 to generate JSX or plain HTML using AI (it is trained on the ShadCN UI Library so it looks good).
Astro + a component library of their choice? Do they want access to edit and add their own content? If yes, then use a CMS, but tell them that ASAP is not possible.
Do they have a design already? Do you understand their business? If not, then it’s going to take multiple iterations with the client to come up with something, usually a draft design in Figma or general wireframing. This is not something you can do in like ASAP if they want a quality website. This is like the project management triangle: good, fast, or cheap; pick 2.
Be honest with them and give them the timeframe which you think is realistic. Then it’s in their hands to make a decision. Never let yourself get pressured into a contract; set clear timeframes and be honest. The reasonable clients will love you for that, and the toxic ones might not hire you in the first place.
Why are you using Mongo? Do you understand the situations where it should be used? Or just because some tutorial said you should?
Good, fast, and cheap…pick two.
Option one: They want good and fast; they can pay for it. If they want it in a day, they take out a mortgage.
Option two: They want fast and cheap; it’s gonna be shite. Grab a free template, let AI fill the content, done.
Respectfully, you are in over your head - run away. If you had full specs, requirements, user stories, product stakeholder buy-off, acceptance criteria, and deployment mechanisms covered, then and only then can you put together a reasonable estimate. Also, is there a backend involved, i.e., API, database, etc.? If so, that, in addition to security, is an entirely different ballgame. So you have a responsibility to not pick up this project given what seems to be a lack of requirements and a client wanting something “in a week.” There is no such thing as “can be done in a week.” Plus, this could also make your friendship awkward when the project fails. 23 years of experience talking here…best wishes…
If it’s mostly static pages and will be used for marketing, go with Webflow. That’s the only option given the timeframe.
Are they paying you? First and foremost, are they paying you?
I’d throw something quick on WordPress unless they have a real budget for what they’re asking.
At this point, it’s probably a good idea to use either WordPress or a webpage builder, and use a pre-existing template as a base for the website.
I would use Framer. It can cost annually $100-150, but works great.
A day??? WordPress or maybe even Squarespace, lmao.
Subcontract it out on Upwork and keep the difference. Manage expectations about the timeline. Only take on projects with tight timelines if you are reasonably certain you can personally deliver.
This seems like it will end badly without your managing expectations upfront. Even if you were a good designer and experienced developer, the timeline feels like trouble.
The answer to “how can I deliver a quality product quickly without experience?” is probably “you can’t.”
Hire some cheap developer on Upwork, pay them twice their usual rate (which will be low), and ask them to screen share as they work. Watch them work and learn.
They need a website that is very well designed, but I don’t know the first thing about designing.
You have answered your questions. Pass this one.
Please forgive me for the light self-promotion here, but I have some things that can help that I use to make sites in a day as long as it’s static and informational. This is my workflow:
Grab this kit:
It’s a full website complete with the other pages and a working blog. Uses 11ty for the templating. There’s a video in the README explaining where everything and what they do.
Then grab some free templates from my template library:
This is the free public one. They’re HTML and CSS components. Just copy and paste them into the kit to make a site, and they will just work.
If you find some templates you need in the full-paid tier library, let me know which ones, and I’ll unlock them for you. Host the site with Netlify for free, and they do free form handling.
Put the site up on a demo link on Netlify and PM me that link to look over it for you, and I’ll tell you what to fix and what changes to make before you send it to them. And also PM me with any questions about building the site as well. I know it’s a stressful and scary situation you found yourself in, and you want to make the most of it. I have a very packed week, but I’ll make some time to help you deliver the project and make it look good. Might be a great opportunity for you. Happy to assist. No charge for anything.