Transparent build method
How AI Helped Build This Website
This website was built through human direction, AI-assisted implementation and repeated review. The collaboration matters, but the roles were not interchangeable.
Human Responsibility
Jacob sets the direction, reviews the result and decides what becomes public.
The workflow
From Idea to Reviewed Release
The process is designed to make change visible and reversible. AI output does not move directly from a conversation to the live website.
- Jacob defines the outcome.
He provides the purpose, preferences, constraints and final approval boundary.
- AI prepares a bounded change.
It can draft copy, write code, compare options and identify likely risks.
- The change is checked.
Automated validation, source review, accessibility checks and responsive testing are used in proportion to the change.
- Jacob reviews and corrects it.
He makes the final design and wording decisions, including when his preference differs from AI advice.
- The release is preserved.
The approved version is deployed, checked on the live domain and linked to earlier website snapshots.
Clear contribution
What Each Side Contributed
Separating contribution prevents the polished result from hiding who made the decisions and how the work was checked.
Jacob
Direction, Context and Final Decisions
- Defined the mission and the desired learning experience
- Chose the visual direction and reviewed wording
- Approved releases and custom-domain changes
- Tested key links on desktop and iPhone
- Decided to preserve the rough beginning
AI assistance
Options, Implementation and Checking
- Proposed page structures and alternative wording
- Produced reviewable HTML, CSS and JavaScript
- Ran repeatable checks and surfaced defects
- Prepared version evidence and release summaries
- Helped challenge assumptions without owning the result
Selected decisions
The Questions That Changed the Site
These are concise public summaries, not raw private conversations.
01 · Ownership
Move from a Visual Editor to Reviewable Code
The site moved from Carrd to coded source so changes could be inspected, tested, preserved and reversed.
02 · Evidence
Keep the Old Versions Visible
Earlier versions were retained so progress could be compared without rewriting the beginning.
03 · Learning
Build Something Visitors Can Practise
The Thinking Check turns the mission into a small interaction instead of leaving it as a slogan.
04 · Accuracy
Time-Bound Facts That Can Change
Jacob's age is recorded as part of the project's 2026 starting context instead of being presented as an always-current fact. Small wording choices like this help public information stay accurate over time.
05 · Real-device testing
Mobile Performance Is Part of the Design
A real iPhone recording revealed that fixed visual effects could leave the page temporarily blank during fast scrolling. The small-screen design was simplified so content stability takes priority over background decoration.
Public evidence
What Visitors Can Inspect
Private working records are not posted raw. Public-safe milestones and immutable website versions provide a more useful evidence trail.
Website v0.1
The Carrd Beginning
The first exported page, preserved with its original rough edges.
Open v0.1Website v0.2
The First Coded Release
The multi-page website captured before the Human Signal redesign.
Open v0.2Website v0.3
The Human Signal Redesign
The six-page release that introduced the current visual system and Founder page.
Open v0.3Evidence boundary
What This Does Not Prove
Exact time saved, exact monetary cost, improved independent capability, visitor outcomes and wider educational impact remain unknown or unverified. A working website is evidence of completed work, not proof of every hoped-for benefit.