Format

Portfolio sites, client galleries, workflow tools, and online store

KINDA · partial replacement
price variesestimated build time weekend to multi-dayreplaced by 0 people

The visible portfolio website builder loop is buildable, but a credible replacement needs more than the first screen. Format earns its keep through editor, CMS, hosting, polish, so expect a weekend or multi-day build and a narrower personal scope.

Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability

What you give up

  • large template and component libraries
  • CMS collaboration and client handoff
  • managed hosting, forms, and analytics
  • general-purpose visual editing

Why people still pay

Format: A single site is easy to code. People pay for safe ongoing edits, templates, publishing, domains, collaboration, and no-maintenance hosting.

Your build guide

The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.

Before you start

  • Runtime and tools: TypeScript, React, a Node build process and versioned JSON content with static HTML/CSS output.
  • Before starting: Licensed assets, a user-owned static hosting target and sample desktop/mobile content; forms need a separately authenticated server endpoint.
01
TypeScript, React, a Node build process and versioned JSON content with static HTML/CSS output
02
Data design: Store Collection, Photograph, Derivative, Page and ProofSelection; public derivatives are separate from originals and proofing selections refer to stable asset IDs.
03
Setup: Licensed assets, a user-owned static hosting target and sample desktop/mobile content; forms need a separately authenticated server endpoint
engineering roadmap

Implementation plan

1

Phase 1

Pin the working slice and create its example input: Publish a photographer's portfolio from selected collections with responsive images, captions and a contact page, plus an optional private proofing gallery. Confirm setup: Licensed assets, a user-owned static hosting target and sample desktop/mobile content; forms need a separately authenticated server endpoint.

2

Phase 2

Implement persistence and write-time invariants before decorating the UI: Store Collection, Photograph, Derivative, Page and ProofSelection; public derivatives are separate from originals and proofing selections refer to stable asset IDs.

3

Phase 3

Connect the working view to real saved state. Keep drafts separate from the published manifest. Escape content, allowlist components and URLs, and publish a complete revision atomically with rollback to the preceding revision.

4

Phase 4

Expose the app-specific limits and recovery path in context: Start with public portfolio and explicit private-gallery authentication. Watermarks and disabled right-click are not access control; print commerce and color-managed fulfillment are deferred.

5

Phase 5

Walk through this concrete acceptance case and preserve its exported evidence: Replace a portfolio image while a client has selected it for proofing; keep the selected revision and avoid exposing the private original in public HTML. Finish the README and backup/restore instructions; report unfinished capabilities explicitly.

the pro prompt
download AGENTS.md
Build the following focused alternative to Format. This is a deliberately limited personal or small-team substitute, not parity with the paid service.

WORKING SLICE
Publish a photographer's portfolio from selected collections with responsive images, captions and a contact page, plus an optional private proofing gallery.

SETUP AND ARCHITECTURE
Use TypeScript, React, a Node build process and versioned JSON content with static HTML/CSS output. Prerequisites: Licensed assets, a user-owned static hosting target and sample desktop/mobile content; forms need a separately authenticated server endpoint. Before integrating anything, record actual versions and permissions, plus model files or provider limits only where used, in the README; make unavailable dependencies visible rather than simulating success.

DOMAIN MODEL AND INVARIANTS
Store Collection, Photograph, Derivative, Page and ProofSelection; public derivatives are separate from originals and proofing selections refer to stable asset IDs.

IMPLEMENTATION CONTRACT
Keep drafts separate from the published manifest. Escape content, allowlist components and URLs, and publish a complete revision atomically with rollback to the preceding revision. Provide an input/setup view, the main work view, and a review/export view appropriate to this workflow. Preserve the last saved state if a job or save fails. Include empty, loading, permission-denied, partial and retryable-error states. Log identifiers and error categories without secret values or unnecessary private content.

APP-SPECIFIC BOUNDARY AND RECOVERY
Start with public portfolio and explicit private-gallery authentication. Watermarks and disabled right-click are not access control; print commerce and color-managed fulfillment are deferred.

ACCEPTANCE SCENARIO
Replace a portfolio image while a client has selected it for proofing; keep the selected revision and avoid exposing the private original in public HTML. Also reopen the app after an interrupted operation, confirm the saved record/export remains inspectable, and document the recovery action. These are implementation acceptance requirements, not a claim that this guide has been tested.

DELIVERY
Deliver a runnable repository with migrations or project-format versioning, a non-sensitive example, environment/permission setup, the exact manual acceptance steps, and a backup/export-and-restore walkthrough. Implement the working slice before optional integrations; list any deferred paid-product capabilities honestly. Do not add capabilities outside the working slice just to resemble the original product.

PROJECT RULES FOR AGENTS.md
Keep the domain invariants above executable at the write boundary. Propose scope changes before adding providers or permissions. Never fabricate source evidence, publish results, identity matches or successful delivery. Preserve user originals and require an explicit confirmation for destructive changes or external publication.

$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy or download AGENTS.md

prior art · use these instead of building, if you'd ratherWebstudioOpen-source visual website builder.↗GrapesJSOpen-source web-builder framework.↗
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Format pricing

planmonthlyannual (per mo)what you get
basic$14$1010 website pages; 70 high-resolution images; 10 client galleries; 2 GB file transfersAnnual billing shown at $10/month equivalent.
pro$24$12Unlimited pages; 1,500 high-resolution images; 100 GB image storage; 15 hosted-video minutes; 15 store products; 50 client galleries; 5 GB transfersLive page shows a first-year annual promotion at $12/month through August 31, 2026; a struck-through $17/month annualized reference price also appears.
pro plus$36$15Unlimited pages/images; 1 TB image storage; 120 hosted-video minutes; 1,000 store products; 250 client galleries; 10 GB transfersLive page shows a first-year annual promotion at $15/month through August 31, 2026; a struck-through $26/month annualized reference price also appears.

free tierno free tier; 14-day trial with no credit card

billingmonthly + annual; annual plans are paid upfront and promotional first-year prices renew at the then-current full-year price

hidden costsA professional branded email inbox costs $100/year on every plan; the free custom domain is only for the first year, and discounted annual pricing may be first-year-only.

pricing sources checked 2026-08-14 · pricing source ↗

Questions about Format

Can you build your own Format with AI?

Partly. The visible portfolio website builder loop is buildable, but a credible replacement needs more than the first screen. Format earns its keep through editor, CMS, hosting, polish, so expect a weekend or multi-day build and a narrower personal scope.

What does the Format build prompt cover?

The prompt starts with this scope: Publish a photographer's portfolio from selected collections with responsive images, captions and a contact page, plus an optional private proofing gallery. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: large template and component libraries; CMS collaboration and client handoff; managed hosting, forms, and analytics. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.

How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?

Start with the Format prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.

How long will this Format project take?

The catalogue estimate is weekend to multi-day for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.

What would I give up by replacing Format?

large template and component libraries; CMS collaboration and client handoff; managed hosting, forms, and analytics; general-purpose visual editing. Format: A single site is easy to code. People pay for safe ongoing edits, templates, publishing, domains, collaboration, and no-maintenance hosting.

What can I use instead of building Format?

The prior-art section lists Webstudio, GrapesJS as starting points. Review their current scope, license and maintenance before adopting one.

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