Pixpa
Portfolio websites, galleries, ecommerce, proofing, and client delivery
The visible portfolio website builder loop is buildable, but a credible replacement needs more than the first screen. Pixpa 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
- CMS collaboration and client handoff
- managed hosting, forms, and analytics
- general-purpose visual editing
- large template and component libraries
Why people still pay
Pixpa: 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.
Use these project rules and optional skill references alongside the prompt. Review each skill before adding it to your agent; the AGENTS.md export includes the same guidance.
Project rule — domain: Store Gallery, ImageRevision, ClientGrant and Selection; private galleries are excluded from public navigation/builds and client selection IDs remain stable after reordering.
Project rule — scope and recovery: Start without commerce or large-file delivery. Password-like gallery codes need proper hashing/rate limits; hiding a link or disabling right-click is not security.
Project rule — acceptance: Revoke a client link after they select images and reorder the gallery; access stops but the owner's selection export still points to the correct revisions.
Project rule — delivery: document real setup commands and permissions; do not claim a build, accuracy level, performance result or security certification that has not been demonstrated.
Recommended skill: frontend-design — compose the proposed responsive site sections with deliberate typography, spacing and honest content. Follow the maintainer's installation instructions and match its requirements to the chosen runtime.
Recommended skill: seo-audit — review crawlability, metadata and evidence-based on-page findings without promising search rankings. Follow the maintainer's installation instructions and match its requirements to the chosen runtime.
Implementation plan
Phase 1
Pin the working slice and create its example input: Publish a visual portfolio with galleries and an optional authenticated client proofing page where selections can be exported. Confirm setup: Licensed assets, a user-owned static hosting target and sample desktop/mobile content; forms need a separately authenticated server endpoint.
Phase 2
Implement persistence and write-time invariants before decorating the UI: Store Gallery, ImageRevision, ClientGrant and Selection; private galleries are excluded from public navigation/builds and client selection IDs remain stable after reordering.
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.
Phase 4
Expose the app-specific limits and recovery path in context: Start without commerce or large-file delivery. Password-like gallery codes need proper hashing/rate limits; hiding a link or disabling right-click is not security.
Phase 5
Walk through this concrete acceptance case and preserve its exported evidence: Revoke a client link after they select images and reorder the gallery; access stops but the owner's selection export still points to the correct revisions. Finish the README and backup/restore instructions; report unfinished capabilities explicitly.
Build the following focused alternative to Pixpa. This is a deliberately limited personal or small-team substitute, not parity with the paid service. WORKING SLICE Publish a visual portfolio with galleries and an optional authenticated client proofing page where selections can be exported. 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 Gallery, ImageRevision, ClientGrant and Selection; private galleries are excluded from public navigation/builds and client selection IDs remain stable after reordering. 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 without commerce or large-file delivery. Password-like gallery codes need proper hashing/rate limits; hiding a link or disabling right-click is not security. ACCEPTANCE SCENARIO Revoke a client link after they select images and reorder the gallery; access stops but the owner's selection export still points to the correct revisions. 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 · generated from this app's build plan
prompt copied. want to know what dies next week?
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Pixpa pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| basic | $9 | $5.40 | 10 pages/galleries, 200 website gallery images, 3 store products, 3 GB original-file storage, 3 gallery linksThe $5.40 annual equivalent is the current first-term promotion (40% off monthly); the pricing page says standard yearly renewal is 20% off, or $7.20/month equivalent. |
| creator | $15 | $9 | Unlimited pages and website images, 2 contributors, 10 store products, 5 GB original-file storage, 10 gallery linksCurrent first-term yearly promotion; standard yearly renewal is $12/month equivalent. |
| professional | $20 | $12 | Unlimited pages/images/contributors, 100 store products, 25 GB original-file storage, 25 gallery linksCurrent first-term yearly promotion; standard yearly renewal is $16/month equivalent. |
| advanced | $25 | $15 | Unlimited pages/images/contributors/products/gallery links, 100 GB original-file storageCurrent first-term yearly promotion; standard yearly renewal is $20/month equivalent. |
free tierno free tier; 15-day trial with full plan features, no credit card
billingmonthly + annual; current first annual term -40%, then renews at -20%; 2-year term currently -55%, then renews at -40%
hidden costsVAT/local tax is added at checkout; the free domain is only for year one on qualifying plans and renews at Ionos rates; extra storage is sold separately; optional setup service is $199 promotional ($399 regular); payment processors still charge their own fees.
pricing sources checked 2026-08-14 · pricing source ↗
Questions about Pixpa
Can you build your own Pixpa with AI?
Partly. The visible portfolio website builder loop is buildable, but a credible replacement needs more than the first screen. Pixpa earns its keep through editor, CMS, hosting, polish, so expect a weekend or multi-day build and a narrower personal scope.
What does the Pixpa build prompt cover?
The prompt starts with this scope: Publish a visual portfolio with galleries and an optional authenticated client proofing page where selections can be exported. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: CMS collaboration and client handoff; managed hosting, forms, and analytics; general-purpose visual editing. 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 Pixpa 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 Pixpa 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 Pixpa?
CMS collaboration and client handoff; managed hosting, forms, and analytics; general-purpose visual editing; large template and component libraries. Pixpa: 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 Pixpa?
The prior-art section lists Webstudio, GrapesJS as starting points. Review their current scope, license and maintenance before adopting one.