Hello! Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your business?

Hey, I'm Surjith. Founder of Web3Forms, a simple contact form API tool for static websites, without any server or backend code.

I'm basically a 30/yo front-end web developer who can also design :) I started my career as a web designer & developer.

I started freelancing in 2015 along with selling website templates for Envato Market.

During this period I made several websites such as web3canvas.com, web3templates.com, web3inspiration.com and Web3Forms as well.

How did you start this business? Take us through the process.

As I was making website templates and also making static websites, there is one thing we could not do with HTML & CSS: its the contact forms.

To send a real email, we needed to use PHP with Mail() function enabled. Now we had to keep a PHP server running just for that form. And the mail() function behaved differently across server and was prone to spam plus there were many deliverability issues.

Then there was a boom in jamstack technologies where we can host static websites for free. But if we needed a contact form, it was not possible. I looked for an alternative solution for my needs. I did not find anything and decided to build my own. That's how Web3Forms is born. 

Web3Forms was born to solve this issue where people can host websites as static but got a working contact form without any backend or PHP server.

I quickly created a proof of concept and tested it over Christmas holidays. I did not have any plans to monetize it that time since I'm also a user and I need such solution for my templates and client websites as well.

What are some marketing strategies used to get your first initial and subsequent customers?

I launched it on Twitter and shared it on a few Reddit and telegram groups where I got some beta testers.

From there it grew slowly. I mean really slowly. I didn't actively promote it apart from sharing stats on Twitter, so it got the momentum really slow.

I did not have any problem because it started as a side project and it served a purpose. So I was happy. The paid customers mainly come from Google. It's the people upgrading for Pro features or they directly choose a plan before subscribing.

Even though I promoted it on Twitter, there were not many conversions happening there. Mostly because the audience did not match.

I'm happy that I made some effort on SEO starting from the early days. I created content so that Google can pickup on many related keywords. It takes some time, but it will work for sure. As I’ve mentioned, Google is currently the #1 acquisition channel for Web3Forms.

How does your business make money?

We have 3 types of plans starting at $8/mo:

We plan to offer more custom plans for startups and users with custom needs.

I'm using Email for communication & Mailcoach for sending newsletters. I also have a small Telegram group with our users to chat.

I use Umami.js for the Analytics. Hosted on Vercel.

Other than that I don't use many tools.

Take us through a typical day in your life running the business as a solo founder

This business is still a side project for me so I don't actively work on it.

But I do answer support questions daily and talk with customers. I add more features when I get some time.

If somebody reported an issue or bug, I act quickly and fix them fast.

Before you go, what advice would you give to another who wants to start a business like yours?

Our product is in a competitive market and to find your space, we need to give it some time.

My product is around 4 years old now, but I work on it without losing hope. So it might be a slow growth, but if you belive in your product and its making you happy, just continue doing it.

Overnight success is a myth. Playing the long term game is the way to go.

You will get the reward sooner or later.

Where can we go to lean more about you and your business?

I'm active on Twitter or X - twitter.com/surjithctly , you can DM me if you have any questions or suggestions.