The ways to start

The first thing Spanli asks is "How would you like to start?" There are three answers, and none of them is wrong - they all end up in the same place, with a finished first draft you can change.

Pick whichever one means the least typing for you.

Describe it yourself

The plain route, and the right one for most people.

You give the project a name and a short description of what it is. Two or three sentences of the kind you would say to a customer is a complete instruction:

"We're a two-van cleaning company. Offices and end-of-tenancy, north side of town."

You can attach up to four pictures at the same time - your logo, the front of the shop, a photo of the work - with a note about each so they land in the right place.

Best for: anyone whose business is not already written down somewhere.

Import from social media

The closest thing here to magic, and by some distance the fastest. One door for three networks:

• LinkedIn - paste the address of your profile or your company page. If you cannot find the link, search by name instead.
• Instagram - type the name on your profile and pick your account from the results. A pasted address or an @handle works too.
• Facebook - type the name of your page and pick it from the results, or paste the page's address.

Either way Spanli shows you what it found - your name, your headline or bio, your picture - and asks "Is this you?" Say yes, and a site is built from what you have already written and posted: your words, your pictures, your recent posts, and the phone number, address and website on the profile where it has them.

Already started a project another way? The Details step has the same import, under Social: it adds the profile's link, fills in the contact facts you have not typed yet, and gives the build your pictures.

Best for: consultants, coaches, advisers, freelancers - anyone whose reputation already lives on LinkedIn - and the salon, studio, café, shop or trade whose whole web presence is an Instagram grid or a Facebook page.

From your website

For the site you already have and are quietly embarrassed by.

Paste its address, confirm that it is yours (or that you have the right to use what is on it), and Spanli reads what it says - services, hours, about, contact - and gives you a current design carrying your own words. Your words stay; the look changes.

Best for: the 2012 site nobody has touched since, and for the person doing a favour for a family business.

And if you don't want to choose anything

Once you are in, every question has a quiet "Let the AI decide" beside it, and on the first question there is "I feel lucky" - which answers everything still untouched, picks the look, and takes you straight to the end.

Nothing is locked in. You land on a finished site with every decision visible and changeable. It is a real option, not a gimmick, and it is the honest answer for anyone who freezes at choices.

Which should I pick?

If you have a LinkedIn profile that describes what you do, or an Instagram or Facebook page where your business already lives, use it - it is the least work for the best first draft.

If you have an old site with your real words on it, use that.

Otherwise describe it yourself. It takes two minutes and everything after that is the same either way.

Next: Your first site, step by step.