If you run a small business in Texas, your website is often the first thing a customer sees before they ever call, visit or buy. A lot of owners know they need one and keep putting it off, because a custom site from an agency can cost more than a month of rent, and the do-it-yourself builders leave you guessing.
Creator Terminal is changing that. As part of our mission to make digital skills free and local, we are offering a Website Grant: free website design for small business owners anywhere in Texas, and a free website for local nonprofits, with an optional dashboard to run the organization behind it. First responders, military members, nurses, doctors, hospital workers, teachers and janitors who live in Texas, along with the support staff who work beside them, get priority, no matter which country they served in.
What the Website Grant covers for Texas small businesses
The grant is simple. We design your website for free, built around your business, not a generic template with your logo dropped in.
- A custom website design that fits what you sell and who you sell to
- Pages that matter to customers: who you are, what you offer, how to reach you, and a clear way to contact or book
- A layout that works on phones, since most local customers will find you on one
- Plain-language guidance on getting found on Google, from page titles to your business profile
You own your domain name
There is one thing we do not cover, on purpose: your domain name (the address, like yourbusiness.com). You register it and you pay for it, so it is in your name and stays yours. That way your web address never belongs to anyone but you, and you are never locked in.
We coach you, so you are never stuck
A website is not a one-time thing. Prices change, services change, and new photos come in. So alongside the design, we coach you on how to make and run a website that is specific to your business: how to update it, what to write, and how to keep it working for you after launch.
If you want to go further, our free workshops cover the skills that make a website pay off:
- Free AI help for your small business, using tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini for marketing, customer replies and admin
- Business skills for creative work: pricing, clients, contracts and marketing
- Upcoming free workshops in person in Katy and live online
For local nonprofits: a free website, and a dashboard if you want one
Nonprofits do important work with very little time and money left over for technology. If you are a local nonprofit, we will build your website for free.
We also built something for ourselves that we think other nonprofits will want: a nonprofit dashboard. It is the back office we use every day to run Creator Terminal, with donors, donations and receipts, people and partner organizations, grants, events and sign-ups, tasks and email in one place.
If your nonprofit wants that same backend, we can set you up with a pre-made dashboard template after a donation of $60 to Creator Terminal. Your website is free either way. The dashboard is an option for organizations that are ready to stop running everything out of spreadsheets and inboxes.
Who can apply
Those who serve get priority. If you live in Texas and you serve or have served in one of these roles, your request moves to the front of the line:
- First responders: law enforcement, firefighters, EMS and 911 dispatchers
- Military: service members and veterans
- Health care: nurses, doctors and hospital workers
- Education: teachers
- Custodial staff: janitors
This includes the support staff in each of these fields, such as aides, assistants, technicians, clerks and office staff, not just the people on the front line. It does not matter which country you served in. Service in any country counts, as long as you live in Texas now. Creator Terminal was founded by a Marine Corps veteran who also serves in Texas law enforcement, and we want to give back to the people who serve their communities.
- Small businesses: owners of a small business located in Texas, whether you are just starting or have been open for years
- Nonprofits: local nonprofit organizations that need a website, a dashboard, or both
How to apply
Getting started takes a few minutes. Send us a message with:
- Your name and your business or organization name
- Your city in Texas
- What you sell or what your organization does
- Whether you already have a domain name or a website
- For nonprofits: whether you would like the dashboard as well
- If you are a first responder, in the military, a nurse, a doctor, a hospital worker, a teacher, a janitor, or support staff in one of these fields, say so, so your request gets priority
You can also email contact@creatorterminal.com or call (813) 815-0142.
Why Creator Terminal is doing this
Creator Terminal is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Katy, Texas. We teach free digital media and technology skills to people who have not had access to them, from video and design to coding and AI. A strong website is one of the most practical tools a small business or nonprofit can have, and every one we help build keeps working for its community long after we hand it over.
If this grant helps you, or you want more owners to get one, you can support the work with a donation. Every gift goes to keeping our programs free.
Ready to get your website?
Whether you run a food truck in Houston, a salon in Katy, a shop in Fort Bend County or a nonprofit anywhere nearby, we would love to hear from you. Tell us about your business and we will take it from there.
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