Description
Summary Equine Steward is a website selling customizable legal contracts for horse owners (leases, sale agreements). The front end is fully built — homepage, product pages, and interactive contract-questionnaire tools are live and functional. What's missing is the backend: real payments, real document delivery, and (in a later phase) user accounts. This is a Two-Phase Project. I want a developer who can start with Phase 1 now and continue into Phase 2 later, so continuity matters — please speak to your availability for both phases in your proposal, even though we're scoping and pricing Phase 1 first. I am **not technical**, so I need someone who can own this end-to-end and explain decisions in plain language, not just execute tickets. What's Already Done - Complete website: homepage, multiple product pages, three interactive contract-building tools, blog/resources section — all built as static HTML/CSS/JavaScript - All visual design, branding, and copy is finalized - The interactive questionnaires (conditional logic, live document preview) are fully functional client-side — this does not need to be rebuilt - A "Purchase & Download" button exists on each contract tool but is currently a placeholder — it doesn't charge anyone or gate the actual document - A contact form exists on the site but doesn't send or store submissions anywhere yet — it's a visual mockup --- PHASE 1 (Scope This Now) 1. Stripe Integration - Real checkout for each contract product (each is priced individually, single one-time purchase per contract) - Handle payment confirmation before releasing any document content 2. PDF Generation + Paywall Gating - Generate a clean, finished PDF of the completed contract from the questionnaire's answers - Critical requirement: the complete document must only be generated/served **after** Stripe confirms payment. Right now all the document logic runs client-side, which means a determined visitor could technically view the full document text before paying — this needs to be fixed with a real backend, not just front-end tricks (disabling copy/right-click, etc., which is not real protection) - Document should be deliverable via download link and/or email after purchase (whichever you recommend as more reliable) 3. Contact Form Backend - The existing contact form (name, email, message) needs to actually deliver submissions — to my email inbox at minimum, or to a simple CRM/inbox tool if you think that's a better long-term fit - Please recommend the simplest reliable option (e.g., a transactional email service) rather than the most complex **Note:** Items #2 and #3 both likely depend on the same piece of infrastructure — a transactional email service (e.g., SendGrid, Postmark, or similar) for delivering PDFs and forwarding form submissions. Please account for that shared setup in your Phase 1 estimate rather than treating them as fully separate systems. --- PHASE 2 (Scope Later, Described Here for Context) - User accounts (signup/login) - Saved drafts — a visitor should be able to start a questionnaire, leave, and come back later to finish where they left off. This is already promised on the site's FAQ page, so it's a real commitment, not a stretch goal. - Subscription payments — in addition to the one-time purchases from Phase 1, a recurring/subscription payment option (exact structure still being defined on my end) I don't need a detailed Phase 2 proposal yet, but I'd like your high-level read on how Phase 1 architecture choices might affect Phase 2, so we don't build something in Phase 1 that has to be torn out later. --- ## Deliverables (Phase 1) - Live, working checkout on all contract products - PDF documents generated and delivered only after confirmed payment - Working contact form that reliably delivers submissions - Brief written documentation of what you built, including any accounts/services created (Stripe, email service, hosting) and how to access them - A short written note on Phase 2 considerations, per above ## In Your Proposal, Please Include - Relevant experience with Stripe integration and PDF generation for a small business — examples/links welcome - Your recommended approach for the "paywall gating" requirement in #2 above - Your recommended transactional email service and why - Whether you're available and interested in continuing to Phase 2 after this phase wraps - Estimated timeline and cost for Phase 1 specifically (flat rate preferred over hourly, if possible) - Any questions about scope before we start A Note on Fit I'm not a developer, so I'm relying on you to flag anything in this brief that doesn't make sense technically, and to explain trade-offs in plain language as we go. Clear communication matters as much as technical skill for this project — especially since this is a multi-phase relationship, not a one-off task. A Note On Time This project is time sensitive. I would like to have it completed as quickly as possible.