u/izzablen

I am currently trying to catch 5 Arctic Grayling at Selenge river monster and its proving more difficult than I thought.

I am at the Nomads area that people recommend. With 3/0# hook with beetle larve on bottom rods. No issue catching grayling but struggling to catch any at 3kg as required. 8ve managed to catch a couple but that took a lot of grayling catches to get there. Is there something I can do that is better for catching larger grayling? Larger hook? Bait? Top water?

Open to any suggestions.

Thanks!

Hey guys hope you are doing well.

So I wanted to post something here with the community that I thought some might appreciate and some may even find valuable for yourself.

Quick back story I am a web designer, copywriter and marketer. And have been in the space now for close to 10 years. I run my own web design business for small business owners and over the last year and a half I have began diving into base44.

I kept seeing the Youtube Ads over and over again until finally I decided to give it a go. Starting with a very simple "review" app. I was quite impressed with what I built but it was still early days for both base44 and myself and so I ended up breaking the app entirely 😂

But I didn't give up and started experimenting with it more. Eventually starting to tackle something far more complex. I won't go into it fully for IP reasons but essentially its a missed call text back software for small businesses. It has a lot more than that but that's its current main functionality. I taught myself backend functions, APIs via twillo etc.

And after around 6 months of building it is now officially out and has real business owners using it and getting value from it for their business. Which is an amazing feeling. It is still early days and has some really big features in development ,I am honestly super excited about. But want to refine them before doing proper promotion.

So in the meantime my main income and focus is web design. And so after building a complex app like that and the experience I gained. I decided to try my hand at creating my own internal tool for myself.

For those of you who are not web designers (most of you reading I assume) one of the biggest bottlenecks is actually finding clients and keeping track of them.

So I decided to create my own CRM and lead finder. And to be honest I have been blown away by it and has become one of the most valuable tools I have ever used in my business.

These are some of the things it does:

- Scrapes the internet to find real businesses; with websites, without websites and even ones with 'broken' websites and then I can add them into my CRM
- Priority scores lead
- Brings all leads into a central hub CRM with the ability to track lead progress i.e contacted, followed up, won etc
- Has a screenshot to lead function that allows me quickly import leads from Facebook, instagram etc taking all their details and adding it to my CRM
- Has a CSV uploader for quick bulk lead import
-Has a full analytics dashboard for tracking everything visually

It has backend functions connecting via API to powerful scraping tools Apify (for No website lead finding) and Serper for all other lead scraping. With a backup AI default running through gemini pro if those ever have issues.

Again it has been super valuable for me and genuinely won me clients. I realised it was something that many web designers could benefit from. And also realised that no one yet on Youtube was sharing anything like this around base44. With almost all the tutorials being just 10 -20 minutes long, being super hypey, skipping over all the important steps and then building something that had no real value for the viewer.

And so I decided to do something different. And created a full 2 hour tutorial for free on Youtube that goes into everything people need including a free prompt pack so they can follow along and build it with me.

I know there is a lot split around no code builders. One side saying they don't work at all and are a waste of time and the other being overly hypey like they are some magic thing that you can have no idea and build anything easily.

The truth I have found, like always, is somewhere in the middle. That base44 isn't perfect and can make mistakes (like anything) but once you do know what you are doing it can create some incredibly valuable things. I've seen it first hand myself.

And so since I have a Youtube channel (very early days) I wanted to begin sharing proper tutorials that actually show people how to build real apps with real utility. This isn't and won't be my only tutorial and have far more to come. But I thought this was a great place to start since I use this very app for my own business.

So yeah if any of you are interested in checking it out you can find it by Youtube searching:

Build an AI CRM & Lead Finder with Base44 (Full Tutorial)

By Isaac Design

My hope is that this video, and the future ones I have in the work, can bring some true value and show people tools like base44 really can and do work. While also being open and non hypey about what it actually takes and the things that you need to know when working with no code builders.

I'd really love to hear your feedback and get your support in any way. Base44 has been incredibly valuable to me and something that I am now quite passionate about. Especially, teaching others how to use it well.

So if you have any feedback and advice I am all ears. I am also open to any questions about my main app and others I have built. I know many of you here are very early days so if I can lend some tips and advice I am very happy to.

Thanks for reading and hope it brings value to some here :)

Hey guys, so I wanted to share something here that I am quite excited to share. I've spent the last few weeks recording and putting it all together and I just released it yesterday. A quick introduction I am a web designer, copywriter and marketer with over 10 years of experience in the field.

I run my own web design business that off both referrals as well as my own outreach. And over the last year and half I have also been building web applications using no code tools like base44.

I know some of you will still argue that they don't work or overhyped etc And sure they are not perfect, can sometimes make silly mistakes and require checking over things properly. But with the right mindset and approach you can create some pretty powerful things. Especially from the stand point of internal tools (which is what this post is about)

And so I started with building very small applications applying my background and knowledge along with understanding of prompting. And was quite blown away with what I began to achieve once I got a handle on the quirks.

Fast forward and I now have my own SAAS I sell alongside my web design services to further add value to business owners. Along with also building my own internal tools the most powerful of which has been building my own CRM and lead finder. As some of you may know from being in this space.

Often the hardest thing isn't the web design itself. Its actually finding the clients. We all dream of a complete referral flywheel. But in reality that takes time to build and you can still have slow months for that.

So unless you're going to do paid Ads outreach is necessary. Now for those who have done it I am sure you know how tedious it is both finding businesses to reach out to as well as keep track of everything.

And so I as I began to familirise myself with building web applications I thought I wonder if I could build my own CRM and lead finder? And after a lot of hours back and forth I was able to.

Not only can I now keep track of leads all in one place but I also built in my own web scraper that allows me to find 10 -30 businesses in seconds for web design and redesign. I even have the ability to exclusively scrape for "no website" which has been a game changer for me for finding clients.

I also built in a screenshot to lead uploader so I can literally quickly take an screenshot of a facebook or instagram page and it extracts all the info and puts it into my CRM for me. Long story short it has been one of the most valuable things I have ever used in my business.

And so after using it for a few months now I decided I wanted to share it with others.

Not selling it but actually teaching people how to do it for themselves. I quickly came to realise how basic so many of the tutorials on Youtube , often building things with no real useablity or being overly hypey about AI.

I decided I wanted to create a proper tutorial. One that doesn't hype things up but steps people through exactly what is needed to create a real app with value. And thats what I did. Its 2 hours long and goes into everything step by step.

Including:

- An AI Lead Finder (using a web scaper)
- A CRM & Lead Management
- Lead Scoring, Priority & Tracking System
- Screenshot Capture to lead import
- Import Leads from CSV
- Sales Pipeline Tracking
- Full Statistics Dashboard

My aim was to make it as valuable as possible and no matter what type of web designer you are or what platform you use i.e wordpress, webflow, framer, AI etc. Will give you a powerful tool to support your business.

If that sounds of value to you you can find it by Youtube Searching:

Build an AI CRM & Lead Finder with Base44 (Full Tutorial)

Under Isaac Design.

Hopefully this is of value to some here. Or at the very least gives you inspiration for ideas for your own business :)

Hey everyone, I wanted to share a project I've been working on over the last few weeks that finally went live today.

I'm a web designer, copywriter and marketer, and I've been working in the industry for just over ten years. Like a lot of people here, most of my work comes from a combination of referrals and proactive outreach.

Over the last 18 months I've also been experimenting with AI and no-code tools like Base44.

I know opinions are pretty split.

Some people think these tools are massively overhyped. Others think they'll replace developers. Personally, I don't think either view is accurate.

They're simply another tool.

They make mistakes. They need supervision. They aren't magic. But if you understand their strengths and just as importantly, their weaknesses they can become incredibly useful for building internal business software. That was the approach I took.

Instead of trying to build the next billion dollar SaaS, I focused on solving a problem I dealt with every week.

Finding web design clients.

Anyone who's done cold outreach knows the process.

Search Google.

Check websites.

Find redesign opportunities.

Find businesses without websites.

Copy details into a spreadsheet or notes doc.

Try to remember who you've emailed.

Forget to follow someone up.

Repeat.

After doing this for long enough, I thought, "Why don't I just build something specifically for this workflow?"

So that's exactly what I did.

I built my own CRM combined with an AI-powered lead finder.

It searches scrapes the web for businesses, identifies opportunities, manages my outreach pipeline, imports CSVs, captures leads from screenshots, scores opportunities, tracks conversations and gives me a dashboard showing where everything sits.

It's genuinely become one of the most valuable pieces of software I use in my own business.

After using it for a few months, I realised something.

Rather than simply selling the finished application, I'd rather show other web designers how to build one themselves.

Most of the tutorials I found online either stopped after building a simple app or focused more on the hype than creating something you'd actually use every day.

So I recorded a complete two hour tutorial where we build the entire application from scratch. From designing the database through to AI lead finding, dashboards, screenshot importing, outreach management and optional integrations.

My goal wasn't to impress people with AI.

It was simply to build something genuinely useful.

If that's something you'd be interested in, you can find it by Youtube searching:

Build an AI CRM & Lead Finder with Base44 (Full Tutorial)

Under Isaac Design.

Hopefully some of you get some value out of it, or at the very least inspire you to start thinking of ways to do something like this for your own business 🙏

Hey everyone,

I hope you're all doing well.

I thought I'd share this here in case it's helpful to anyone looking at using WooCommerce for print on demand or ecommerce in general.

Over the past 10 years I've worked with WordPress and built websites for businesses, and one thing I kept noticing was that it was surprisingly difficult to find a truly end-to-end WooCommerce tutorial that covered the whole process in one place.

So I decided to make one.

It ended up being 3 hours and 38 minutes long, and my goal was simply to create the tutorial that was truly valuable and not just another 20 minute video.

It covers everything from start to finish, including:

• Setting up WordPress hosting
• Installing WooCommerce
• Building your store with Elementor
• Creating products and collections
• Payment gateways
• Shipping
• Tax settings
• Coupons
• Email marketing
• SEO
• Connecting your domain
• Mobile responsiveness
• Launching your store

It's completely free on YouTube and there are no paid themes required throughout the tutorial.

If you're just getting started with WooCommerce or have been thinking about moving away from hosted platforms, I genuinely hope it helps.

You can find it by searching YouTube for:

WooCommerce Tutorial 2026: Build a Complete Ecommerce Website with WordPress (Step-by-Step)

Channel: Isaac Design

If anyone has questions about WooCommerce, WordPress or building an online store, I'm also more than happy to answer them here in the comments.

Hopefully it helps someone. 😊

Hey guys, not sure what everyone's preferred hosting setup is these days, but for me I always seem to come back to Cloudways and have been using it for many years now for both my own websites and client projects.

After nearly 10 years of building websites and working directly with web design and digital marketing clients, I've tried quite a few different hosting solutions along the way. Yet Cloudways has consistently remained my go-to option.

Some of the reasons I keep coming back to it are:

• Excellent performance and speed
• Access to providers like Vultr, DigitalOcean, AWS and Google Cloud
• The ability to host multiple websites on a single server
• Easy backups and security features
• Scalability as websites grow
• A great balance between power and ease of use

One thing I've noticed over the years is that clients will often spend weeks discussing:

• Design
• Branding
• SEO
• Copywriting
• Features

Yet one of the biggest factors affecting the actual user experience is often the hosting sitting underneath it all.

A beautifully designed website on poor hosting can still feel slow, unreliable and frustrating to use for the end user.

Things like:

• Website speed
• User experience
• SEO
• Conversions
• Security
• Backups
• Scalability

all have a huge impact on the success of a website, yet often get overlooked when people are choosing hosting.

Recently I was looking around at some Cloudways tutorials and noticed most fell into one of three categories:

1. Very short and surface level
2. Extremely technical
3. Quite outdated

So I decided to sit down and create the type of tutorial I wished existed when I first started using Cloudways. Not just a quick walkthrough of which buttons to click, but something that actually explains the reasoning behind the decisions and helps people make a more informed choice about whether Cloudways is the right fit for them.

Some of the topics covered include:

• Why hosting matters
• Cloud hosting vs traditional hosting
• Performance and scalability
• Setting up your first server
• Installing WordPress
• Connecting a custom domain
• SSL certificates
• Backups and security
• Speed optimisation
• Running multiple websites on a single server
• My recommended WordPress stack

My current stack is generally:

• Cloudways
• Vultr High Frequency or DigitalOcean
• Cloudflare
• WordPress
• Elementor
• Envato Elements
• Yoast SEO

For anyone interested, the video is called:

Ultimate Cloudways Tutorial 2026 (Build a Fast WordPress Website)

I'd genuinely be interested to hear what everyone here is currently using for client projects and whether you've found hosting to make as much of a difference as I have over the years.