Where it starts

I trace the idea for RitesDev back to 2020, when I work with some friends to build a community. At the time, I don’t think about starting a development business. I’m mostly interested in building things and figuring out what we can create together.

In early 2021, while Malakai and I brainstorm ideas during a call, he suggests the name Rites.

The name comes from “rites,” as in a ceremony or ritual. We think about names for social platforms and eventually start using names like SocialRites.

The name stays with me.

Eventually, that same idea becomes RitesDev for my development work. Years later, I buy the domain RitesDev.dev and turn the idea into something much more concrete.

Actually building the business

I start seriously building the RitesDev website in August 2026, with the goal of launching in September.

The website itself is a much bigger project than I initially expect.

This is the third major version of the site I build after restarting and redesigning it. I build it with Astro in VS Code, and because it is my own project, I make all the decisions myself.

That is probably one of the hardest parts.

When I build a website for someone else, I usually have requirements, preferences, or a design direction to work from. With RitesDev, I am the client, designer, developer, and reviewer.

I decide what I want the site to look like, how I want people to navigate it, what services I want to offer, how I explain those services, and what kind of impression I want the business to make.

I’m a developer, not an artist, so figuring out the visual side of the website is definitely a learning experience.

I constantly ask myself:

Does this look good?

Is this easy to navigate?

Does this actually make sense to someone who isn’t me?

Those questions lead to a lot of redesigning.

Thankfully, testing the site gives me some good results, which makes all of that work feel worth it.

More than just development

One of the other things I learn while building RitesDev is just how much goes into running a website and a business outside of writing code.

I spend a lot of time learning about hosting, servers, domains, and everything involved in getting a website online and keeping it there.

I also think about things like pricing, services, communication, and how to present what I can offer to someone who might want to work with me.

There is a lot more to learn than I expect.

But that’s part of why I want to do this in the first place.

Why technical training?

RitesDev isn’t only about development.

I also offer technical training and mentorship. That part of the business comes naturally to me because I already teach classes in real life.

I enjoy helping someone understand something they don’t understand yet, and development is something I spend a lot of time learning myself.

Combining those two things—building and teaching—feels like a natural part of RitesDev.

Finally doing it

The biggest thing about launching RitesDev isn’t the website.

It’s that I move from talking about it to actually doing it.

I’ve dreamed about having something like this for several years. My wife and my family encourage me along the way, and their support makes a huge difference.

There is still a lot I want to improve.

There will be more projects, more blog posts, more changes to the website, and undoubtedly more things I’ll have to learn along the way.

But for the first time, RitesDev isn’t just an idea I talk about.

It’s real.

With the launch behind me, I get to see where it goes.