Websites and hosting decision
Format
A single developer can build a basic portfolio site generator and host it, but reproducing Format’s full product (themes catalogue, proofing/workflow features, hosted media scale, and customer support) is larger and better kept paid unless you only need a narrow self-hosted workflow.
Visit website↗Open-source builds that already do this
Every project below is open source and already does this job today. Fork one, self-host it, or take the parts you need — the build prompt further down assumes an empty file, and this is the shortcut past that. Licences differ; check the one on each card before you ship.
What a replacement has to do
- Allow a creator to upload images, arrange them into themed galleries using templates, publish a responsive portfolio site on a custom domain, and optionally sell digital products.
What it still won’t have
- Polished theme catalogue and design editor (Flex Block)
- Integrated client-proofing, contracts, and file-transfer workflow
- Built-in hosted video minutes and large media handling
- Professional customer support and Format Experts service
- Out-of-the-box SEO tooling, mobile app, and email hosting add-ons
What remains hard
- Product polish and ongoing maintenance
First-year cost
Keep paying
Paying is—cheaper in year one.
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 1 seat.
Money you would actually spend
Time you would spend
—
What you would spend
What we assumed
The verdict above measures whether you could build it. This one is only about money.
Runnable build prompt
Build a minimal hosted portfolio-builder using Next.js for the admin and site, a Node/Express API, Postgres (or SQLite) for metadata, and AWS S3 + CloudFront for image storage. Include: user auth for one creator, image upload with server-side thumbnail generation, gallery CRUD, a small theme system with two responsive templates, custom domain setup instructions and automated Let's Encrypt HTTPS, Stripe-based digital-download checkout, and deployable Terraform/CloudFormation scripts for infrastructure. Out of scope: multi-tenant billing portal, in-depth proofing workflows, native mobile apps. Include error handling, input validation, and unit/integration tests for the API.
How we checked
How the score was reached
- Partly verdict base52
- An open-source build was found+5
- 5 cited sources+3
- Price verified on pricing page+3
- 3/3 assessment runs agreed+4
- Evidence score67
The base comes from the verdict. Everything under it is a check that either happened or did not, and each one is a fact frozen in this record rather than a judgement made at render time — so the same evidence always produces the same number.
How scoring works →Cited sources · 5
Every page the run actually retrieved.
- official productFormat — Create Your Online Portfolio Website
- official pricingFormat Plans & Pricing
- official productFormat Magazine — Features
- open sourcewebstudio-is/webstudio
- open sourcenotionnext-org/NotionNext
Integrity checks
What held up, and what did not.
