A small studio
Small money, sharp websites.
Pennies builds websites for Milwaukee service businesses that get found, and lines that get answered, so calls turn into bookings.
How it works
Seven steps, hello to live.
Every project follows the same seven steps. Once we start, your project page shows which step we're on and whose turn it is. Tap a step to see what happens.
Now: step 1 of 7
Shape the idea
Tell us what the business does, who it's for, and what the site should get people to do: book, call, or come in.
- You bring
- Your services and prices, your hours, and a site or two you like.
- Takes
- A short form or a 20-minute call.
Now: step 2 of 7
Domain
We find and secure your name, then set up the address and email so the whole front door works from day one.
- You bring
- A few names you like, or the login for one you already own.
- Takes
- Usually a day.
Now: step 3 of 7
Design
Look, feel and layout, agreed before anything is built. We show you a design and adjust colours, fonts and layout with you on a call.
- You bring
- Your logo and brand colours if you have them, and a site or two you like.
- Takes
- One call, then a round of tweaks.
Now: step 4 of 7
Build
We build your site on a private preview link, with booking or quote requests wired in, and your phone line if you have one.
- You bring
- Photos, the text you want (or notes, and we write it), and the questions customers ask you most.
- Takes
- About a week for a one-page site, longer for bigger ones.
Now: step 5 of 7
Review
Click through the preview on your phone and computer and tell us what to change. We fix it, you check again.
- You bring
- Your notes: what to change, add or cut.
- Takes
- A few days, at your pace.
Now: step 6 of 7
Go live
Final checks, then we switch it on at your own address, on a secure https connection, ready for customers to find.
- You bring
- A thumbs up.
- Takes
- Usually the same day.
Now: step 7 of 7
Live and care
Updates, fixes and support after launch. On a care plan we keep it hosted, updated and backed up, or you take the finished site and run it yourself.
- You bring
- New photos, hours or prices whenever they change.
- Takes
- Ongoing, and always optional.
Domain purchase & setup
Not sure what to call it, or where to buy it? We help you find a name that fits, purchase and register it, and connect it to your site, so the whole front door works from day one.
- 1
Search
Brainstorm names and check what's available. Short enough to say out loud, easy to spell.
- 2
Purchase
We buy and register the name for you, no registrar maze.
- 3
Point the DNS
We set up the records that connect your name to your site.
- 4
Go live
Your site answers at your own address, on a secure https connection.
Checked live with each registry. We confirm before anything is bought.
One front door
Websites that get found, lines that get answered.
Your website pulls people in. A business line answers it. One site, one line, one number on the card. The customer calls, hears the greeting, presses 1, and reaches you. No personal cell on a business card, no missed calls going to a voicemail nobody checks, no after-hours silence.
A site that gets found
For barbers, cafes, auto shops, realtors, and the rest of Milwaukee's small businesses.
See websitesA line that gets answered
We help set up business voice lines with custom answering and directory logic: greetings, after-hours handling, press 1 to reach you, voicemail with transcripts.
See business linesTry a demo line
Call a car service line, right here.
Press Play to watch the call, or Call to dial it yourself. You'll see the line answer, hold, queue and book, step by step, just like a real one does.
The demo voices are generated. On your line, each step can be a real person or a custom voice for your business.
Realtor and radio demos tooCall a demo line directly: 414-800-9311,3,1 real estate team, 414-800-9311,3,2 radio show, 414-800-9311,3,3 car service, 414-800-9311,3,4 nail studio.
Site plus line together? One project, one front door. Ask about it when you start a project.
AI, put to work
Today's AI tools, connected to the tools you already use: email, calendar, socials, bookings, and your online shop. Replies drafted before you sit down. Content kept going. Follow-ups handled.
First conversation is free, and if it is not a fit we will tell you straight.
Including
- OpenAI
- Anthropic
- Gemini
- Meta
- Muse
Consulting & tutoring
Technical consulting for software, interactive and realtime work, from first concept through a working build, and one-on-one tutoring in software and coding. When a project needs motion, depth or live data, we help shape it and make it real. When you want to build it yourself, we teach you how.
Custom applications and the code behind them, planned, built and kept running.
One-on-one lessons in software and coding, from your first program to shipping real projects: Python, JavaScript and the web, game and realtime work in Unreal and TouchDesigner. At your pace, on your own code.
Installations & experiences people touch and move through.
Live 3D on the web and on screen, built to run smoothly.
Platforms, dashboards and tools behind the front door.
Fast, honest prototypes to prove an idea before you commit.
Consulting is quoted per project; tutoring is booked by the session. Tell us what you're building Book tutoring
Websites for small businesses
Modern sites built to do one job: bring in calls and bookings. Clean design, fast pages, and everything a small business actually needs to be found and contacted — with booking or quote requests built in from the start.
- One-page sites for a clear, single-scroll pitch
- Full business sites when you need room to grow
- Booking & quote requests wired in, not bolted on
- Site + Operator care — $119/mo keeps it updated, hosted, and posting
About
Hi, I'm Merlin.
I'm a software engineer with fourteen years of building, and Pennies is my studio, back home in Milwaukee. One pattern runs through all of it: I design the interaction, and I build the system underneath it.
For four years at Intel I worked on volumetric capture for live sports: server clusters, capture pipelines and live production where there was no second take. At ActionFace I built a 3D face-scan avatar customizer. At NYSHEX I led data-dense React and TypeScript tools for the shipping industry, and at Amazon Fulfillment Technologies & Robotics I was a Systems Development Engineer.
Today that means websites and business lines for Milwaukee's small businesses, and realtime, interactive work in Unreal Engine, TouchDesigner and Three.js. The experiments live on my YouTube channel, Upgrade Later.
Selected work
Work that ships
Real projects, not mockups: websites for local businesses, platforms and data tools, and realtime interactive work. Open any project to see it.
Your project could be next. Start a project
How we work
- Fixed quotes. You know the number before we start.
- Fast by default. Light pages, no bloat, no trackers you didn't ask for.
- Yours to keep. You own the site and the domain, full stop.
- Small on purpose. One studio, direct contact, no account managers.
Fair questions
Design, build, responsive layout, and booking or quote requests wired in. One-page sites start at $149, full business sites at $499. Your exact quote depends on scope — we confirm it by email before any work starts.
Site + Operator care is $119/mo: we keep your site hosted, updated and backed up, and your Muse operator setup running, so you don't have to think about it. The first month is included with any site purchase. It's always optional — you can also just take the finished site and run it yourself.
Yes — consulting covers interactive installations, realtime 3D, web platforms and rapid prototyping. That work is quoted per project. Tell us what you're building and we'll say whether it's a fit.
Email [email protected] with a sentence or two about your business and what you need. We'll reply with questions and a quote. No forms, no sales calls unless you want one.
Milwaukee, on purpose
Pennies is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and built for Milwaukee businesses. That means a real local person on the other end, in-person meetings when you want one, and someone who knows the neighborhoods your customers come from.
- Local, not remote. Same city, same time zone, meet face to face.
- Built for local trades. Barbers, cafes, auto shops, realtors, tattoo artists, and the rest of Milwaukee's small businesses.
- Here after launch. When something needs changing, your person is a drive away, not a ticket queue.
Get in touch
Let's make
something worth it.
[email protected]
One email gets a real reply.
Every day, 10am–6pm Central
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