WEB + AI LEGACY PROJECT
William R. Robins
A book, a companion, and a wall of reactions — launched in six weeks, in time for his 86th birthday.
6
weeks from unfinished to launched
86th
birthday — the deadline that actually mattered
AA
WCAG 2.1 accessibility, built in from the first line
THE PROBLEM
A finished book, a fixed date, and an unfinished site
William R. Robins spent a lifetime building companies — and distilled it into a book: From Smaller to Larger, a plain-language argument that a smaller company’s first job is avoiding the loss that would end it. His 86th birthday and a family book signing were on the calendar.
The website wasn’t ready to carry any of it. A previous team had left the site unfinished and the social profiles never launched — and his old domain ended up behind an accessibility-compliance block, unreachable to the very readers his book was for.
THE APPROACH
Six weeks: the site, the companion, the wall
We rebuilt from the ground up — a new site with the editorial calm of a hardcover: oversized serif pull quotes, drop caps, his letters published on a schedule, and accessibility to WCAG 2.1 AA built in from the first line, because a book written for everyone should have a site that everyone can read.
Then the Writing Companion: an AI workspace configured around William’s book, his voice, and his content plan. He opens it and it greets him — he talks or types whatever’s on his mind, and the workspace organizes it into clean, on-voice drafts. Nothing publishes without his review, and nothing is ever cloned or faked. At 86, he writes by thinking out loud.
And the Reactions Wall: a space on the site where every letter, photo, and message about the book is logged — his family reviews each one before it publishes — and a bound, printed edition of those reactions, made to be placed in William’s hands at the family signing.
“Hello, Will. Tap the button. Tell me what’s on your mind.”
THE RESULT
Launched for the birthday, owned by the family
The site went live in time for his 86th. The book is selling, his recent letters publish alongside it, and the Reactions Wall is doing what it was built for — collecting responses from readers, one moderated card at a time.
The handoff was the point: credentials, guides, and a walkthrough library went to the family with the keys. They run it. We built a legacy project that doesn’t need us — which is exactly what a legacy is.
The Writing Companion
“Hello, Will. Tap the button. Tell me what's on your mind.” William talks or types; the workspace organizes his thinking into on-voice content he reviews before anything publishes. No cloning, ever.
The Reactions Wall
Every letter, photo, and message about the book, logged on the site and moderated by his family — then bound into a printed edition and handed to William at the family signing.
Accessible, launched, handed off
Built to WCAG 2.1 AA — skip links, accessibility statement, real contrast — and delivered with credentials, guides, and a walkthrough library. The family runs it now.
Eighty-six years of building, given a site that can carry it — and a family who holds the keys.