Creator Guide

Everything you need to build websites for local businesses on Moonrise, publish a live preview, and get paid when the owner unlocks the site. This guide is detailed on purpose - read it once, then keep it as your reference while you work.

What Moonrise is

Moonrise Studio is an AI-powered platform that helps creators build professional websites for local businesses and earn when those businesses go live. You find a business that needs a site, generate a polished preview, customize it, publish it with a Moonrise watermark, and share the live link. The business owner pays on the watermark checkout. When they pay, the watermark is removed automatically and you earn your creator share.

  • Free to build - create, preview, redesign, and publish watermarked sites without charging the owner up front.
  • They pay on the watermark - the live site stays watermarked until the owner completes Moonrise checkout.
  • You never charge them for go-live - no cash, Venmo, invoices, or off-platform payment for the same unlock.
  • You keep 90% - Moonrise keeps 10% of each go-live payment to run checkout, hosting, and the platform (before processor fees and adjustments).
  • Paid clients appear under My Clients; income tracks on the Dashboard.

Moonrise is a software tool. You still own your sales conversations, how you present the preview, and any extra services you offer beyond go-live unlock. The platform handles hosting the preview, watermark checkout, and splitting the go-live payment.

Who this is for

  • Creators / sellers - people who find local businesses, build sites in Moonrise, and earn when owners unlock.
  • Business owners - people who receive a live preview link and can pay on the watermark to go live. They usually do not need a creator account to pay.
  • New users - if you are just starting, follow the creator loop below in order. You do not need to be a developer.

Typical customers for creators include plumbers, salons, restaurants, cleaners, contractors, clinics, and other local service businesses that are hard to find online or have no modern website.

Golden rules (read before you sell)

1. Creators do not charge business owners for go-live. Build, publish, and share the live site link. The owner pays only through the Moonrise watermark on the deployed website.

2. Set Website Price before you publish. That is what the owner sees at checkout. You keep 90%; Moonrise keeps 10% of that go-live amount (subject to processor fees and Terms).

3. Do not remove or hide the watermark before the owner pays. Do not tell them to pay you instead of Moonrise checkout.

4. Contact form and custom domain are optional. They stay off until you turn them on and save. They are not required to publish.

Breaking the payment rules can lead to permanent ban, withheld payouts, site removal, and other consequences described in the Terms of Service.

Your creator loop

Most successful creators repeat this same loop every day.

  1. Find Open Business Finder and search by city and category, or paste a Google Maps link in Builder. Pick businesses that look active and under-served online.
  2. Generate Use slide-to-generate in Finder, or fill business details in Builder and generate. Watch progress until the preview appears. Generation is free for creators.
  3. Polish Open the project in Editor. Fix names, phone, hours, services, and photos if needed. Preview desktop and mobile. Optionally enable contact form or custom domain (manual toggles).
  4. Price Set Website Price to what the owner will pay at watermark checkout. Be clear and fair - this is the unlock price, not a fee you collect yourself.
  5. Publish & share Publish the watermarked live site. Send the link to the owner (text, call follow-up, or in-person). Explain that paying on the site removes the watermark and keeps the site live.
  6. Get paid When they pay through the watermark, Moonrise removes the watermark and credits your 90% share. Track it on the Dashboard and keep payout details current in Settings.

How you get paid (important)

Creators do not charge business owners. Your job is to build, publish, and share the live site link. The owner pays only through the Moonrise watermark on the deployed website - that is the sole checkout for going live.

When they pay, the watermark is removed automatically, the site stays live, and you receive 90% of the go-live sale (Moonrise keeps 10%). Set the unlock price in the editor before you publish.

Charging the owner directly - or asking them to pay outside the watermark - violates Moonrise Terms and may result in permanent ban, withheld payouts, site removal, and other severe consequences. See Terms of Service.

  • Checkout is powered by Stripe on the live watermark page.
  • Owners do not need a Moonrise creator account to pay.
  • Go-live checkout may also describe hosting or recurring charges - show those details to the owner if they ask.
  • Optional creator purchases (MVP+, Store, donations) are separate from the owner’s unlock payment.

Business Finder

Finder is your lead engine. Search by place and category, review ratings and contact details, organize statuses, then send strong businesses into Builder.

  • Search local businesses and review ratings, categories, addresses, and phone numbers when available.
  • Slide to generate opens Builder and starts a site for that lead using their facts. Keep the slide held until it completes - do not refresh mid-drag.
  • While a site is generating, the Builder item in the sidebar can show that a job is running.
  • Use lead statuses (pending, complete, and similar) to keep your pipeline organized.
  • Lead data can come from public or third-party sources. Always verify phone and business name before you publish or call.
Open Business Finder

Builder & Editor

Builder is where sites are started. Editor is where you refine, price, publish, and manage optional features. You can start from Finder, a Maps URL, manual business details, or an uploaded / GitHub site where available.

  • Generate builds a full site from business details and Website Presets. Wait for the progress UI until the preview appears.
  • Edit modes - switch Preview / Edit / Code (Code may require MVP+ or a paid plan). On mobile, the mode switch sits beside Back.
  • Edit with prompts or fields - adjust copy and business fields, then regenerate sections as needed.
  • Redesign creates a fresh visual direction on an existing project. Generation and redesign are free for creators.
  • Device previews - check desktop, tablet, and phone before you share with an owner.
  • View code / Download HTML require MVP+ (Donate) or an active Starter, Pro, or Business plan where offered.
  • Watermark widget - unpaid live sites show the Moonrise watermark until the owner pays.
Open Builder My Projects

Website Price

Website Price is the amount the business owner pays at watermark checkout to unlock the site. It is not a fee you collect personally.

  • Set the price in the editor before you publish so the owner sees the correct amount.
  • After payment, you keep 90% and Moonrise keeps 10% of that go-live amount (before processor fees and any adjustments under the Terms).
  • Choose a price that matches the value of the site and what similar local businesses will actually pay.
  • If you change the price after publishing, save and update/publish again so checkout stays accurate.

Site features & custom domain

These features stay off until you turn them on. They do not auto-enable just because a site has a form section or a domain name saved from earlier work.

  • Contact form - enable the toggle, choose Auto (email notifications) or Custom (your own endpoint), enter details, then Save & apply. Republish/update if the site is already live so delivery activates.
  • Send test email - available after Auto mode is enabled and saved with a valid notification email.
  • Booking, payments, quote, maps, reviews, social, messaging, ordering, and newsletter - if the site already has a phone, address, map, or a link to one of these services, that feature turns on with those details filled in. You can still change them. Turning a feature on or off saves it, and Save & apply does the same. If the site is already live, that update publishes immediately.
  • Payments on the website tells customers how they can pay the business. It does not replace Website Price checkout.
  • Custom domain - enable the toggle, pick where the domain is managed (Squarespace, GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.), enter the hostname, save, then follow the DNS steps and Check status.
  • Publish the site first before connecting a domain. DNS changes can take a few minutes (sometimes longer) to verify.
  • Turning a feature off and saving disconnects delivery or domain connection according to the product flow.

Publish & watermark

Publishing deploys a live URL you can share. Until the owner pays, the site displays a Moonrise watermark with checkout.

  • Use Publish / Update in the editor or site settings when you are ready to go live with the preview.
  • Share the live link, not only a local preview. Owners need the deployed URL to pay.
  • After successful payment, Moonrise removes the watermark and redeploys a clean site automatically.
  • You can unpublish from site settings if you need to take a preview down (subject to product rules and any paid hosting state).
  • Do not instruct owners to screenshot around the watermark or use developer tools to hide it - that violates Terms.

Clients & go-live

When an owner pays through the watermark, they become a paid client on Moonrise. Your Dashboard income and My Clients list update from those successful checkouts.

  • Set Website Price, publish, and share the live site link.
  • Walk the owner through paying on the site if they are unsure - stay on the watermark checkout path.
  • After payment, the project appears under My Clients and counts toward Dashboard income.
  • Set an income goal on the Dashboard to track how you are pacing.
  • Extra custom work beyond go-live should be scoped clearly and must never replace watermark payment for the same unlock.
Dashboard My Clients

Payouts

Creators typically add a payment method during onboarding (a small temporary authorization may be used to validate the method). Commission tracking lives on your Dashboard. Payout fulfillment may be processed according to current platform practice (including manual payout outside the app where noted in product copy).

  • Keep payout details accurate in Settings.
  • Income on the Dashboard reflects your 90% creator share after Moonrise’s 10% platform fee (before any processor or dispute adjustments).
  • Chargebacks, refunds, or Terms violations can delay or reverse amounts - see the Terms for details.
  • You are responsible for taxes on your earnings.
Open Settings Pending payouts

Dashboard & projects

  • Dashboard - income, goals, and a snapshot of your creator activity.
  • Projects - all sites you have generated or imported; open any project to keep editing.
  • Orders - locate order-related information when you need it for a client payment.
  • Leaderboard - community standings where donations and activity may appear.

Account & security

  • Update handle, display name, and photo in Settings.
  • Change password or passkey under Security where available.
  • Creator contact details you save may appear on watermarked sites so owners can reach you about edits.
  • Sign out from the arrow icon next to your name, or from Settings -> Session.
  • Use a unique password and keep your email inbox accessible for recovery and payment notices.

Course & community

  • Watch the creator walkthrough on the Course page.
  • Join Telegram and Discord from the Account section in the sidebar for updates and creator chat.
  • Browse the Store to purchase creator tools. The store is separate from donations and MVP+.
Open Course

Tips & troubleshooting

  • Generation stuck? Wait for the progress UI to finish. Avoid refreshing mid-job. If it fails, try again with clearer business details or a redesign.
  • Slide-to-generate reset? Keep holding until the threshold completes; list refreshes are deferred while you slide.
  • Owner cannot pay? Confirm they opened the live published URL (not a screenshot or local file) and that Website Price is set.
  • Contact form not emailing? Confirm the toggle is on, Auto mode has a valid email, you clicked Save & apply, and you updated the live site after saving.
  • Domain still pending? Remove conflicting A/CNAME records at your DNS host, add the records Moonrise shows, wait a few minutes, then Check status.
  • Code button locked? Unlock with MVP+ or an eligible plan - see Donate / Store.
  • Mobile chrome cramped? Preview / Edit / Code stretch beside Back on phones; scroll the tools row if device icons overflow.

Contact

Stuck on billing, a failed generate, domain DNS, or account access? Reach Moonrise from Help - phone, email, Discord, and more.

Contact us

Privacy Terms Refunds Report Settings