JBAR Design Studio — Chicago, IL
Custom websites for Chicago's independent businesses.
$400 · Built in a week · Yours to keep
Recent work: DJE Advisors — independent accounting firm. Still booking first paid clients — early projects get priority slots and an extra round of revisions.
[ CLIENT WORK ]
Live work for real clients.
[ CLIENT WORK / Accounting Firm ]
DJE Advisors
Independent accounting firm — Chicago. Tax compliance, advisory, and accounting services for business owners, families, and individuals.
View live site→[ CONCEPT WORK ]
Concept builds — designed to demonstrate range. Not real businesses.
[ 01 / Florist ]
Ash & Birch
Independent Chicago florist. Hand-tied stems, weekly subscriptions, custom event florals. Logan Square.
View live site→[ 02 / Accounting ]
Halsted Ledger
Independent tax and accounting firm for Chicago's small businesses. Advisory, bookkeeping, year-round support.
View live site→[ 03 / Salon ]
Maren Studio
Owner-operated hair salon in Lincoln Square. By appointment, built around one stylist.
View live site→[ 04 / Bookstore ]
Page & Spine
Independent neighborhood bookstore. Carefully chosen books, Western Avenue.
View live site→[ 05 / Café ]
Linden & Oak
Independent neighborhood café in Lincoln Square, Chicago. Full menu, hours, and story.
View live site→[ 06 / Auto ]
Belmont Auto Works
Family-run auto repair shop on Chicago's North Side. Three generations, one address.
View live site→[ 07 / Fitness ]
Northbridge Athletic
Independent strength gym on Chicago's North Side. Coach-led, no-mirror.
View live site→[ 02 / WHAT YOU GET ]
What $400 gets you.
Included
- →Custom design (not a template)
- →Mobile-first, fully responsive build
- →Up to 5 pages
- →Contact form
- →Setup on your custom domain
- →Free hosting on Vercel
- →Two rounds of revisions
- →Live launch in 7 days
Not included
- —E-commerce or booking systems (separate quote)
- —Logo design
- —Photography or copywriting
- —SEO consulting
I'm clear about scope so you get a faster site and no awkward conversations halfway through.
Why $400?
I'm 13, this is my craft, and I'm building a portfolio I'm proud of. No overhead, no agency markup, no salespeople — just me coding your site and my dad keeping the business side tight. You get the same quality most agencies charge $2,000+ for. The price reflects where I am in my career, not the quality of the work.
[ 03 / PROCESS ]
How it works.
01
Talk
A 15-minute call to understand your business, your customers, and what you actually need.
02
Design
First draft within 3 days. You'll see the full site — desktop and mobile — before I write a line of code.
03
Build
Two rounds of revisions on the design, then I build. No feature creep. No moving targets.
04
Launch
Live on your domain, fully working. I handle the deployment so you don't have to.
[ 04 / ABOUT ]
About JBAR.
I'm Jake. I'm 13, and I build the websites at JBAR.
I know hiring a 13-year-old to build your business's website sounds like a risk. I take that seriously. Every site I build is custom-coded, mobile-responsive, fast-loading, and designed around your business — not dropped into a template. You can see exactly what I build at the demos on this site. That's the standard. If I can't deliver it, you don't pay.
My dad partners with me on the business side — contracts, invoices, accountability. I do the design, code, and client calls. We work as a team, which is why we can keep the price at $400 instead of charging what an agency would.
I'm doing this because I want to build things, and I want to be good at it. Your business getting a great website is how I get there. I take the work as seriously as you take yours.
[ 05 / FAQ ]
Common questions.
[ 06 / CONTACT ]
Let's start something.
Tell me about your business — I'll be in touch within 24 hours.