Not just how websites work — but how customers decide, what makes them stay, and what makes them leave.
"Most local businesses in Hawaiʻi are losing customers online without realizing it. A slow site, a menu that's hard to read on a phone, no way to make a booking — it adds up. That's what Groundwork is here to fix."
— Giovanni Valdes, FounderGiovanni Valdes
Founder & Developer, Groundwork StudiosMost website problems are really business problems. A café losing customers because the menu is unreadable on a phone. A restaurant missing bookings because there's no easy way to get in touch. A great business that looks mediocre online.
Giovanni started Groundwork after working in the service industry and seeing this gap firsthand. With a Finance degree from Shidler College of Business at UH Mānoa and a background in web development, he built Groundwork to bridge it — sites built around how customers actually behave.
Every project starts with a business question: what does this need to achieve, and what's stopping customers from converting right now? The build follows from that.
Every decision starts with one question: will this make it easier for a customer to find what they need and act? Design follows from that.
The site, the content, the domain — all yours. No platform fees, no lock-in, no asking permission to update your own business.
You work directly with Giovanni from first conversation to launch and beyond. No handoffs, no middlemen, no chasing someone down when you need a change.
We work here and know the businesses that make this place worth living in. That context shapes everything we build.
Send us your URL. We'll take a look and send back a free, honest review — what's working, what isn't, no commitment required.