The inspiration behind Flint
Here at Rocketspark, we’ve always been about guiding you to the best practices. Right from the start, our dream was to create a website builder that doesn’t just help you build sites but ensures they’re top-notch. Grant, our CEO, shared how we used to run loads of seminars, webinars, and workshops for small business owners. The catch? These busy folks often didn’t have the time to put their new knowledge into action.
“Back in 2018, we noticed AI starting to make waves with development tools we could use, which sparked the idea that we could let AI do the work for the customer rather than us teaching them what to do,” Grant explained. This vision came to life in 2020 with the launch of Flint, initially helping out with SEO. The latest version of Flint, now capable of generating entire pages of content, was a natural step forward.
Content creation was a big hurdle for our clients, especially when designing websites. “Getting the content from the client was always a big barrier to a project progressing,” Grant noted. With Flint, we aimed to clear this hurdle, letting designers focus on what they love – creating stunning sites.
Overcoming challenges and ensuring quality
Creating Flint wasn’t a walk in the park. One of our main goals was to make website building easy for everyone while ensuring the content matched each business’s unique voice. “A builder, tradie, chef, or bookkeeper might not think about a website’s tone of voice, but they all have their own style of communication, and we wanted to capture that,” said Grant.
We had a clear vision from the start, which kept us on track. “We involved the team in shaping the project, and their contributions were fantastic,” Grant added. One of the cool features was revealing content in a dynamic way, making the website feel alive.
Team reactions and collaboration
The team’s reaction was fantastic and full of support. Grant mentioned, “The team was super supportive and engaged, really stepping up their creativity and innovation to create something even better than I had imagined for this iteration.”
Development process insights
Jeremy, our Head of Product, shared some insights into the technical challenges and breakthroughs during Flint’s development. Consistency was a big issue, especially getting the AI to stop using US grammar and spelling for NZ, UK, and Australia. “Getting consistent results was one of the biggest challenges,” Jeremy admitted. To tackle this, we used more than one AI model with an automatic fallback to ensure reliability.
Testing played a crucial role in making sure the AI-generated content was relevant and valuable. “Lots and lots of testing! Both internally as a team and with early access customers and designers,” Jeremy explained. Reaction testing was particularly useful, highlighting areas that needed tweaking.
Future prospects and user benefits
Looking ahead, we’ve got exciting plans for Flint. Jeremy revealed, “We’re currently in early access beta for custom tone of voice instructions of up to 5000 characters. This means a designer can give really specific instructions on how Flint should write, and it’s stored against that client for all future text generation.”
Flint integrates seamlessly with the Rocketspark platform. It’s not a separate product but a feature that enhances the overall experience. From generating home page content during site setup to tweaking any text block with Flint, the tool is designed to be user-friendly and super functional.
Final thoughts and community message
The development of Flint showcases the power of collaboration and innovation. “The name Rocketspark comes from the idea that a great website is the spark to launch the rocket of a business,” Grant shared. With Flint, we’re helping small business owners and graphic designers create high-quality websites that can boost their success.
“This makes high-quality AI writing accessible to everyone, not just the early adopters,” Jeremy added. Flint isn’t just a tool; it’s a game-changer for anyone looking to enhance their digital presence effortlessly. We hope you’re inspired to try Flint and see the magic for yourself!
