Divshot

Divshot operated as a platform for web application interface development, targeting professional developers and designers seeking to accelerate their workflow.

The company was founded by Michael Bleigh and Jake Johnson, originating from Startup Weekend Kansas City in April 2012. Bleigh, who served as CEO, has been a web enthusiast since 1996 and is an active contributor to open-source projects. Johnson, the CDO, is a full-stack engineer and user interface designer. Their combined expertise in web development and design was foundational to Divshot's core offering. The startup was a graduate of the Launchpad LA accelerator and had raised $1.8 million in funding.

Divshot provided a visual builder that combined the simplicity of drag-and-drop mockup tools with the capability to produce professional-level, clean HTML and CSS. This approach aimed to reduce wasted cycles on disposable wireframes by generating usable code from the design process. The platform was initially based on the Bootstrap framework and expanded to support others like Foundation and Ratchet. Key features included static web hosting with multiple environments and SSL, a command-line interface (CLI) for terminal-based management, a project-based workflow for organizing assets, and team collaboration tools. The business model was subscription-based, with tiered pricing for individuals and teams, alongside a free plan.

A significant milestone for Divshot was its acquisition by Google in October 2015. Following the acquisition, the Divshot team joined Google's Firebase unit to enhance its web hosting capabilities. Divshot's technology, including its open-source Superstatic library, was integrated to power Firebase Hosting and launch a new command-line interface for the platform. Consequently, all Divshot products and services were shut down on December 14, 2015, with users offered a migration path to Firebase Hosting.

Keywords: Divshot, front-end development, interface builder, web application prototyping, static web hosting, Michael Bleigh, Jake Johnson, Google acquisition, Firebase Hosting, Bootstrap builder, visual HTML editor, CSS generator, developer tools, Launchpad LA, Superstatic, web design workflow, UI development, collaborative design, command-line interface, static site generator