Lab component 04

The portfolio, derived from the backlink

Every site built with the auto site builder ships a credit link in its footer. Rather than curate a case study page by hand, this reads the relationship in reverse: here is every property currently pointing back, sized by how much of it exists.

Real projects Page counts from repo trees Grows without an edit

Attribution ledger · sites carrying the footer link

<p class="site-credit"> Site by <a href="https://www.jakelabate.com" rel="noopener">Jake Labate</a> </p>

One line in a shared partial, present on every page of every site built with the auto site builder. The ledger above is the inverse view of it: instead of a portfolio I maintain by hand, it is a record of every property currently pointing back, sized by how much of it there is.

A portfolio that maintains itself

The usual failure mode of a consultant portfolio is decay. Clients redesign, contracts end, screenshots go stale, and the case studies quietly stop being true. Deriving the list from a live signal fixes the incentive.

01

The link is the source of truth

If a client removes the credit, they leave the ledger. That is correct behaviour, not a bug, and it keeps the list honest without any curation.

02

Size carries information

A 126 page marine services build and a single page market listing are not the same engagement. Uniform logo grids flatten that distinction on purpose. This does not.

03

Sector spread is the real proof

Marine detailing, precision manufacturing, electrical contracting, nonprofit communications, a Harvard physician. The pattern that transfers is the method, not the vertical.