WEBSITESfor Normal People2026

Part II: Pick a Path (and build the thing)10½

Chapter 10½Path D

Path D: Events, bookings, and everything else

4 min read, 2 cheat sheets

You already have everything. Just ask.

Paths A to C cover most sites. But maybe yours is an event with RSVPs, a class schedule people book into, a members-only area, a waitlist, a directory, a client portal, or something nobody's made a template for.

Good news: you don't need a new chapter for each of those, and you don't need another subscription. Everything you set up in steps 1 to 5 is already enough. Cloudflare has the building blocks, your agent has the keys, and Opus knows how to put them together. Your job is describing what you want clearly.

What's already in the box

You don't need to remember these names. The agent does. This is here so you know the answer to "can it do that?" is almost always yes.

Cloudflare pieceIn plain termsGood for
D1A databaseRSVPs, bookings, members, orders, a directory
R2File storagePhotos, PDFs, tickets, uploads from visitors
Durable ObjectsA single source of truth that can't double-countSeat limits that never oversell, waitlists, live counters, chat
Queues"Do this in the background"Sending 200 reminder emails without the page hanging
Cron Triggers"Do this on a schedule"A reminder the day before, a weekly digest, cleaning up old bookings
AccessA login wall, free for small teamsA members-only page, an admin area only you can see
Workers AIAI inside your siteTranslating, summarising, tagging photos, a chatbot that only knows your content
TurnstileSpam protectionEvery form
Email Routing / Email ServiceReceiving and sending emailForwarding to your inbox, confirmations, reminders
Stripe (not Cloudflare)PaymentsTickets, deposits, memberships

Some of these need the $5 Workers plan (sending emails to anyone other than you, heavier jobs). The agent will say so before it builds.

Should I just use Eventbrite, Calendly, or some other app?

Sometimes, yes. Be honest with yourself here too.

If a $10-a-month tool does exactly what you need and you're fine with its branding and its fees, use it and put a link on your site. That's not failure, that's using the right tool.

Build it yourself when:

  • The fees add up. Ticketing platforms take a cut of every ticket. Stripe on your own site takes only Stripe's cut.
  • The tool is the wrong shape. Your booking rules are weird, your event has three ticket types and a waitlist, your members need a page nobody else sees.
  • You want it to feel like your site, not a detour through someone else's.

The prompt for anything

The trick is the same as the build prompt: describe it from both sides, then make the agent plan before it builds. Fill in the brackets.

PromptCheat sheet 0131 lines
I want to add [the thing: RSVPs for my event / class bookings / a members
area / a waitlist / ...] to my site.

How it works for visitors:
[Step by step, in plain words. What they see, what they click, what they
get afterwards. Example: "They pick a class from the schedule, enter their
name and email, and get a confirmation. They can cancel from a link in that
email."]

How it works for me:
[What you need to see or do. Example: "I see a list of who's booked into
each class, I can cancel a class and everyone booked gets told, I get an
email when a class is full."]

Rules and limits:
[Numbers and edge cases. Example: "12 spots per class, a waitlist after
that, bookings close 2 hours before, no double-booking the same person."]

Payments: [none / Stripe, $X per ticket, refunds up to 48 hours before].

Use what's already on my Cloudflare account (and Stripe, for payments)
unless there's a strong reason not to. Before you build anything, reply with:
1. A one-paragraph plan in plain language.
2. Which Cloudflare pieces you'll use and why, one line each.
3. What it costs on my plan, and whether anything needs the $5 Workers plan.
4. Anything that needs me (a Stripe account, a DNS change, a click).
5. The edge cases you thought of that I didn't.

Wait for my yes. Then build it on staging, design it to match the rest of
the site, and test it end to end as a visitor and as me, including the edge
cases. Show me the staging link and walk me through it.

Step 5 in that list is the one people skip, and it's the most useful. "What happens if two people grab the last spot at the same time?" is exactly the kind of question the agent is good at asking and you won't think of until it happens.

Example: a workshop with RSVPs

PromptCheat sheet 0218 lines
I want RSVPs for my sourdough workshop on my site.

For visitors: a workshop page with the date, time, what's included and how
many spots are left. They enter their name, email and any dietary needs and
pay $85 through Stripe. They get a confirmation email with the address and
an "add to calendar" link, and a reminder the day before.

For me: a private page that lists everyone who's paid, with their dietary
needs, and a button to email everyone at once. An email to me when it's
full.

Rules: 16 spots, then a waitlist. If someone cancels more than 48 hours
before, refund them and email the first person on the waitlist. No refunds
after that.

Use what's already on my Cloudflare account and Stripe. Plan first, wait for
my yes, then build on staging and test it, including two people buying the
last spot at the same time.

That's the whole chapter. You already have the infrastructure. The prompt is the only new part.

On a phone, swipe left and right to turn pages.