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How it works

From idea to live competition business.

Twelve steps, in two phases. The first phase is free and needs nobody’s approval. The second opens your site to players. You can do the first today.

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PrizeHQ guided setup showing the next step and the list of build and launch steps.
Guided setup in the operator console.

Phase one

Build, for free.

Nothing here needs a card, a call or an approval. Players cannot see the site yet.

  1. Create a free workspace

    Enter a business name, choose a web address and confirm your email with a code. Your site is created on a platform subdomain in Build Mode.

  2. Configure your brand

    Name, colours, fonts and corners on the brand desk, with a live preview. Unreadable colour combinations are refused.

  3. Build your website

    The pages a competition site needs already exist: competitions, free entry, winners, player protection, legal and trust.

  4. Create a competition

    One guided form covers the prize, tickets, pricing, the free entry route, the legal model and the draw.

  5. Install a game

    Add Scratch or Drop from the Games Library, theme it, author a campaign and play it through with sandbox money.

  6. Connect analytics

    Register your own Search Console, Analytics, Tag Manager and advertising identifiers. Tags wait for visitor consent.

In the product

One guided form per competition.

Publishing runs the rule checks for the legal model you declare. Until they pass, the competition stays a draft, and you can see exactly which check is outstanding.

PrizeHQ new competition form with competition type, legal model, web address and identity fields.
Creating a competition: the legal model is declared up front.

Phase two

Open to players.

These steps switch the site from sandbox to real entries.

  1. Add your business information

    Submit evidence against the business checklist. Platform staff review each item; you cannot approve your own.

  2. Connect your payment provider

    Player payments run through your own merchant account. The platform never receives or holds player funds.

  3. Connect your custom domain

    Add your domain and publish one DNS record to prove ownership.

  4. Choose a paid plan

    Pick Launch, Growth or Scale. Billing starts when your first custom domain is verified.

  5. Complete launch checks

    The readiness panel shows every blocking check and links to the desk that clears it.

  6. Publish

    With the checks met, the site goes live on your domain. Nothing is rebuilt: the site you previewed is the site players see.

Questions

Before you begin.

How long does the build phase take?

The guided setup estimates about a quarter of an hour for the two required build steps, your brand and a first competition. How long you spend on design is up to you.

What if I stop building for a while?

An idle free site is hibernated after 60 days. Nothing is deleted, and one click restores it.

Do I need to talk to anyone to start?

No. There is no demo to book and no sales form. Start, build, and get in touch only if you want to.

Go deeper

Keep exploring.

Your competition business can start here.

Create your workspace, build your site and see the whole platform before you pay.

Start Building Free

Your subscription starts when your first custom domain is verified. Until then, building is free.