Notes from the build.
Straight answers on what a website costs, what you actually get for it, and what to ask before you pay anyone.
- Comparisons3 September 2026
Freelancer, agency, or fixed-price service?
Three ways to buy a website, what each is actually good at, and the failure mode of each one that nobody mentions during the sales conversation.
3 min read - Technical3 September 2026
How to check whether your website is any good
A checklist you can run yourself in twenty minutes, with no technical knowledge and no tools you have to pay for.
3 min read - Comparisons3 September 2026
How to choose a web development company
The questions that separate a good fit from an expensive mistake, and the answers that should worry you. Written by an agency, which you should factor in.
3 min read - Comparisons3 September 2026
Squarespace or hire someone? The real comparison is your time
Squarespace makes good-looking sites. The question is not whether it can, but whether you will — and what those evenings are worth.
3 min read - Technical3 September 2026
What a 100/100 Lighthouse score actually means
This site scores 100 on all four categories. Here is what that does and does not tell you, using our own numbers as the worked example.
3 min read - Technical3 September 2026
Why your website is slow, and what it costs you
The four things that make small business websites slow, in the order they usually matter, and how to check which one is yours.
4 min read - Comparisons3 September 2026
Wix vs a custom website: an honest comparison
What Wix is genuinely good at, the three real trade-offs, and the outdated criticism you can safely ignore.
3 min read - Comparisons3 September 2026
WordPress vs a custom-built site: who maintains it?
The build is the easy part. The real difference between these two is who is responsible for the site eighteen months from now.
3 min read - By industry1 September 2026
What a café or restaurant website actually needs
Four facts, findable in five seconds, and a menu that is not a PDF. Almost everything else on a restaurant website is decoration.
3 min read - By industry1 September 2026
What a cleaning company's website actually needs
You are asking strangers to let you into their home. The site's job is to answer that worry, then make quoting effortless.
3 min read - By industry1 September 2026
What a dental practice website actually needs
Half your visitors are anxious and the other half are comparing prices. A site that handles both books more new patients than one that handles neither.
3 min read - By industry1 September 2026
What an electrician's website actually needs
Your customers are checking whether you are qualified before they check anything else. Build the site around that and the rest is straightforward.
3 min read - By industry1 September 2026
What a hair salon or barbershop website actually needs
Your work is the sale and your prices are the objection. A site built around those two things books more chairs than anything else.
3 min read - By industry1 September 2026
What a plumber's website actually needs
Most plumbing customers arrive with a problem and no patience. Here is the site that gets you the call instead of the plumber listed above you.
3 min read - Getting a website31 August 2026
Do I need a website if I have Instagram?
Sometimes genuinely not. Here is how to tell which side of that line your business is on, and what a social page cannot do for you.
3 min read - Getting a website31 August 2026
I want a website for my business. Where do I start?
The three decisions that actually matter, in the order they matter, and what to have ready before you talk to anyone.
3 min read - Getting a website31 August 2026
What a small business website actually needs
Four to six pages, and a short list of the things everybody adds that nobody reads. What to build and what to leave out.
3 min read - Getting a website31 August 2026
What to get ready before hiring a web designer
A checklist you can work through in an afternoon. It is the difference between a website that takes three days and one that takes three months.
4 min read - Price & budget30 August 2026
Cheap web development: what you actually get
Cheap usually means unpredictable rather than low. How to buy a website inexpensively without ending up with the expensive kind of cheap.
3 min read - Price & budget30 August 2026
Fixed-price web design: why we publish the number
Most agencies will not tell you what a website costs until you have had a call. Here is why, what a real fixed price requires, and how to spot a fake one.
3 min read - Price & budget30 August 2026
How much does a website cost for a small business?
A straight answer, the reason quotes vary by ten times, and what you are actually paying for in each case.
4 min read - Price & budget30 August 2026
Monthly website plans: what $49 a month should include
What a monthly website fee actually pays for, the rent-forever trap to avoid, and the questions to ask before signing up to one.
3 min read