Blog
Straight answers about your website
Practical guides on what a website costs, who owns it, and how to get found — from someone who builds sites, not sells them.
September 8, 2026 · 10 min read
How Fast Should Your Website Load?
I measured four small business sites on the same afternoon. The spread was 10 to 100. Here's what the numbers mean and which one actually matters.
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September 1, 2026 · 10 min read
Google Business Profile: The Free Setup Most Get Wrong
I compared the number one and the 102nd tire shop in one city. Neither has a website. The difference between them is entirely in the free listing.
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August 31, 2026 · 10 min read
How to Get Your Business Found by ChatGPT and AI Search
I asked two AI assistants about my own business. One knew everything, the other had never heard of it. The difference wasn’t my website.
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August 25, 2026 · 9 min read
Why Your Website Doesn’t Show Up on Google
Three different problems get reported as the same complaint. A 60-second test tells you which one you have, and each has a different fix.
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August 23, 2026 · 10 min read
My Web Designer Disappeared. How to Recover Your Site
A calm, ordered process for getting your domain, hosting, and code back when the person who built your site stops answering. Start with the expiry date.
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August 20, 2026 · 10 min read
9 Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Web Designer
Nine questions worth asking, what a straight answer sounds like, and what an evasive one sounds like. Including the one question I can't answer well yet.
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August 17, 2026 · 9 min read
What “Website Maintenance” Should Actually Include
The same word covers three different products at wildly different prices. How to tell which one you're being sold, and when you need no plan at all.
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August 14, 2026 · 9 min read
Who Owns Your Website? Domain, Hosting, and Code Explained
Your website is three separate things, and you can own one without owning the others. How to check what's actually yours, in about ten minutes.
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August 12, 2026 · 9 min read
Why Cheap $500 Websites Cost More in the Long Run
I audited three real small business websites built on cheap platforms. None of them were finished. Here's what that costs, and how to check your own.
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August 10, 2026 · 9 min read
How Much Does a Small Business Website Cost in 2026?
What a small business website really costs in 2026 — builders, freelancers, agencies, and monthly plans compared, plus the fees nobody quotes.
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- Coming soon
Squarespace, Wix, WordPress, Custom: One Honest Comparison Table
Four ways to build the same site, compared on cost, ownership, and year three — including where custom loses.
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AI Website Builders in 2026: Tested, Reviewed, and What Breaks
I build the same business site in three AI tools and push each one until something breaks. Here's what holds up.
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Custom-Coded vs. WordPress: An Honest Breakdown
When a plugin stack is the right answer, when it quietly becomes a maintenance bill, and how to tell which is which.
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Web Designer vs. Website Builder: What You Actually Pay For
A builder costs a few dollars a month and a designer costs thousands. What the gap actually buys, and when it isn't worth it.
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Do I Still Need a Website If I Have Facebook and Instagram?
What you can and can't do on a page you don't own — and the one thing social will never do for you.
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What a Website Actually Does for a Business That Runs on Referrals
If every customer already comes from word of mouth, the site has a different job. Here's what that job is.