Blog
Plain-English writing on running a small business, the websites that serve it, and the changes coming for both. No jargon, no hard sell.
Latest
18 posts
Website vs social
You have a Facebook page and an Instagram, so do you really need a website too? Why social media and a website do two different jobs, what a page alone cannot do (most of your followers never even see your posts, and people searching for a business like yours are on Google), and the setup that actually works: own the site, and let social point back to it.
Website analytics
Your website keeps a quiet record of how people find and use it, and for most owners it is either switched off or a wall of charts they avoid. What website analytics actually are, the handful of numbers worth watching if you have them set up, and a plain-English glossary of the acronyms, from GA4 and sessions to LCP, INP, and RUM.
Website speed
Around half of people on a phone abandon a page that takes more than about three seconds to load, and most never tell you why. Why website speed matters more than it looks, how to test your own site the way a stranger would, what usually slows a small business site down, and how to think about fixing it.
Website upkeep
We are halfway through the year, and your website has been quietly saying the same thing to every customer the whole time. A twenty-minute, do-it-yourself check-up: is everything still true, does it still load fast and work on a phone, is there one clear next step, and can people still find you? No redesign required.
Looking professional
People form a first impression of your website in about 50 milliseconds, faster than a blink, and they decide whether your business looks real and credible before they read a word. What makes a site feel trustworthy versus sketchy, the small signals that quietly cost small businesses customers, and a quick test to see which camp yours is in.
Getting found
When someone searches “plumber near me” and has never heard of you, how do you show up at all? A plain-English guide to local search and SEO: the three places you can appear, what the Google map pack actually weighs, why reviews and consistent details matter most, what “SEO” really means (and which parts agencies oversell), and how AI answers are starting to change the game.
Accessibility
More of your visitors than you think experience the web differently: with a screen reader, a keyboard, or zoomed way in. What an accessible website actually means, why it matters for your customers (not just the lawyers), why those accessibility widgets do not fix it, the practical things that make a site usable for everyone, and why all of it doubles as good SEO.
Owning your website
Paying for your website every month does not mean you own all of it. What you actually own versus rent (your domain, your hosting, and your builder), why your domain is the one piece that matters most, and how to set things up so you can start with a template now and go custom later without losing your address or your email.
Getting found
For many small businesses, customers meet you on Google before they ever reach your website, in the panel with your hours, photos, and reviews. What a Google Business Profile is, why a complete one can earn far more clicks than an empty one, and a plain-English guide to setting yours up so it actually brings people in.
Getting online
Around three in four people check a business online before they ever visit, and they are deciding whether you are real before you say a word. Whether your small business actually needs a website, what one does that a social page cannot, and why starting with a custom build can save you from paying twice.
Start a project
If you are weighing a new site or a rebuild, I am happy to give you a straight read on what would actually help.