Field notes from the studio.
Plain English guides on websites, prices, SEO, Google and AI search, written to help you grow your business online.
GROWTH · 5 MIN READ
How to set up your Google Business Profile in 2026
A simple step by step guide to getting on Google Maps, winning reviews and turning local searches into calls.
CRAFT · 8 MIN READ
What is a headless CMS and do you need one?
A content database with no front-end. When it earns its place, when a traditional CMS still wins, and the four options we ship most often.
GROWTH · 9 MIN READ
How to rank on ChatGPT and AI engines: AEO explained
AI engines extract answers, not pages. Here is what gets cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini, and how to write for them.
GROWTH · 10 MIN READ
How to rank on Google in 2026: a founder's edition
Most SEO advice in 2026 is outdated. The four-thing framework that actually moves ranking, plus a one-hour-a-week starter checklist.
CRAFT · 8 MIN READ
How we actually use AI in our build process
Six stages where AI saves us time, four places where it fails us, and how we communicate it to clients. The practitioner middle path.
CRAFT · 9 MIN READ
React vs vanilla HTML/CSS/JS vs WordPress: which to choose
Three stacks, three different briefs they win at. The honest version of when to reach for which one, with real-project receipts.
INDUSTRY · 8 MIN READ
7 questions to ask before hiring a web design agency
The seven questions that flush out the studios that will keep your timeline. With red and green flag answers for each.
CRAFT · 7 MIN READ
Why your website needs to be mobile-first in 2026
Mobile traffic is 64% of all web traffic. Google indexes mobile first. Core Web Vitals score on mobile. Here is what mobile-first actually means.
CRAFT · 9 MIN READ
Hand-coded vs Wix vs Squarespace: which is right for small business?
Pricing, performance, and the trade-offs nobody mentions. Three real small businesses, three different platforms.
CRAFT · 7 MIN READ
How long does building a custom website take?
Three to fourteen weeks, broken down by phase. Why content (not code) is usually the delay, and how to keep your project on track.
CRAFT · 8 MIN READ
How much does a website cost in 2026?
Real prices for small businesses: what £299, £699 and £1,199 get you, and the hidden costs to avoid.
CRAFT · 9 MIN READ
Webflow vs hand-coded vs WordPress: which to choose
The brief should pick the platform, not the studio's preference. After a decade on all three, here is how we actually choose.
PERFORMANCE · 7 MIN READ
Why is your website slow? Seven reasons we fix
Most slow sites share the same seven problems. Each is fixable in hours, not weeks, with concrete fixes and time estimates.
INDUSTRY · 6 MIN READ
What does a creative tech studio actually do?
The category nobody bothers to define properly. Where studios sit between agencies, dev shops, and in-house teams.
CRAFT · 6 MIN READ
Why we don't ship pagebuilders for client work
Pagebuilders feel cheap because they are. Here's the math, the trade-offs, and the small set of cases where a visual tool earns its place.