Journal
Field notes. Published when true.
Long-form pieces on web craft, positioning, pricing, and the operating discipline behind ten-working-day builds. No content calendar.
Live within ten working days of brief lock, or the second half of the invoice waits until it is one 20-minute call and we do the rest price fixed in writing before anything starts
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27 Aug 2026
PPC
Google Ads vs SEO: which should a small business do first?
The honest way to choose between Google Ads and SEO for a small business: speed, search intent, job value, conversion rate and whether the website is ready.
9 min read → -
17 Aug 2026
PPC
How much do Google Ads cost in the UK? Real figures by trade
What a Google Ads click actually costs in the UK right now, trade by trade, plus the monthly budget floor that makes a campaign work and what agencies charge to run one.
8 min read → -
17 Aug 2026
PPC
Is Google Ads worth it for a small business? Two real accounts
One account that returned 9.1 times over four and a half years, one of our own that we killed after 348 clicks and zero enquiries, and the arithmetic that tells you which one you would be.
8 min read → -
17 Aug 2026
SEO
SEO for roofers: what actually brings the work in
We built two roofing sites with more than 230 local-area pages between them, then measured which parts earned enquiries. The area pages were not the answer. Here is what was.
11 min read → -
14 Aug 2026
SEO
How much does SEO cost in the UK? A straight answer
What SEO actually costs UK small businesses in 2026, why the range is so wide, what packages and hourly rates really buy, and what £99 a month actually gets you.
10 min read → -
16 Jul 2026
Pricing
Affordable small business website design: what cheap should actually buy you
Affordable does not mean the lowest number on the quote. Here is what an affordable small business website must still include, where the cheap options quietly cut corners, and how to pay a fair fixed price once.
7 min read → -
16 Jul 2026
SEO
Local SEO for small business: the plain-English playbook
Local SEO is how a small business gets found by the people nearby who are ready to buy. Here is what actually moves the needle, what order to do it in, and what you can safely ignore.
8 min read → -
16 Jul 2026
SEO
Local SEO services for small business: what to buy and what to avoid
Local SEO services range from genuinely valuable to expensively useless. Here is what a good provider actually does, what a fair arrangement looks like, and the red flags that should end the conversation.
7 min read → -
16 Jul 2026
Strategy
Website design for plumbers: what wins the job before the phone rings
A plumber's website has one job, turning an urgent search into a call. Here is the structure that does it, what it costs, and why most plumbing sites lose the job in the first ten seconds.
7 min read → -
15 Jul 2026
Strategy
Website design for construction companies: what wins the tender
A construction company's website is judged like a capability statement, not a brochure. Here is what actually gets you shortlisted, with three real construction and civils sites as proof.
8 min read → -
15 Jul 2026
Strategy
Website design for healthcare businesses: trust before anything else
A healthcare website is held to a higher standard than almost any other sector, by patients and by Google. Here is what that actually requires, beyond a nice design.
7 min read → -
15 Jul 2026
Strategy
Website design for therapists and counsellors: earning contact from someone anxious
Nobody researches a therapist casually. Here is what a counselling or therapy website needs to make that first, difficult step of contact feel safe.
6 min read → -
07 Jul 2026
Strategy
How many pages does a small business website need? (2026)
A straight answer with no padding. Most small business websites need five to eight pages, but the number that matters is one page per service plus home, about and contact. Here is how to work out the right count for your business.
8 min read → -
30 Jun 2026
Strategy
Aesthetics website design: what a clinic site needs to win bookings
A practical guide to aesthetics website design for clinic owners: what to include, the UK advertising rules to design within, what it costs, and how a credentials-first site wins bookings.
9 min read → -
30 Jun 2026
Ecommerce
Do I need an online shop for my business? An honest answer
Not every business needs a checkout. You need an online shop if people buy your product without talking to you first. Here is how to tell the difference.
8 min read → -
30 Jun 2026
SEO
How long does SEO take? An honest timeline (2026)
SEO usually takes three to six months for early movement and six to twelve months for competitive terms. Here is a realistic month-by-month timeline and what actually changes it.
9 min read → -
30 Jun 2026
Ecommerce
How long does it take to build an ecommerce website?
An honest answer from a Leeds studio: a focused online shop can go live in around ten working days. The build is rarely the delay. Here is what actually slows it down.
7 min read → -
30 Jun 2026
Ecommerce
How much does an ecommerce website cost in the UK? An honest breakdown
Ecommerce sites range from a few hundred pounds for DIY to five figures for bespoke. Here is what actually drives the cost, and what a small business genuinely needs to spend.
9 min read → -
30 Jun 2026
Conversion
How to get more enquiries from your website
More enquiries come from two levers, more of the right traffic and a site that makes acting easy. Most businesses fix the wrong one. Here is the practical playbook.
8 min read → -
30 Jun 2026
SEO
How to get more Google reviews (without breaking Google's rules)
Make leaving a review effortless, ask at the right moment, and reply to every one. Here is the exact method for a UK small business, and the lines you must never cross.
9 min read → -
30 Jun 2026
SEO
How to improve your Google ranking: an honest, prioritised playbook
A no-hacks playbook for ranking higher on Google, in the order that actually moves the needle for a small business: search intent and content first, the technical basics, then authority and local, with honest timelines.
11 min read → -
30 Jun 2026
Strategy
The website redesign checklist (2026): an ordered plan that keeps your Google rankings
A genuinely ordered website redesign checklist you can copy and keep, with the SEO-safe migration steps (URL mapping and 301 redirects) most checklists skip, so the relaunch does not cost you traffic.
9 min read → -
30 Jun 2026
Conversion
Why is my website not converting? How to find the leak
A website that gets visitors but no enquiries usually fails at one specific point, not everywhere at once. Here is how to find the exact leak and fix it, fast.
8 min read → -
19 Jun 2026
Strategy
Do I need a website for my business? An honest answer (2026)
A straight answer to whether your business actually needs a website in 2026, when a Google Business Profile or social media is genuinely enough, and how to decide without wasting money either way.
8 min read → -
15 Jun 2026
Strategy
Do I need a website for my small business if I have social media?
Social media rents you an audience. A website is the one you own. Here is the honest case for why a small business needs both, and what happens when you rely on rented land alone.
8 min read → -
15 Jun 2026
Process
How long does it take to build a website? An honest 2026 timeline
A straight answer on how long a small business website really takes, what decides the timeline, why some builds drag for months, and how we ship a finished site in ten working days.
8 min read → -
15 Jun 2026
SEO
How to get your business on Google: search and maps, step by step
A clear, no-jargon guide to getting your business found on Google, from claiming your free Business Profile to the verification failures, duplicate listings and address problems that keep real businesses invisible.
15 min read → -
15 Jun 2026
Strategy
Seven signs your business website needs a redesign
A redesign is not about fashion. It is about a site that has quietly stopped earning its keep. Here are the seven honest signs it is time, and how to tell a redesign from a rebuild.
8 min read → -
15 Jun 2026
Conversion
Why is my website not getting enquiries? The six real reasons
Traffic without enquiries is almost never a traffic problem. It is a conversion problem, and it comes down to six specific, fixable things. Here is how to find which one is costing you.
9 min read → -
15 Jun 2026
SEO
Why is my website not ranking on Google? The real reasons, and how to fix each one
A site that does not rank is almost always failing one of seven specific tests. Here is how to find which one, in plain English, and exactly what to do about it.
10 min read → -
06 Jun 2026
Pricing
How much does a website cost in the UK? An honest 2026 breakdown
What a website really costs in the UK in 2026, from DIY builders to agencies, where the money actually goes, why "from £X" pricing is a trap, and how to tell what your business should pay.
10 min read → -
06 Jun 2026
Strategy
How to build a small business website that wins work (2026)
A practical, no-jargon guide to building a small business website that actually brings in customers, what it must include, the order to do it in, and how to decide between doing it yourself and hiring.
10 min read → -
06 Jun 2026
Strategy
Wix vs WordPress for a small business: the honest comparison (2026)
When a DIY website builder is genuinely the right call, when WordPress wins, and why the real decision for most small businesses is not Wix or WordPress at all. An honest comparison with no affiliate axe to grind.
9 min read → -
29 May 2026
Strategy
Website design for tradesmen: what actually wins work (2026)
Most trade websites are a brochure nobody reads or a rented directory listing. Here is what a tradesman's website is actually for, what it must include, and six real trade sites we built to prove the point.
8 min read → -
18 May 2026
Positioning
Why we refuse 60% of inbound briefs
The work we say no to is more important than the work we say yes to. Here is the disqualification list, in public.
5 min read → -
08 May 2026
Pricing
Why we don’t write proposals
"From £1,997+" is the most expensive phrase in the agency vocabulary. It costs you the buyer's trust before you ever quote.
4 min read → -
30 Apr 2026
Positioning
Anti-template positioning for service businesses
If a stranger can guess your sector from a 200ms thumbnail of your homepage, you are buying agency-template positioning. Here is how to stop.
5 min read → -
22 Apr 2026
Process
The 10-day build constraint
We ship websites in ten working days. The constraint is load-bearing, not a marketing claim. Here is what it changes about how the work happens.
6 min read → -
12 Apr 2026
Positioning
Why we don't pitch
Pitches are theatre. They are a tax on the people who are good at the work, levied to fund the people who are good at presenting it.
4 min read →
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