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Notes from the studio

What we are learning on the build side and the growth side. No thought leadership, just working notes.

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Written by the people doing the work, not a content farm.

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A user interface design being reviewed on a screen

Web Design 8 min read

12 signs your business website needs a redesign


A website rarely breaks in an obvious way. It just sends fewer calls every year. Twelve signs yours is costing you customers, and how to check each one in minutes.

A team reviewing a project plan on a large screen

Planning 7 min read

How long does it take to build a small business website?


Most small business websites take six to ten weeks. A stage by stage timeline, what slows projects down and how to launch faster.

A desk with a laptop, notebook and calculator used for project budgeting

Pricing 9 min read

How much does a business website actually cost in 2026?


Five agencies, five numbers, all of them defensible. Here is the breakdown we use internally: what actually moves the price, what gets left out of the quote, and what you get at each budget level.

An analytics dashboard showing traffic trends on a screen

Conversion 8 min read

Your website gets traffic but no leads. Here is what is usually wrong


In these audits the cause has fallen into the same five buckets nearly every time. Work through them in this order. The cheap fixes are first for a reason.

A map view on a laptop showing local business locations

SEO 10 min read

The local SEO checklist we actually use for service businesses


For a plumber or an HVAC company, local SEO is not a channel. It is whether the phone rings. The list we work through, in the order we work through it.

A developer comparing two approaches on a large monitor

Development 9 min read

WordPress or a custom build: how to actually choose


Developers have opinions about this and most of them are about the developer. The honest answer turns on one question almost nobody asks first.

A team reviewing performance charts together at a desk

Reporting 8 min read

What your marketing dashboard should actually show you


Most dashboards are decoration: twelve charts and a big number that goes up. The four figures that belong on the first screen, and what should never be there.

Two people discussing a project brief across a table

Working together 8 min read

How to brief a web agency when you do not know what you need


You do not need a specification to get a useful quote. What to write down, what to leave to the agency, and the questions that separate the good ones.

Reading beats rebuilding

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