What we’re reading, building and thinking about
Practical notes on websites, apps and custom software — written for business owners, not developers.
What an AI agent can and cannot do in your business today
Agents that take actions rather than answer questions are genuinely useful and genuinely risky. The difference is where you put the human.
09/23/2026
What it really takes to ship to the App Store
The build is not the hard part. Accounts, review, privacy disclosures and the update treadmill are what surprise first-time app owners.
09/16/2026
Before you add a chatbot to your website
A chatbot answers from what it has been given. If your own website cannot answer a question, neither can the bot — it will just answer anyway.
09/09/2026
Your website is not a brochure any more
Most small-business websites still work like a printed leaflet. The ones that earn their keep let a customer finish the job — book, order, pay, check a status.
09/02/2026
AI for small business: where it actually pays
Skip the hype. Four places where AI reliably saves a small business time today, three where it will cost you more than it saves, and how to tell them apart.
08/26/2026
What a website should cost — and what you are actually paying for
Quotes for the same website range from a few hundred dollars to twenty thousand. Here is what actually drives the number, and which parts you keep paying for after launch.
08/19/2026
The hidden cost of a cheap website
The invoice is not the price. Expired certificates, unpatched plugins and missing backups all arrive later, and they arrive at the worst possible time.
08/12/2026
Hurricane season is a technology problem too
Plywood and generators get planned for. The website, the phone line and the customer data usually do not — and they are what customers reach for first.
08/02/2026
Do you actually need a mobile app?
Most businesses that ask for an app need a better mobile website. Here is how to tell which one you are, before spending the difference.
07/25/2026
Own your online ordering
Delivery platforms can take up to 30% of an order. First-party ordering does not replace them — it gives you somewhere to send the customers who already know your name.
07/18/2026