What we’re reading, building and thinking about
Practical notes on websites, apps and custom software — written for business owners, not developers.
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