• THE BLOG

Notes from the studio.

Straight talk about websites, branding, and running a small business online — no jargon, no influencer nonsense, just what actually works. From someone who builds this stuff for a living.

Web Design

My Freelancer Disappeared: How to Reclaim, Repair, and Secure Your Broken Website

Stressed businessman at office computer with head in hands It is one of the most frustrating phone calls I get, and I get it more often than you would think. The conversation usually starts with […]

June 30, 2026

Small Business

DIY vs. Hire Someone: An Honest Look at Building Your Own Site

I should put my bias on the table before I say a word: I build websites for a living. So when I tell you whether to build your own site or hire someone, you’d be […]

June 17, 2026

Web Design

What Actually Goes on a Small Business Homepage (In Order)

Most small business homepages fail in the same quiet way: they’re a pile of stuff in no particular order. A logo, some text, a few photos, a paragraph the owner wrote at midnight, a contact […]

June 16, 2026

Web Design

How Fast Should Your Site Load? (Yours Probably Doesn’t.)

Here’s an uncomfortable number to start with: a big chunk of people will leave a website if it takes more than about three seconds to load. Not “get annoyed.” Leave. Hit back, gone, off to […]

June 14, 2026

Web Design

AI Can Build a Website. It Still Can’t Build Your Presence.

There’s a version of this post that pretends AI isn’t coming for web design. This isn’t that post. Here’s the honest truth, because honest is the only way I know how to do this: you […]

June 14, 2026

Behind The Scenes

The Disappearing-Freelancer Problem

Almost everyone who has hired a freelancer has a version of the same story. It starts well. There’s a kickoff, some enthusiasm, a few good early drafts. Then the replies start coming slower. A day […]

June 13, 2026

Branding

Your Logo Is Not Your Brand (Good News)

I’ve watched small business owners lose months to their logo. Not to their business — to the logo. Stuck, unable to launch, unable to print a card or build a site, because the logo isn’t […]

June 13, 2026

Web Design

Do You Need a New Site, or Just a Fix?

People come to me fairly often having already decided they need a new website. They’ve made up their mind before the first email. “It’s outdated, it’s embarrassing, I think I just need to start over.” […]

June 12, 2026

Small Business

I Put All My Prices on One Page. Here’s Why.

There’s a little dance that happens in most service businesses, and you’ve been on both sides of it. A potential customer asks, “So roughly what does this cost?” And the business says, “Great question — […]

June 11, 2026