Practical thinking on building smarter.
Plain-English guides on websites, software, AI, automation, ecommerce, marketing and design — written to help you make better decisions, not to sell you something.
WordPress or a custom website: how to choose
A plain-English guide to deciding between a WordPress site and a custom-built website, based on content, features, budget and how your team works.
· 4 min read
Read articleWhat to automate first: a practical guide for small teams
How to pick your first business automation: the three tests a process should pass, common starting points, and how to avoid automating the wrong thing.
Where practical AI actually helps a business (and where it doesn't)
A grounded look at the business problems AI is good at today, the ones it is not, and how to start with a low-risk first use case.
A Shopify conversion checklist you can run this week
A practical checklist for improving a Shopify store: speed, product pages, navigation, cart and checkout friction, trust signals, and measurement.
Seven signs your business has outgrown its spreadsheets
Spreadsheets are a great starting point, until they are not. Seven signs it is time to move critical processes into purpose-built software.
SEO basics for a new business website
The fundamentals of search visibility for a new site: technical foundations, useful content, local signals, and realistic expectations.
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