Guides
Find a clearer way through your software problem.
Practical guides to websites, small apps and everyday business workflows. Each one gives you something to check or decide before you spend money, and says plainly when you can handle it yourself.
01
Make your website work harder
Visitors, enquiries and being found: what to check before you pay for a redesign.
- My website gets visitors but no enquiries: what should I check?A self-audit that separates "not enough of the right visitors" from "visitors who cannot easily act".
- Website builder or custom website: which fits your business?A decision table for choosing between a hosted builder and custom work, based on what the site must actually do.
- What should a small business website include?A must-have versus later checklist, organised around what a visitor needs in order to decide.
- Why is my business website not showing up on Google?Work out whether Google has found your site, indexed it, or simply does not rank it yet, and what to do in each case.
- A better enquiry form: ask enough without making it hardWhich fields to ask for, how to test delivery, and why a form that opens an email app is not the same as one that sends.
02
Reduce manual admin
Spreadsheets, double entry and hand-offs: where the hours go and what to fix first.
- When has your business outgrown its spreadsheet?A checklist for deciding between a tidier spreadsheet, existing software and a small custom app.
- Stop entering the same information into different systemsMap where information starts, pick one source of truth, and choose the lightest way to move it.
- From enquiry to booking: fix the handoffs that lose workAn illustrative enquiry-to-booking workflow showing who does what and what happens when something goes wrong.
- What should you automate first in a small business?A simple scoring worksheet for picking the first task worth automating, and the ones to leave alone.
- Do you need AI, ordinary automation, or a simpler process?A decision tree that starts with "do not automate yet" and only reaches for AI when the task needs it.
03
Plan a small app
From "could we have an app?" to a first version small enough to finish and safe enough to use.
- Do you need an app, a website, or an existing tool?A decision tree, plus a plain explanation of the difference between a web app and a native mobile app.
- How to scope the first version of a small business appA worked one-page scope and a blank template for deciding what the first version should and should not do.
- Can an AI-built app be used safely in a real business?A readiness checklist that separates what an owner can check from what needs a specialist.
- Customer portal or email: when is a portal worth building?A decision table and a minimum useful portal scope, including the cases where email is still the right answer.
- What happens after an app launches?A responsibility checklist for owner and developer covering updates, backups, access and support.
04
Choose the right help
Who to ask, what affects the cost, how to brief them, and what you should own at the end.
- When should you involve a developer in a small website or app project?Three scenarios, from doing it yourself to engaging a builder, and what experienced help actually changes.
- DIY, freelancer, small studio or agency: how do you choose?A balanced comparison matrix and the questions to ask each kind of provider.
- What affects the cost of a small website or custom app?The factors behind a quote and a worksheet for comparing quotes like for like. Not a price list.
- How to write a useful brief for a website or small appA copyable brief and a clearly fictional example, written so you can start without the technical vocabulary.
- Who owns your website, code, domain and business data?A handover checklist and the questions to settle before work begins. Practical access, not legal advice.
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