The guides · September 2026
Straight answers, written down
What things cost, what to build first, and when the honest answer is that you should not build anything at all.
Start here
The latest, and the most useful
React Native vs native vs PWA: what the choice means for your budget
Developers argue about this with real conviction and the argument is usually about engineering taste. Translated into money, timelines and what your users actually get, the decision is more straightforward than it sounds.
Zapier is getting expensive: when to self-host, and when to build
The bill was trivial and now it is a real line, and it grows fastest when the business is going well. What actually drives the cost, when self-hosting genuinely pays, and when the tool has become a liability rather than a saving.
Brand identity design cost: what you should actually receive
Three quotes at four, fifteen and sixty thousand for what sounds like the same job. They are not the same job. Here is the deliverables list that makes them comparable, and what each tier actually buys.
The money questions
What things actually cost
Brand identity design cost: what you should actually receive
Fixed price vs time and materials: how to pay for software without regretting it
How much does an MVP cost? Bands, what to leave out, and no-code versus code
What does a business dashboard cost, and why most of the work is not the dashboard
How much does a customer portal cost to build?
Paying monthly for your website: what maintenance should cost, and what you actually own
Website redesign cost: refresh, rebuild, or rescue?
Outgrown Shopify? What its limits actually are, what the apps really cost, and when to move
When something has gone wrong
Rescue guides, in order
Your Google Business Profile was suspended. What to do this week
Fourteen years of trading and 250 reviews, gone on a Tuesday morning. What actually triggers a suspension, the first forty-eight hours in order, why repeat appeals make it worse, and how to keep the phone ringing meanwhile.
Your website went down and nobody noticed. How to find out before your customers do
Paying monthly for your website: what maintenance should cost, and what you actually own
Apple rejected your app: the common guideline numbers explained, and what to do next
Who owns your website? The domain, code and accounts checklist
You built it with AI. Here is what it takes to make it production-ready
10 guides
Websites
Your Google Business Profile was suspended. What to do this week
Fourteen years of trading and 250 reviews, gone on a Tuesday morning. What actually triggers a suspension, the first forty-eight hours in order, why repeat appeals make it worse, and how to keep the phone ringing meanwhile.
WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace vs custom: which is right for your business
Website redesign cost: refresh, rebuild, or rescue?
Your website is slow. Here is what is actually causing it
Served with an ADA website lawsuit? What a small business should do this week
Your website gets visitors but no enquiries: how to find out why
8 guides
Mobile apps
React Native vs native vs PWA: what the choice means for your budget
Developers argue about this with real conviction and the argument is usually about engineering taste. Translated into money, timelines and what your users actually get, the decision is more straightforward than it sounds.
A membership app for gyms, salons and clinics: does it reduce no-shows?
A field service app for trades: what offline-first actually means
How long does it take to build an app? A realistic timeline
A restaurant ordering app: own the order, not just the delivery fee
Do you need an app or a website? And how to turn the website you have into an app
14 guides
AI & automation
Zapier is getting expensive: when to self-host, and when to build
The bill was trivial and now it is a real line, and it grows fastest when the business is going well. What actually drives the cost, when self-hosting genuinely pays, and when the tool has become a liability rather than a saving.
Recruitment process automation: automate the admin, never the judgement
Property management automation: what to automate in lettings, and what not to
Fix the process before automating it, or you will fail faster
Knowledge management for manufacturing: finding the current revision
Insurance document automation: what it reads, and what it gets wrong
15 guides
Data & systems
Stock, orders and cash in three systems: what one live view takes
The Monday meeting runs on a spreadsheet somebody built on Sunday night. Replacing it is mostly not a dashboard project, it is connecting three systems and settling what in stock actually means.
A client portal for accountants: what it fixes and what it will not
A dashboard cannot fix messy data. It shows it to everyone, faster
Inventory management software for a small business: buy it, extend it, or build it
Do you need an ERP for a small business, or three tools that talk to each other?
QuickBooks integration: connecting it to everything else, and what that costs
11 guides
Hiring & buying
Fixed price vs time and materials: how to pay for software without regretting it
Both models fail in predictable, opposite ways, and the failure is in the incentives rather than the people. What each actually protects you from, what it quietly costs, and the hybrid that fits most projects.
How to write a software brief a developer can actually quote
No-code vs custom development: when no-code stops working
Red flags in a software proposal, and how to compare three of them fairly
How much does an MVP cost? Bands, what to leave out, and no-code versus code
How to work with an offshore development team without it going wrong
6 guides
Rescue & ownership
Your website went down and nobody noticed. How to find out before your customers do
Being up is not the same as working, and most monitoring only checks the first one. The four levels worth watching, why an alert nobody receives is not an alert, and what any of this costs.
Paying monthly for your website: what maintenance should cost, and what you actually own
Who owns your website? The domain, code and accounts checklist
Your website has been hacked. What to do in the first 48 hours
Taking over a codebase from a previous agency: what to expect, and what it costs
My developer disappeared. How to get your website, code and accounts back
Every guide
The full index
- A client portal for accountants: what it fixes and what it will notData & systems
- A dashboard cannot fix messy data. It shows it to everyone, fasterData & systems
- A field service app for trades: what offline-first actually meansMobile apps
- A membership app for gyms, salons and clinics: does it reduce no-shows?Mobile apps
- A restaurant ordering app: own the order, not just the delivery feeMobile apps
- Adding AI features to your product: the test before you buildAI & automation
- AI for a small business: what actually works in 2026, and what is hypeAI & automation
- AI receptionist for missed calls: what it costs, and when a human is betterAI & automation
- An online booking system for clinics: build, embed or buyData & systems
- Apple rejected your app: the common guideline numbers explained, and what to do nextMobile apps
- B2B wholesale ordering online: Shopify B2B, a portal, or something customE-commerce
- Brand identity design cost: what you should actually receiveDesign & brand
- Can you trust what an AI assistant tells your customers?AI & automation
- Cloud migration cost: the honest budget, including the overlap nobody mentionsData & systems
- Custom software vs off-the-shelf: a decision framework that will not waste your moneyData & systems
- Do you need an app or a website? And how to turn the website you have into an appMobile apps
- Do you need an ERP for a small business, or three tools that talk to each other?Data & systems
- Does rebranding increase sales? Usually not, and here is how to tellDesign & brand
- Fix the process before automating it, or you will fail fasterAI & automation
- Fixed price vs time and materials: how to pay for software without regretting itHiring & buying
- How long does it take to build an app? A realistic timelineMobile apps
- How much does a custom AI chatbot cost to build and run?AI & automation
- How much does a customer portal cost to build?Data & systems
- How much does a website cost in 2026? Honest ranges, and what moves the priceWebsites
- How much does an MVP cost? Bands, what to leave out, and no-code versus codeHiring & buying
- How much does an online store cost? Shopify, custom, and the costs in betweenE-commerce
- How much does it cost to build a mobile app? A realistic budget from idea to App StoreMobile apps
- How to automate quotes and invoices in a small businessAI & automation
- How to find a reliable web developer for a small businessHiring & buying
- How to move your website off Wix or Squarespace without losing search trafficWebsites
- How to work with an offshore development team without it going wrongHiring & buying
- How to write a software brief a developer can actually quoteHiring & buying
- Insurance document automation: what it reads, and what it gets wrongAI & automation
- Inventory management software for a small business: buy it, extend it, or build itData & systems
- Knowledge management for manufacturing: finding the current revisionAI & automation
- My developer disappeared. How to get your website, code and accounts backRescue & ownership
- No-code vs custom development: when no-code stops workingHiring & buying
- Our systems do not talk to each other: connecting them without replacing themData & systems
- Outgrown Shopify? What its limits actually are, what the apps really cost, and when to moveE-commerce
- Paying monthly for your website: what maintenance should cost, and what you actually ownRescue & ownership
- Property management automation: what to automate in lettings, and what not toAI & automation
- QuickBooks integration: connecting it to everything else, and what that costsData & systems
- React Native vs native vs PWA: what the choice means for your budgetMobile apps
- Recruitment process automation: automate the admin, never the judgementAI & automation
- Red flags in a software proposal, and how to compare three of them fairlyHiring & buying
- Served with an ADA website lawsuit? What a small business should do this weekWebsites
- Shopify vs a custom store: when each one winsE-commerce
- Signs your spreadsheet has quietly become your business systemData & systems
- Stock, orders and cash in three systems: what one live view takesData & systems
- Taking over a codebase from a previous agency: what to expect, and what it costsRescue & ownership
- Technical cofounder or agency? How to get your MVP built when you cannot codeHiring & buying
- The cloud is cheaper is not automatically trueData & systems
- Too many customer support emails: what to fix before you buy anythingAI & automation
- Twenty questions to ask before hiring a software development agencyHiring & buying
- Website rebuild or refresh? How to tell which one you actually needWebsites
- Website redesign cost: refresh, rebuild, or rescue?Websites
- What agencies will not tell you about fixed-price quotesHiring & buying
- What does a business dashboard cost, and why most of the work is not the dashboardData & systems
- When you should not build a chatbotAI & automation
- Who owns your website? The domain, code and accounts checklistRescue & ownership
- Why did our cloud bill double? The first five things to checkData & systems
- Why prototype before building software, and when to skip itDesign & brand
- Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, or hire someone? A decision guide for service businessesWebsites
- WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace vs custom: which is right for your businessWebsites
- You built it with AI. Here is what it takes to make it production-readyHiring & buying
- Your Google Business Profile was suspended. What to do this weekWebsites
- Your website gets visitors but no enquiries: how to find out whyWebsites
- Your website has been hacked. What to do in the first 48 hoursRescue & ownership
- Your website is slow. Here is what is actually causing itWebsites
- Your website went down and nobody noticed. How to find out before your customers doRescue & ownership
- Zapier is getting expensive: when to self-host, and when to buildAI & automation
The guides, by email
Get the next guide in your inbox
One email when a new guide is published: what things cost, what to build first, and when the honest answer is to build nothing. No promotions, unsubscribe any time.