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Blog
Notes from the workshop
No filler and no jargon. Just the IT and admin problems we see costing UK businesses real money, and honest advice on what is worth doing about them.
SEOAudits
What an SEO audit should actually tell you, and what to be suspicious of
Most SEO audits are a tool export with a logo on it. Here is what a useful one contains, in what order, and the warning signs worth walking away from.
10 September 2026 · 7 min read
Google Business ProfileLocal SEO
When you are starting out, your Google profile usually matters more than your website
A brand new site starts from nothing. A Business Profile does not. If you are early and short of both time and money, this is usually the better first move.
10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Local SEOWebsites
One office, a wide service area, and where local rankings really come from
A page per town is the first thing everyone tries and the thing that most often fails. Here is why, including the version of this mistake we made on our own site.
10 September 2026 · 7 min read
AutomationAdmin
What to automate first in a small office, and what to leave alone
Automate the thing you do the same way every time. Leave alone the thing that needs somebody to think. Here is how to tell which is which.
10 September 2026 · 6 min read
AdminJob management
Getting job records off paper and into something you can search
Paper works right up until the moment you need it. Here is what to record, where the photos should live, and why you probably should not scan the filing cabinet.
10 September 2026 · 7 min read
QuotingAdmin
Getting quotes out the same day, from your phone
The quote you send at nine in the evening is competing with one that went out at half past two. Here is how to be the one that went out at half past two.
10 September 2026 · 6 min read
DataFiles
Getting your files off one person's laptop and somewhere the business owns
If the master copy of anything lives on one person's machine, the business does not really own it. Here is how to move it without creating a worse mess.
10 September 2026 · 7 min read
Office moveNetworks
What goes wrong in an office move, from the IT side
The building is usually ready before the internet is. Here is the IT side of an office move, in the order it needs to happen, and the bits that take weeks not days.
10 September 2026 · 7 min read
EmailMicrosoft 365
Moving your email to Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace without losing anything
Email moves rarely fail on the mail itself. They fail on the shared mailbox nobody listed and the DNS record nobody could edit. Here is the order to do it in.
10 September 2026 · 7 min read
PhonesVoIP
What actually changes when you move off a landline to VoIP
Leaving the landline is mostly a good change, and there are three things that go wrong. Here is what to check before you sign anything.
10 September 2026 · 8 min read
ServersCloud
Replace the server, or move to the cloud? The honest trade offs
The server is due for replacement and everyone says move to the cloud. Here is what that decision actually turns on, in the order it should be considered.
10 September 2026 · 8 min read
IT supportManaged service
What managed IT support should actually include, and what quietly gets left out
Most support contracts are written to sound generous and scope narrowly. Here is what should be in one, and the handful of questions that show you what is missing.
10 September 2026 · 8 min read
E commerceMarketplaces
Selling on your own site versus Amazon, eBay and Etsy
Marketplaces bring traffic and take a cut. Your own shop keeps the margin and has to earn its own visitors. Most firms end up doing both, and that is the right answer.
10 September 2026 · 7 min read
WebsitesPricing
What a small business website should actually cost
Quotes for the same site can differ by a factor of five, and it is rarely because one firm is greedy. Here are the bands, and what actually changes the number.
10 September 2026 · 7 min read
WebsitesConversion
Your website gets visitors but no enquiries
Traffic without enquiries is usually one of a small number of specific problems. Here is how to find yours before you spend a penny on a redesign.
26 July 2026 · 6 min read
BackupDisaster recovery
Why your backups probably would not save you, and the ten minute test that proves it
A backup that runs every night is not the same as a backup that works. Here is a ten minute test you can run yourself, and how to read the result.
26 July 2026 · 6 min read
Local SEOGoogle Business Profile
Getting found locally: the Google Business Profile jobs most firms never finish
Most small firms set up a Google Business Profile once and never go back. Here are the jobs that get left half done, and why they matter for local search.
24 July 2026 · 6 min read
Cyber securityPhishing
The five signs an email is not from who it says it is
The spelling mistakes are gone and the logos are perfect. Here are the five signs that still hold up, and the habit that stops the costly ones.
24 July 2026 · 6 min read
AI SEOAnswer engines
Being quoted by AI answer engines: what actually makes a page citable
More buyers ask an assistant before they ask a search box. Here is what makes a page usable as a source, and what makes it easy to skip.
23 July 2026 · 7 min read
Cyber EssentialsCompliance
Cyber Essentials, in plain English: what it is, what it costs you in effort, and why customers ask for it
Less about what the scheme is, more about what it actually asks of you: the work involved, the usual sticking points, and why the requests keep arriving.
23 July 2026 · 7 min read
WebsitesPerformance
The real cost of a slow website, and how to find what is slowing yours
Slow pages lose visitors before a word is read. Here is what slow actually means, the usual causes, and how to work out which one is yours.
22 July 2026 · 7 min read
Cyber securityIdentity
What multi factor authentication actually stops, and how to turn it on this week
What it genuinely protects against, what it does not, which methods are worth choosing, and a sensible order to switch it on without locking anyone out.
22 July 2026 · 7 min read
E commerceOmnichannel
Stop retyping orders: joining your shop, your stock and your accounts
If somebody spends part of every day copying orders between systems, that job can usually be removed. Here is what joining things up really involves.
20 July 2026 · 7 min read
ServersMigration
Your old server is a business risk, not an asset: how to tell when it is time
It still works, so it stays. Here are the signs that an ageing server has quietly become a liability, and how to decide what to do about it.
20 July 2026 · 7 min read
AdminAutomation
The paperwork tax: what document processing actually removes from your week
Invoices, delivery notes and timesheets quietly eat days every month. Here is what automating them genuinely removes, and what still needs a person.
18 July 2026 · 6 min read
AIData protection
What staff are really pasting into free AI tools, and the one rule that fixes it
Your team is already using AI, whether or not anyone decided they should. Here is what typically goes in, where it can end up, and the one rule that works.
18 July 2026 · 6 min read
PhonesSales
Every missed call is a job going to someone else
Most small firms lose more work to voicemail than they ever lose to a competitor. Here is why, and what genuinely helps.
16 July 2026 · 5 min read
Microsoft 365Backup
Microsoft 365 is not backed up, and Microsoft says so
Most owners assume 365 backs up their mail and files. It does not, and Microsoft say so in their own terms. Here is what that actually means.
12 July 2026 · 6 min read
Cyber securityCompliance
Cyber Essentials in plain English
What the scheme is, the five things it checks, Essentials versus Plus, and an honest read on whether your business needs it yet.
8 July 2026 · 6 min read