Guides
Plain-English guides to the decisions I help businesses make: platforms, agencies, costs, automation and what to do when something reaches end of life. Written by me, with sources, and kept up to date.
Choosing and buying
How to compare website proposals: the lines that change the price
Quotes for the same website can be thousands of pounds apart. Usually it's not the rate, it's what each one leaves out. Here's how to line them up before you sign.
How to choose a web agency: an independent UK checklist
Write down what you need, shortlist three or four agencies, send them the same brief and read the contract as carefully as the price. A practical checklist from someone who scopes projects, leads delivery and builds websites.
Acceptance criteria for website projects, with examples
Acceptance criteria are the written tests that say when a feature is finished. Write them before anyone quotes, and tie them to sign-off and payment. Eight worked examples inside.
Websites and online shops
Shopify vs WooCommerce in the UK: what each really costs to run
Plan prices are the small part. Card fees, apps, plugins and someone's time decide what an online shop really costs, and at some sizes the two platforms come out close.
How much does a website cost in the UK in 2026?
Published UK ranges for each kind of site, what pushes the price up, freelancer versus agency, and the running costs most quotes leave out. Sources cited; judgement labelled.
Google Shopping feed errors: the common ones and how to fix them
Most Merchant Center errors come from the shop, not the feed. Fix them in WooCommerce, Shopify or Magento and they stay fixed; patch the feed and they come back.
Magento
Leaving Magento: Shopify or WooCommerce?
What moves cleanly off Magento 2 and Adobe Commerce, what has to be rebuilt, when Shopify or WooCommerce fits, and when staying put is the better call.
Hyvä explained: is a Magento front-end rebuild worth it?
The Hyvä theme is now free. That changes the sums on a Magento front-end rebuild, but it doesn't fix an old version, a tangled backend or a fading extension list.
Automation and enquiries
What's worth automating in a small business (with the maths)
Automation is worth it when a task is frequent, predictable and costly, and the saving survives the running costs. Here's the arithmetic, a worked example, and the tasks to leave alone.
What missed calls and slow replies really cost a small business
The real figure isn't in a vendor's headline statistic. It's in your phone log, your inbox and your quotes. Here's how to work it out, and what to fix first.
Leadership and investors
The first 100 days after acquisition: a technology checklist
After a deal, the technology picture is usually spread across people, suppliers and inboxes. This is the checklist I use to get it onto paper, prioritised and owned within about 14 weeks.
Fractional CTO or fractional delivery lead: which do you need?
Both are senior, part-time and cheaper than a permanent hire. They own different things. Here's how to tell which problem you actually have before you pay for the wrong one.