Journal
Notes on doing the work properly.
Plain-spoken pieces for trades who’d rather win work on their reputation than pay per lead. Free, no catch, no jargon.
For trades
Start here if you fit, finish or build for a living.
Is Checkatrade Worth It? An Honest Look at What You Actually Pay
For some firms it’s money well spent. For established trades with a waiting list and £10k jobs, the maths often looks very different.
Directory Leads vs Your Own Website: The Real Maths
A lead is spent the moment you receive it. A finished job written up on your own site keeps working for years. Here’s how the numbers compare.
What to Photograph on a Job — and When
Twelve photos, taken at the right moments, are worth more than two hundred taken at the end. Here’s the shot list.
How to Get More Bathroom and Kitchen Jobs Without Paying Per Lead
The fitters who stay booked up aren’t buying more leads. They’re making every finished job do the selling for the next one.
How Much Should a Building Firm Spend on Marketing?
There’s no magic percentage. But there is a sensible way to set a budget — starting with what one extra job is worth to you.
Should You Show Your Prices Online?
It’s the question that splits every service business. Hide your prices and you stay mysterious. Show them and you might scare people off — or might not. Let’s think it through.
Photos That Sell the Job: Getting Usable Images of Your Work
You don’t need a professional shoot for every job. You do need photos that make someone think ‘I want that.’ Most don’t.
How to Get Reviews Without Feeling Awkward
Reviews are the most persuasive thing on your website — and asking for them feels like the most awkward. Here’s how to make it easy for both sides.
Google Business Profile: The Free Tool Most Businesses Neglect
It’s free, it sits right at the top of local searches, and most businesses set it up once and forget it. That’s a gift left on the table.
Local SEO for Gloucestershire Businesses: A Plain-English Start
You don’t need to “do SEO” like a tech company. You need the right people in your area to find you when they’re ready to buy.
Your Contact Form Is Costing You Jobs. Here’s Why.
You spent money getting visitors to the site. The contact form is where most of them quietly give up.
Trust in Three Seconds: What Homeowners Decide Before They Call
Long before anyone reads your carefully written paragraph, they’ve already decided whether to take you seriously.
Five Things Every Builder’s Website Needs
A homeowner looking at your site isn’t browsing. They’re deciding whether to ring you or the next firm on the list.
Why your best work vanishes — and what to do about it
Most businesses do great work and then say nothing about it. Here's why that matters, and the simple fix.
Websites & marketing
The wider picture — your site, your copy, getting found.
The One-Page Website: When Less Is Genuinely More
Not every business needs a sprawling site with a dozen pages. For some, one well-built page does the whole job — better.
Keeping Past Clients Close: Your Website Isn’t Just for Strangers
Most businesses aim their website entirely at people who’ve never heard of them — and quietly ignore the warmest audience they’ve got.
From ‘Submit’ to ‘Get My Quote’: Why Your Button Text Matters
It’s two words on a button. It also might be the difference between a click and a shrug. Small words, real money.
Your Google Ranking Isn’t Magic: A Plain Explainer
SEO gets talked about like a dark art. It isn’t. Once you understand what Google’s actually trying to do, most of it makes plain sense.
Website Getting Traffic but No Enquiries? Here’s Where to Look
People are visiting. Nobody’s getting in touch. That gap is frustrating — and usually fixable once you know where to look.
Do You Need a Website if You’ve Got Social Media?
If your Instagram is busy and the enquiries are coming, it’s a fair question. Here’s the honest answer.
Before You Redesign Your Website, Answer These Five Questions
A redesign that starts with “make it look better” usually ends with a prettier site that still doesn’t bring in work. Start here instead.
DIY Website vs Professional Build: An Honest Comparison
A website builder can get you online for the price of a coffee a week. Whether it gets you clients is a different question.
Speed, Mobile, and the Leads You Never See
The most expensive visitors are the ones who leave before your site loads. You’ll never meet them — but you paid to bring them in.
The Page That Quietly Closes Sales: Rethinking Your ‘About’ Section
It’s one of the most-visited pages on most sites — and one of the most wasted. Your About page can do real work.
Words That Sell Without Sounding Salesy
You don’t need to shout, exaggerate, or stack exclamation marks. You need to be clear, specific, and easy to trust.
Why Founders Put Their Website Last (And Why That’s Backwards)
It’s the storefront every potential client walks past — yet it’s the job that never reaches the top of the list. There’s a reason, and a fix.
What ‘Conversion-Focused’ Actually Means
It’s the phrase every web designer uses and few explain. Here’s what it really means — and why it changes everything about how a site is built.
The Real Cost of a Weak Website (It’s Not What You Paid for It)
The cheapest website is rarely the one with the lowest price tag. The real cost shows up in the work you never won.