Journal for small businesses

Practical tips for your website.

Short, honest guides on websites, Google and winning customers — for people who have something else to be doing.

July 31, 20264 min read

Photos on Google: Images That Bring Customers In

Good photos on your Google profile help people choose you before they've read a word — here's how to shoot and pick them well.

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July 30, 20264 min read

Google Posts: Show Your Offers Right on Profile

Learn how to use Google Posts to put offers, news and events straight into your Business Profile so people see them before they call.

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July 29, 20265 min read

Email Newsletters: Reach Customers Without Ad Spend

A practical guide to starting an email newsletter for your small business so you can reach customers directly without paying for ads.

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July 28, 20264 min read

An FAQ Page That Answers Questions and Saves Calls

A good FAQ page answers the questions you get on the phone all day, so customers help themselves and you get fewer interruptions.

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July 27, 20264 min read

WhatsApp Business: A Direct Line to Customers

How to set up WhatsApp Business the right way, answer faster without living on your phone, and keep customer chats professional.

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July 26, 20264 min read

Set Up and Maintain Your Google Business Profile

A practical guide to creating and keeping your Google Business Profile accurate so local customers can find and trust you.

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A florist in an apron checks her smartphone among the bouquets in her flower shop.July 25, 20263 min read

A business email at your own domain, not Gmail

Why a business email like info@yourbakery.com beats a Gmail or Yahoo address for winning trust — and how to set one up this week.

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July 24, 20264 min read

Building Trust: What Visitors Want in 5 Seconds

A visitor decides in seconds whether to trust your website — here's what they look for and how to give it to them fast.

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July 23, 20264 min read

Keeping Your Website Current Without the Chore

A simple, low-effort system for keeping your small-business website fresh, using habits and examples that fit around your actual working day.

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July 22, 20264 min read

Understand Your Site — Without Creepy Tracking

See what actually happens on your website without spying on visitors, using simple analytics that respect privacy and still tell you what you need.

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July 21, 20264 min read

Accessibility: Small Steps, Big Impact

Simple accessibility fixes help more people use your website, and most take just minutes once you know what to look for.

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July 20, 20264 min read

Checklist: before your website goes live

A practical, non-technical checklist to run through before your new website goes live, so nothing embarrassing slips through.

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A florist in an apron checks her smartphone inside her flower shop.July 19, 20263 min read

The website mistakes that cost you customers

Your website is live but nobody calls? It is usually a handful of common mistakes. Here is what quietly costs small businesses customers — and the fix.

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July 18, 20264 min read

What a website really costs: agency, builder, DIY

A plain-English breakdown of what a website actually costs across agency, builder and alternative routes, plus the hidden ongoing bills.

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Florist in an apron taking an order on her phone in her shop while writing it down on a notepadJuly 17, 20264 min read

Contact form or phone? What your customers want

Should your website have a contact form, a phone number, or both? What belongs in the form, and the one test that stops you losing enquiries.

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A florist in an apron stands in her flower shop, looking at her phone.July 16, 20264 min read

Do you need a website if you already have Instagram?

Instagram is working for you and there's no website — is that a problem? What a profile does well, where it stops, and when a site earns its keep.

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Three volunteers sharing coffee and ideas around a kitchen tableJuly 15, 20265 min read

Handing over a club website: the checklist

Ask the outgoing webmaster for the last renewal invoice before you ask for a single password — it answers three questions the passwords never will.

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The worn facade of an old studio with peeling paint and rusted signsJuly 15, 20266 min read

Your old site is still showing up in Google

Your new site is losing to your own back catalogue, and the fix is almost never on Google's side — it is on a hosting account you forgot about.

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A man searching through folders in an office storage roomJuly 15, 20266 min read

Who actually owns your domain, you or your agency?

Your registrar's most boring email quietly reveals who the domain is registered to, and the public WHOIS lookup never will.

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A woman writing in a notebook in a caféJuly 15, 20265 min read

Website copy that actually convinces people

If you would feel silly saying it across the counter, it has no business being on your home page — and that is only where the cleanup starts.

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A carpenter cutting wood in a dusty workshopJuly 15, 20265 min read

What a small business website actually needs

Open your own site on your phone and try to call yourself: most owners find the thing that is costing them work inside a minute.

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A mechanic repairing machinery in a workshopJuly 15, 20265 min read

Why a fast website wins you more customers

Turn your Wi-Fi off, open your own site on your phone, and count. That number is the one your customers actually live with.

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A barber cutting a customer’s hair in the shopJuly 15, 20265 min read

Getting Google reviews without being pushy

Most happy customers would leave a review — they just never get asked. Here is how to ask once, make it easy, and then let it go.

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Someone photographing a latte with a smartphoneJuly 15, 20265 min read

Good website photos without a photographer

Everyone can spot a stock photo, so here's how to shoot the real thing yourself with a phone, a window and one tidy corner of your workshop.

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