Written for buyers. Nothing here sells retainers.
Guides that answer where hiring goes wrong, a glossary that translates the sales call, checklists that survive launch week, and a brief template that gets quotable replies. No blog, no newsletter funnel pretending to be articles, one email signup on this whole page, and that is the quarterly rate report.
Guides
The long answers.
Costs What a website really costs in 2026
Honest 2026 website cost breakdowns for five project sizes, including the line items nobody quotes for upfront.
Briefs How to write a brief developers can quote
The six questions every developer asks anyway, answer them upfront and get real quotes instead of more questions.
Vetting 14 questions that expose a weak developer
The vetting call, scripted: 14 questions with what a good answer sounds like and the three red flags that end evaluations.
Contracts Who owns the code you paid for?
IP assignment, repository access, milestone payments and the five clauses that decide who actually owns your website.
Rate report, Q2 2026 edition
The quarterly rate bands, what moved and why, every past edition archived. Same numbers as the email, no email required.
Glossary, 104 terms in plain English
Every term a developer says on a sales call, with what each one means for your budget and risk.
Website launch checklist
The pre-launch, launch-day and week-one checks that separate clean launches from firefight, content, forms, redirects, analytics, speed and the legal minimum.
Ecommerce launch checklist
Store-specific launch checks: real-payment checkout tests, tax and shipping zones, transactional email, catalog hygiene and the post-launch watch that protects revenue.
WordPress security checklist
The WordPress hardening list in order of impact: updates, tested restores, least-privilege accounts, 2FA and the monitoring that catches what slips through.
SEO checklist at launch
What "SEO included" should mean in any build: titles, structure, canonical URLs, sitemaps, schema, speed and the technical minimum that earns, not promises, rankings.
WordPress maintenance checklist
The monthly WordPress routine that prevents 90% of emergencies: staged updates, tested backups, security scan, performance watch, in the order that matters.
Website redesign checklist
The redesign survival list: audit before promise, preserve URL equity with redirects, stage the SEO migration, and launch with a rollback plan, nothing missed.
Ecommerce SEO checklist
The ecommerce-specific SEO list: faceted navigation that does not leak, category pages that rank, product structured data, and the canonical discipline stores need.
Checkout optimization checklist
The developer-side checkout optimization checklist: 20+ checks mapped to real abandonment causes, cost transparency, guest checkout, express wallets, form length, error safety.
AI-readiness checklist
Is your site and business ready to plug in AI features? The checklist: data inventory, privacy lines, content provenance, access hygiene, and the eval gates to expect.
Analytics setup checklist
The measurement setup checklist: GA4 property and events, Search Console, sitemap, key conversions (leads, WhatsApp clicks, calculator completions), filters and retention.
Accessibility pre-launch checklist
The accessibility pass every launch needs: keyboard-only navigation, focus visibility, contrast AA, form labels, alt policy, heading order, touch targets, buyer-level WCAG.
Content readiness checklist
The content checklist to complete before a website build starts: page copy, images and licensing, brand basics, legal pages, and the approval map, with owners per item.
Website due-diligence checklist
Buying a business with a website? The due-diligence checklist: access, licenses, tech debt, SEO health, analytics truth-check, security posture, and ownership verification.
Website brief template
A free, no-email brief template built around the six questions developers ask anyway. Fill it in one pass and every quote you get back is comparable.
Developer interview template
Copy-paste interview script for evaluating any web developer: 14 questions grouped by intent, good/bad answer patterns, and the scoring sheet.
Project requirements template
A copy-paste requirements document structure: goals, scope in/out, integrations, constraints, acceptance criteria, the spec that makes quotes comparable.
Web development RFP template
The full RFP structure for when procurement requires one, with the honest note that a six-question brief usually beats a forty-question document.
Website handover checklist
The end-of-project checklist for taking full ownership: registrar, DNS, hosting, CMS, repository, database, email, analytics, backups, documentation, and why each is leverage.
Mutual NDA template for web projects
A mutual NDA sized for web projects: what actually needs protecting (data, credentials, unreleased plans) and what does not (ideas). Copy, fill two name fields, sign.
Statement of Work (SOW) template
The SOW is the contract engine: deliverables page by page, acceptance criteria per milestone, change control, and exclusions named. Fill it once and "scope creep" stops being a risk.
Website maintenance agreement template
The maintenance contract that protects both sides: what the plan covers, response times in writing, what counts as extra work, backups tested not promised, and exit terms.
Integration requirements template
A free template for scoping a third-party integration before it is built: systems, triggers, data mapping, failure handling, the doc that makes quotes comparable and syncs sane.
The takeover-safe handover template
The handover template that prevents hostage situations: every credential, account, license and decision documented, structured so the next developer (or you) is never locked out.
Quarterly, and only when the numbers move
Get the rate report before you negotiate.
Updated rate bands across the major stacks and regions, plus what changed and why. No other email.
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