Notes,
essays & postmortems.
Things we've learned shipping software for eight years. Sometimes a craft argument; sometimes a 4,000-word write-up of the time we got something embarrassingly wrong. Always written by the people who did the work.
Announcing IssuesID: AI-Powered Construction Defect Management
We built IssuesID — a multi-tenant, offline-first platform for construction defect, snag and quality management. Here is what it does and why we built it.
What a Website Discovery Phase Should Actually Deliver
Discovery is the phase most clients want to skip and most regret skipping. Here is what a proper website discovery phase produces and why it saves money.
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AI on the Building Site: Practical Uses in Construction QA and Handover
Beyond the hype, AI is quietly useful on site. Practical applications in construction QA, defect capture and handover — and where it does not belong yet.
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Plausible vs Fathom vs GA4: Choosing Privacy-First Analytics
Privacy-first analytics has matured. An honest comparison of Plausible, Fathom and GA4 on data, accuracy, compliance and cost for business sites.
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Choosing Construction Defect Management Software: A Buyer's Guide
Not all defect software survives a real job site. The criteria that matter — offline capture, audit trails, handover packs, integrations — when choosing construction QA software.
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Reducing Cart Abandonment: Checkout UX Fixes That Move Revenue
Most carts are abandoned for fixable reasons. The checkout UX changes that actually recover revenue, ranked by impact and effort.
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Offline-First PWAs: Building Software That Works With No Signal
For field teams in basements and lift shafts, connectivity is optional but the work is not. How offline-first PWAs are built — and why we chose one for IssuesID.
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Passkeys and Passwordless Login: Should Your Site Adopt Them in 2026?
Passkeys are ready for mainstream use. Here is how passwordless login works, where it helps, and whether your site should adopt it in 2026.
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Digitising Snagging: From Spreadsheets to Defect-Tracking Software
Snagging on spreadsheets and camera rolls loses context and blows out close-out times. How defect-tracking software fixes the on-site record.
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The True Cost of a Cheap Website: Technical Debt Explained for Owners
A $2,000 website is rarely cheap by year three. Here is how technical debt accrues on budget builds and what it actually costs your business.
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Ecommerce Replatforming: Signals It Is Time to Leave Shopify or WooCommerce
When to stay on Shopify or WooCommerce, when to move, and what the alternative stacks look like — a decision framework for replatforming without regret.
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Design Systems for Small Teams: When It Is Worth Building One
Design systems pay off at scale. Below that, they are overhead. Here is how to tell when a small team needs one — and the lightweight approaches to start with.
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Retainer vs Project Work: How to Budget Ongoing Web Investment
Project budgets and retainers solve different problems. Here is how to pick the right mix for your business website, and how to spot a weak retainer pitch.
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Site Launch Checklist: 40 Things to Verify Before Flipping DNS
The 40-item pre-launch checklist we run on every CodeDrips site before DNS cutover — SEO, analytics, performance, security, functional, accessibility, and legal.
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Announcing AssetDrips: Tame Your WordPress Media Library
We just shipped v1 of AssetDrips — a free, open-source WordPress plugin to find, organise and optimise large media libraries, non-destructively. Here is what it does and why we built it.
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The Website Migration Playbook: Zero-Downtime Replatforms
A practical playbook for replatforming a business website without losing traffic, rankings, or customer trust — from URL inventory to launch-day runbook.
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Netlify vs Vercel vs Cloudflare Pages for Jamstack Deploys
Three platforms dominate Jamstack hosting. Here is how Netlify, Vercel and Cloudflare Pages compare on build speed, runtime, pricing and AU latency in 2026.
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Sanity vs Contentful vs Storyblok: Choosing a Headless CMS in 2026
Three headless CMS platforms dominate serious projects in 2026. Here is an honest comparison of Sanity, Contentful and Storyblok on editor UX, DX and pricing.
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Image Optimisation Beyond WebP: AVIF, LQIP and the New Defaults
AVIF is now broadly supported and LQIP has matured. Here is the 2026 baseline we ship for image-heavy sites and the tooling that makes it automatic.
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Edge Rendering Explained: When It Is Worth the Complexity
Edge rendering promises sub-50ms responses worldwide, but it comes with real trade-offs. Here is when the complexity actually earns its keep.
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Astro vs Next.js vs Gatsby: A 2026 Framework Shootout
We built the same content-heavy site three ways. Here is how Astro, Next.js and Gatsby compare in 2026 on build time, runtime performance, DX and ecosystem.
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B2B SaaS Websites: The Anatomy of a High-Converting Homepage
A teardown of what a high-converting B2B SaaS homepage contains in 2026, from outcome-based hero to FAQ, pricing anchor, and conversion-oriented footer CTA.
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Recruitment Agency Websites That Attract Both Sides of the Market
Recruitment websites have to court candidates and employers from the same homepage without becoming a mess. Here is how we architect sites that do both.
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Fitness and Wellness Studios: Booking-First Website Architecture
Fitness and wellness studios live or die by bookings. Here is how we architect websites where the booking flow is the spine, not a bolt-on afterthought.
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Non-Profit Web Design: Donations, Volunteers and Grant-Ready Sites
Non-profit websites serve donors, volunteers and grant assessors at once. Here is how we design sites that convert for all three without diluting the mission.
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