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Journal

Plain English, about websites, search and systems.

The Werehouse Media journal is 35 in-depth, jargon-free articles written for UK business owners rather than for other web designers. They cover what a website costs in the UK, how to choose a web designer, agency versus freelancer versus small studio, why a site is not ranking and whether a rebuild would actually fix it, local SEO and Google Business Profile, how to get recommended by ChatGPT and AI search, Core Web Vitals, and redesigning without losing rankings.

On the systems side: what a bespoke CRM costs to build, what an AI receptionist costs and when one is not worth it, which jobs a small business should stop doing by hand, and who actually builds business automation in the UK. There are sector guides for trades, garages, dental practices, law firms, accountancy firms, charities, manufacturers, clinics and regulated firms. Every article is written by Ed, who runs the practice.

What things cost, what actually moves rankings, what is worth automating, and what to ignore. Written for business owners, not for other web designers.

01 How much does SEO cost in the UK, and what should the money buy?The survey data behind SEO prices, the three ways it is sold, what a monthly fee should buy, and our own published prices: audit normally £495, local SEO from £695 a month. SEO · 8 min read 02 Quoting software in the UK: when to buy it, when to build it, and when the software is not the problemOff-the-shelf quoting tools from about £20 to £120 per user a month, bespoke from £4,500, and the cheaper fix most businesses skip: the quote goes cold from delay, not format. Automation · 8 min read 03 Contract automation: getting the document out the same day, signed and filed where you can find itWhat contract automation covers, what it costs, the legal position on electronic signatures in England and Wales, and the two places it goes wrong in businesses that already have a CRM. Automation · 8 min read 04 Client onboarding automation: getting a new client fully set up without anybody chasing themOnboarding stalls in one place: the gap between asking a client for documents and receiving them. What to automate first, what must stay human, and what each part costs. Automation · 8 min read 05 Proposal automation: how to stop rewriting the same document every weekAssemble the proposal from a form rather than from last time. The three parts worth automating, the one that must not be, and buy against build with the numbers. Automation · 7 min read 06 Bookkeeping automation: what is worth automating, in what order, and what stays with your accountantThe order that returns the most: bank feeds, sales invoicing, chasing what you are owed, purchase capture, then reporting. Most of the first three are already in the package you pay for. Automation · 9 min read 07 Invoice OCR: reading supplier invoices without anybody typing them inWhat invoice capture reads reliably and what it does not, the volume below which it does not pay for itself, and why the approval step should stay. Automation · 7 min read 08 A telephone handset, illustrating the cost of an AI receptionist How much does an AI receptionist cost in the UK, and when is one not worth it?Real UK numbers for an AI receptionist: off-the-shelf apps from £30 to £500 a month, managed from £999 setup plus £250 a month, and when it does not pay for itself. AI receptionist · 9 min read 09 Two people shaking hands over a table, illustrating a quote being won Why quotes go cold, and the follow-up that fixes itMost quotes are lost to silence, not price. The three-message follow-up that recovers them, what it costs to automate from £650, and when to stop chasing. Automation · 8 min read 10 A dental treatment room, illustrating why reception cannot always answer the phone What missed calls cost a dental practice, and the three fixes, ranked by priceWork out what your practice loses to unanswered calls, then the three fixes in price order: better cover, automatic call-back, and an AI receptionist from £999. Dental · 9 min read 11 Volunteers working together, illustrating a charity website project What a charity website should cost, and what trustees should insist on before signingRealistic cost bands for a charity website, plus the eight things trustees should get in writing first: accessibility, data handling, ownership, and who holds the accounts. Charity · 10 min read 12 Legal books on a shelf, illustrating a law firm website Why law firm websites do not rank, and how the transparency rules can fix itMost law firm sites rank for their own name and nothing else. Why that happens, and how the SRA transparency rules hand you the highest-converting page you are not using. Legal · 10 min read 13 A laptop showing a website, illustrating whether a rebuild is needed You probably do not need a new website to rank. Here is how to tell.Four checks that decide whether your site can rank as it is, and the three specific conditions where a rebuild is genuinely necessary rather than just easier to sell. SEO · 9 min read 14 Server hardware, illustrating a bespoke CRM build What a bespoke CRM actually costs to build, and how to tell if you need oneWhat a bespoke CRM costs to build in the UK, what moves the price, the running costs nobody quotes, and the three situations where buying beats building. Systems · 10 min read 15 A robotic arm, illustrating business automation suppliers Who actually builds business automation for small UK firms?Five kinds of supplier build automation for small UK businesses, what each is good and bad at, roughly what they charge, and how to tell which one your problem needs. Automation · 9 min read 16 A calculator and paperwork on a desk, illustrating accountancy SEO Why accountancy firms rank for their own name and nothing elseBlogging about the Budget does not rank, because every firm does it. What works for accountancy SEO instead: service and location pages, and a site that qualifies rather than reassures. Accountancy · 9 min read 17 A treatment room in a clinic, illustrating aesthetic clinic marketing Marketing an aesthetic clinic in the UK: what you can and cannot sayPrescription-only injectables cannot be advertised to the public in the UK. What that means in practice for a clinic website, and where clinics get caught out. Clinics · 9 min read 18 A construction worker on site, illustrating job management for trades Job management software or a CRM built round your jobs? What trades actually needTradify, Simpro, Commusoft or something built for you. An honest comparison of job management software against a bespoke system, and the point where building wins. Trades · 9 min read 19 An engineering workshop, illustrating a manufacturer's website What technical buyers look for on a manufacturer's site, and where yours loses themTechnical buyers search in process, material and tolerance terms, filter on capability, and abandon at the missing spec sheet. What to publish, and the quoting leak behind it. Manufacturing · 9 min read 20 A yellow sticky note with a question mark on it beside a tablet and a smartwatch Best AI SEO agency UK? How to actually choose oneOffshore agencies, tools you run yourself, your existing SEO firm, or a small UK specialist. An honest comparison, including when to hire nobody. AI search · 12 min read 21 A yellow sticky note with a question mark on it beside a tablet and a smartwatch How to choose a web designer: the questions that actually matterMost people pick a web designer on the portfolio and the price, which are the two things that tell you least. Here is what to ask instead. Choosing · 11 min read 22 Overhead view of hands typing on a laptop beside a cup of tea How to get your business recommended by ChatGPT and AI searchPeople now ask an assistant for a recommendation instead of searching. What decides whether you get named, and what nobody can promise. AI search · 12 min read 23 Two people at a desk with laptops, marking up a hand-drawn page wireframe Agency, freelancer or small studio: who should build your website?An agency sells you capacity. A freelancer sells you hours. A studio sells you judgement. Which one you need is not decided by price. Choosing · 10 min read 24 Black and white photograph of a mechanic working underneath a classic car Why your garage should take bookings online, not just phone callsTwo mechanics under a car cannot answer the phone. What a booking flow actually needs, and why publishing your MOT price wins the job. Trades · 11 min read 25 A narrow street between tall glass office towers in a financial district Websites for regulated firms: credible without looking like a bankEvery regulated firm's site looks identical. Compliance constrains the words, not the design, and sameness is its own commercial risk. Finance & professional · 10 min read 26 A builder in orange overalls working on timber framing at a construction site Local SEO for trades: how to be the one they call when the boiler diesWhen a boiler goes at 7am nobody scrolls. How to be the one they ring, starting with the Google category most trades have set wrong. Trades · 12 min read 27 Long exposure photograph of red car light trails on a motorway at night When website animation earns its keep (and when it just slows you down)Animation earns its keep on property and design work. It loses you enquiries when someone came to book an MOT. How to tell which you are. Design · 8 min read 28 An empty dental treatment chair and overhead lamp in a clinic Marketing a private dental practice without breaking the rulesPatients delay because they are frightened and because they cannot see a price. Fixing the second one is easier than you think. Healthcare · 10 min read 29 British twenty pound notes and a handful of pound coins How much does a website cost in the UK in 2026?Real numbers for 2026, by route, plus the costs nobody puts in the quote and the questions to ask before you sign anything. Costs · 9 min read 30 A person working at a laptop beside printed architectural drawings Wix, Squarespace or a web designer? An honest comparisonSometimes a £14-a-month builder is genuinely the right answer. Here is the point where it starts quietly costing you work. Choosing · 8 min read 31 A corner building occupied by local shops on a town street The local SEO checklist for trades and service businessesTwenty things to fix, in the order that actually pays, before you spend a penny on ads. Most of it is free and most of it takes an afternoon. SEO · 14 min read 32 A terrace of Victorian brick shopfronts on a high street Google Business Profile: the free listing most businesses wasteThe free listing that decides whether you show up in the map pack, field by field, including the ones that get profiles suspended. Local · 11 min read 33 A magnifying glass resting on a plain white surface Why is my website not showing up on Google?A twenty-minute diagnostic you can run yourself. Eight causes, in the order to check them, and what to do about the one that is yours. SEO · 10 min read 34 A pencil sketch of a chair on tracing paper laid over a technical drawing How to redesign a website without losing your rankingsRedesigns tank traffic for three predictable reasons. Keep the URLs, keep the words, ship nothing slower. Redesign · 10 min read 35 A car rev counter with the needle sweeping up towards the red line Why website speed costs you customers (and how to fix it)What slow actually costs you in enquiries, Core Web Vitals without the jargon, and the five fixes that do most of the work. Performance · 9 min read 36 Interlocking metal gears and cogs inside a machine Six jobs a small business should stop doing by handSix jobs worth handing to a machine, what each one replaces, and the ones you should absolutely keep doing yourself. Automation · 8 min read

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