The studio journal
Writing
Notes on design process, client work, and building for the web.
Design Tradeoffs on Every Small Business Website
How founders and local businesses should weigh speed, visuals, CMS flexibility, and budget when building or redesigning a website, with real project tradeoffs.
Sam Blake·August 11, 2026·9 min read
Website Redesign Process for Local Businesses
Step-by-step website redesign process for local shops and service businesses: audit, content, design approval, build, launch, and handoff.
Sam Blake·August 10, 2026·9 min read
How to Get a Full Website Design Mockup Before You Pay
How founders get a finished website design mockup before paying, what the package includes, and how Subsecond Studio’s approve-first model de-risks agency work.
Sam Blake·August 4, 2026·10 min read
What a Fixed-Price Website Rebuild Includes
What a fixed-price website rebuild includes for small businesses: locked scope, timeline, deliverables, and what still triggers a change order.
Sam Blake·August 3, 2026·8 min read
What to Expect the First Two Weeks After Launch
Honest post-launch expectations: indexing lag, analytics baselines, form testing, and the punch list of fixes that almost always show up in week one and two.
Sam Blake·July 27, 2026·10 min read
What a Custom Web App Actually Costs
A plain breakdown of what a web app actually costs for founders: $3k to $30k ranges, and how features, auth, integrations, data, and revisions move the quote.
Sam Blake·July 26, 2026·8 min read
What AEO Means for a Small Business Website
AEO gets AI search tools like ChatGPT to cite your site. Here is how it differs from SEO and the on-page moves that get a small business quoted.
Sam Blake·July 19, 2026·7 min read
How to Know If Your Website Brief Is Ready to Hand Off
A six-item readiness test for small business owners so a developer can start building on day one instead of losing two weeks to email.
Sam Blake·July 19, 2026·9 min read
How to Brief a Landing Page So It Actually Converts
Lock the offer, one headline promise, and a single CTA before a developer starts. The brief that decides whether a landing page converts.
Sam Blake·July 12, 2026·8 min read