Skip to content

Blog Sign in Get started

Blog Sign in Get started

The studio journal

Writing

Notes on design process, client work, and building for the web.

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 BlakeJuly 19, 20267 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 BlakeJuly 19, 20269 min read

© Subsecond Studio 2026

Cover image for “How to Brief a Landing Page So It Actually Converts”

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

Cover image for “How to Read a Web Performance Report Without a CS Degree”

How to Read a Web Performance Report Without a CS Degree

A plain-English guide to Core Web Vitals, Lighthouse scores, and TTFB, so a non-technical founder can act or brief a developer with real direction.

Sam Blake·July 11, 2026·7 min read

Cover image for “Custom Website vs Template: When Each Is the Right Call”

Custom Website vs Template: When Each Is the Right Call

When a website template is the right call and when custom is worth the spend. Real 2026 costs, a comparison table, and a five-question test for small business owners.

Sam Blake·June 15, 2026·7 min read

Cover image for “What Makes Working With a Web Developer Work Long-Term”

What Makes Working With a Web Developer Work Long-Term

Working with a web developer for the long haul comes down to clear briefs, fast feedback, and shared scope. Here's what keeps the relationship working.

Sam Blake·June 11, 2026·7 min read

Cover image for “How to Give Client Feedback on Web Design”

How to Give Client Feedback on Web Design

What a feedback round actually is, how many you get, and how to give notes a designer can act on without wasting a revision.

Sam Blake·June 8, 2026·7 min read

Cover image for “Staging Site vs Live Site: What's the Difference?”

Staging Site vs Live Site: What's the Difference?

A staging site is a private copy of your website for testing changes before they go live. Here is how it differs from your live site, and why it matters.

Sam Blake·June 4, 2026·6 min read

Cover image for “Why Your Website Redesign Failed and What to Do Now”

Why Your Website Redesign Failed and What to Do Now

The most common website redesign mistakes, why a new site can lose traffic and leads, and a practical plan to fix a redesign that underperformed.

Sam Blake·June 1, 2026·7 min read

Cover image for “How to Pick the Best CMS for a Small Business Website”

How to Pick the Best CMS for a Small Business Website

A plain guide to choosing a CMS for a small business website: what WordPress, Squarespace, Webflow, and Shopify cost, and how to avoid lock-in.

Sam Blake·May 28, 2026·7 min read

Cover image for “The Scope Creep Patterns That Add Weeks to a Web Project”

The Scope Creep Patterns That Add Weeks to a Web Project

A field guide to the small requests that quietly double a website timeline. For small business owners and junior designers who want to spot scope creep before it costs a month, and the simple paperwork that stops it.

Sam Blake·May 26, 2026·6 min read

Cover image for “What I Need Before I Can Quote Your Website”

What I Need Before I Can Quote Your Website

Before I can put a real number on a website build, I need six things from you. Here's what goes in a web design brief, why content readiness matters more than budget, and what a small business site actually costs in 2026.

Sam Blake·May 22, 2026·6 min read

Cover image for “Why Your Blog Posts Don't Show Up in AI Answers”

Why Your Blog Posts Don't Show Up in AI Answers

If AI search never quotes your content, the answer is almost always buried. Here is how to tell, and the one edit that gets your posts picked.

Priya Nair·May 18, 2026·2 min read

Cover image for “How to Get Your Content Cited by AI Search Engines”

How to Get Your Content Cited by AI Search Engines

Answer engines quote the page that answers the question most clearly. Here is how to write so ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI lift your words and cite your site.

Priya Nair·May 14, 2026·3 min read

Cover image for “What Belongs on a Landing Page That Actually Converts”

What Belongs on a Landing Page That Actually Converts

High-converting landing pages ask for one thing and prove one claim. A field-by-field look at the headline, the form, and the order that turns visitors into signups.

Maya Chen·May 11, 2026·3 min read

Cover image for “Why Your Pretty Website Doesn't Convert”

Why Your Pretty Website Doesn't Convert

A beautiful site can still leave visitors with nothing to do. Here is why design alone does not convert and how to give every page one obvious next step.

Maya Chen·May 8, 2026·3 min read

Cover image for “What Actually Makes a Small Business Website Load Fast”

What Actually Makes a Small Business Website Load Fast

The fast small-business sites share three things, and none of them is an expensive host. A measured look at images, fonts, and the scripts you can safely cut.

Jordan Kim·May 4, 2026·3 min read

Cover image for “Why a Slow Website Quietly Loses You Customers”

Why a Slow Website Quietly Loses You Customers

A slow site does not warn you. It just costs you the customers who leave before the page finishes. Here is what the delay actually costs and where small business sites lose the time.

Jordan Kim·May 1, 2026·3 min read

Cover image for “What Happens on a Web Design Discovery Call”

What Happens on a Web Design Discovery Call

A web design discovery call is the conversation before the work starts. Here is why I run one on every project, the questions I ask, and the things clients never think to mention until I dig for them.

Sam Blake·April 27, 2026·6 min read

Cover image for “How I Structure a Website Project From Brief to Handoff”

How I Structure a Website Project From Brief to Handoff

The web design process I use on every project, from the two-page brief to launch-day handoff. Six phases, what each one produces, rough timelines and costs, and the sign-off that keeps a project from sprawling. For small business owners and junior designers planning a build.

Sam Blake·April 23, 2026·6 min read