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Notes from the studio.

Short, opinionated posts on web development, brand identity, design and marketing - written between client work, in the same voice we use with clients.

50 notes · page 4 of 5

Mobile·Aug 16, 2025·1 min read

When a mobile site beats a native app

The "we need an app" brief is right about half the time. Here is when the website wins instead.

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Mobile·Aug 9, 2025·1 min read

Push notifications without being annoying

A short rule set for when push earns the visitor's attention and when it spends it.

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Mobile·Aug 2, 2025·1 min read

The first 30 seconds of any new app

The make-or-break window every app has, and the four things that fit inside it.

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Studio·Jul 26, 2025·1 min read

How we scope a project in two calls

Two 45-minute calls usually beat a 12-page proposal. The structure that makes that work.

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Studio·Jul 19, 2025·1 min read

The discovery questions that actually matter

The five questions we ask early. The 30 we used to ask. Why we cut.

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Studio·Jul 12, 2025·1 min read

Pricing transparency: showing our work

Why we publish starting prices on the site and what changed when we did.

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Studio·Jul 5, 2025·1 min read

Why we don't do retainers (yet)

Retainer revenue is stable. Retainer work is the worst kind of work for studios our size. A note on the trade-off.

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Studio·Jun 28, 2025·1 min read

Moving from agency to independent

A short note on the transition for anyone considering it.

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Studio·Jun 21, 2025·1 min read

The client red flags we ignored once

Five signals we now treat as walk-aways. Each one cost us a project before we learned.

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Performance·Jun 14, 2025·1 min read

Core Web Vitals: what still matters

Three years in, only some of the metrics still matter for actual outcomes. A short prioritization.

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Performance·Jun 7, 2025·1 min read

The cache strategy that fits 90% of sites

A simple three-layer cache approach that has worked across every site we have audited this year.

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Performance·May 31, 2025·1 min read

CI you'll actually use

Most teams build elaborate CI pipelines and bypass them within weeks. The minimum that survives.

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