[ the journal ]

Notes on building the AI-native web.

Page 2 of 17

[ Websites ]

Writing a headline that survives a skeptical buyer

Most headlines are a category description with adjectives. Four tests that separate the ones that work from the ones that were approved.

Aug 2026·2 min read
[ Custom Software ]

The backup you have never restored

An untested backup is a belief, not a control. The restore drill takes an afternoon and is the only thing that turns one into the other.

Aug 2026·1 min read
[ Websites ]

Landing pages vs your main site

Separate landing pages win on campaigns and quietly build a second, worse website. Where the line belongs.

Aug 2026·1 min read
[ AI Employees ]

What an AI employee actually costs to run

The API bill is the smallest line. Four costs that don’t appear on any invoice and decide whether it pays back.

Aug 2026·1 min read
[ AIEO ]

Do video and podcasts help you get cited?

Only in text form. Which is an argument for publishing the transcript, not for abandoning the medium.

Jul 2026·1 min read
[ AIEO ]

What AI search does with your pricing page

“Contact us for pricing” reads to a model as no information. What that costs you, and what to publish instead.

Jul 2026·2 min read
[ AI Integration ]

Keeping an AI feature working for three years

Nothing about it stays still: the model, your data, your business, and the prompt. Four recurring commitments that keep it honest.

Jul 2026·1 min read
[ AIEO ]

Why your best page isn’t the one getting cited

The page you are proudest of is often the least quotable thing you publish. Four reasons the model picked something else.

Jul 2026·1 min read
[ AI Integration ]

How to buy AI from a vendor

Every product has AI in it now, which makes the label useless. Six questions that reveal what you are actually purchasing.

Jul 2026·1 min read
[ AIEO ]

Your traffic is down and your enquiries aren’t. What now?

The pattern most sites are seeing: fewer visits, similar business. It means your reporting is measuring the wrong thing.

Jul 2026·1 min read
[ Websites ]

Which trust signals actually work

A wall of logos is decoration. What buyers are checking is narrower and easier to satisfy than most sites assume.

Jul 2026·1 min read
[ AI Integration ]

How much of your data does an AI feature actually need?

Less than the vendor implied, and less than your first architecture assumed. Scoping the corpus is the real design work.

Jul 2026·2 min read