Notes on building the AI-native web.
Page 7 of 17
Why your site is slower for real users than in your tests
Your test runs on a fast machine, near the server, with an empty cache and no extensions. Almost none of that is true for your visitors.
Who should be able to edit the website?
Lock it down and nothing gets updated. Open it up and the design erodes in a quarter. The answer is different per type of content.
The URL decisions you can’t undo cheaply
URLs are the one part of a site that other people copy, save and link to. Four choices worth getting right the first time.
Photography, illustration, or neither?
Stock photography of people at laptops is a decision to look like everyone else. Three alternatives, and when nothing is best.
How to audit a competitor’s AI visibility
You can see exactly why a model prefers them, because it will tell you if you ask properly. An afternoon’s work.
Your navigation is a positioning decision
The top-level items are the shortest description of what your company is. Most are an org chart instead.
Consent banners and what they cost you
The first thing most visitors see is a legal obstacle. You can’t remove it, but most sites make it far worse than it needs to be.
Should an AI employee screen job applicants?
The most legally exposed task anyone proposes automating. What it can safely do is narrower than the pitch, and it isn’t ranking people.
Choosing a stack you can still hire for
The technology decision is also a recruitment decision, made years before you notice. How to weigh novelty against the labour market.
Is a newsletter worth it for a services business?
It is the one audience you own outright. It is also a recurring obligation most firms abandon by issue four.
How many AI employees does a small business need?
Fewer than the pitch suggests. One well-scoped role beats four half-configured ones, and the reason is maintenance.
Build your AI feature in-house or hire someone?
The build is the small part. What decides it is who maintains the thing eighteen months from now.