Software development
SaaS
What to check before you inherit a custom app
What to check before you inherit a custom app: code and deploy-key control, tests, patches, and whether a fix can ship tomorrow.
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4 min read
Eight Mile · Writing
Articles on SME
Engineering notes, write-ups and the occasional opinion.
Websites
Hosting
What a website quote should include (and what's usually missing)
What a website quote should include beyond the build: hosting, domain ownership, care and who fixes the site at 2am.
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4 min read
Networking
Broadband
When the office broadband dies and nobody has a backup
When the office broadband dies and nobody has a backup, work stops. What fails, why a hotspot is not a plan and what tested failover looks like.
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3 min read
Websites
Care plan
The agency that built your website has disappeared
The agency that built your website has disappeared. How to recover access, move hosting and DNS into the business, and choose care or a rebuild.
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4 min read
AWS
Infrastructure
Leaving a freelancer with your AWS root login
Leaving a freelancer with your AWS root login is a risk even after a good build. How to take back control with named IAM, MFA and a handoff.
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4 min read
CRM
SaaS
CRM for a small firm off the shelf or built
CRM for a small firm off the shelf or built: when HubSpot-class tools fit, and when a system on your own job data serves trades and clinics better.
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4 min read
Websites
Hosting
Uptime monitoring for a small business website
Uptime monitoring for a small business website only works with a named engineer and response path. What a care plan or managed hosting should cover.
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3 min read
Websites
CRM
Your website form still emails one person's Gmail
If your website form still emails one person's Gmail, enquiries vanish when they're away, and a shared lead list with an owner fixes it.
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4 min read
TradeOps
SME
When WhatsApp is running your jobs
When WhatsApp is running your jobs, groups and voice notes become the job board. What a proper ops system replaces, without taking phones away.
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4 min read
Websites
Domains
Who actually owns your business domain name?
Who actually owns your business domain name? How to check the registrant and account holder, and move both into company hands.
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4 min read
Security
NCSC
What the NCSC's China-linked botnet alert means for a small business
What the NCSC's China-linked botnet alert means for a small business: check the router and remote access kit you already own.
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4 min read
Websites
GDPR
GDPR and cookies on a small business website
GDPR and cookies on a small business website: when cookies need consent under the 2026 rules, and how long to keep contact form data.
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4 min read
Software
Customer service
The info@ inbox nobody owns
The info@ inbox nobody owns is where a UK SME's enquiries sit with no named owner and no reply time.
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4 min read
Websites
SEO
Moving off Wix or Squarespace without losing your Google ranking
How to approach moving off Wix or Squarespace without losing your Google ranking, from exporting content to setting up 301 redirects.
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4 min read
Field service
Mobile apps
From paper job sheets to a phone app
What changes when a trades business moves from paper job sheets to a phone app, including how the app copes with no signal.
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4 min read
Security
Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials for small businesses
A plain-English guide to Cyber Essentials for small businesses, covering what the scheme checks and when a contract will ask for it.
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4 min read
Email
SPF
Why your quotes land in spam
Why your quotes land in spam: SPF, DKIM and DMARC explained for business owners, and how to check your own domain with free tools.
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3 min read
Security
Microsoft 365
Offboarding staff from Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace
Offboarding staff from Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, step by step: cut access, revoke devices, keep mail and files, and stop paying for the licence.
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4 min read
Networking
Office move
Office move IT checklist for London SMEs
Office move IT checklist for London SMEs: internet lead times, surveys, cabling, network design, servers and security before and after moving.
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4 min read
Networking
VPN
Multi-site office network
Multi-site office network design for London SMEs: site-to-site links, consistent segmentation, accounts you keep.
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3 min read