AI
South Queensferry: answering visitors' questions at night
Queensferry businesses get the same visitor questions all day and half the night. Where an AI assistant helps, where it does not, and what to fix first.
4 min read
Blog
Guides for local businesses
Plain-English guides to websites, local SEO, Google Business Profile, software and AI for small businesses in Edinburgh and the Lothians.
Local
The van, the ditch, and the strangers who pulled me out
My campervan went over the edge at Loch Lomond and into the bushes. A post about keeping going when things go wrong, and the strangers who stop to help.
6 min read
Local
Why I only work within an hour of Arthur's Seat
From the top of Arthur's Seat you can see most of the businesses I work with. Why being local matters for a website, and the honest cases where it does not.
5 min read
Websites
Mobile booking form: can customers finish on iPhone?
Check your mobile booking form on real phones before festive bookings pick up. I explain what to test and when to leave a working form alone.
5 min read
AI
Livingston firms: where AI can take the admin off you
Livingston's business park firms drown in quotes, emails and invoices. Where AI can take some of that admin away safely, and where it is the wrong tool.
5 min read
Websites
Haddington: who looks after your website now?
Plenty of Haddington firms have a site built years ago that nobody looks after. What year-round care involves, and when it is fine to leave a site alone.
5 min read
SEO
Image SEO: how customers find your products
Find out how product photos and page text help Google understand your stock, and which image SEO jobs are worth doing.
6 min read
Security
Musselburgh businesses: a website security check
A plain security check for a Musselburgh business website: the padlock, updates, backups, logins and who owns the web address. Most of it you can do yourself.
5 min read
SEO
Penicuik trades: when word of mouth meets Google
Penicuik trades live on word of mouth, but the person recommended still checks Google before they ring. Getting that right, and when SEO is not worth it.
4 min read
Websites
Stockbridge shops: does an independent need a website?
Stockbridge runs on regulars and passers-by. When an independent shop or cafe there needs its own website, what it should do, and when a listing is plenty.
5 min read
Local
How I work on the road: a campervan, Starlink and a laptop
Some weeks my desk is a campervan with a Starlink dish on the roof. What that setup is, what it changes for a client (almost nothing), and when it falls short.
5 min read
AI
AI quote generator: from job notes to a draft
Turn site-visit notes into a quote draft without handing over pricing decisions. I explain what to prepare and what to check before sending.
6 min read
Local
Old Town Edinburgh: getting found by visitors on a phone
Old Town and Royal Mile businesses are found by visitors on a phone a few streets away. What to fix first on Google, and when to leave the website alone.
6 min read
Local
North Berwick: taking bookings direct on your own site
North Berwick holiday lets, cafes, tours and salons live on bookings. When taking them on your own website makes sense, and when the big booking sites are fine.
5 min read
SEO
Google rankings dropped: check before paying for SEO
Google rankings dropped? Check search data, seasonal demand and website faults before paying for SEO or a spam update recovery package.
5 min read
Websites
Linlithgow: a website for locals and palace visitors
Linlithgow businesses serve two crowds: locals and visitors to the palace and loch. What a website for a High Street cafe, shop or B&B needs to do for both.
5 min read
Websites
Online Kalooki: how I built a multiplayer card game
How I built K40, a way to play Kalooki online on any device: the UK rules, live sync, reconnecting mid-hand, an exact ledger and updates that wait.
10 min read
Local
Porto, a small dog and why local work comes first
I can work with anyone over Zoom, from Porto as easily as Portobello. Why WebLothian is still built for Edinburgh and the Lothians first, and what that means.
5 min read
Local
Dalkeith garages and trades: reminders that fill the diary
For Dalkeith garages, salons and trades, MOT and appointment reminders by text or WhatsApp can matter more than a website. When they pay off, and when not.
5 min read
Local
More by the Shore Leith: a website checklist
A website checklist for Leith and Newhaven businesses joining More by the Shore. Test your offer, directions and booking before paying for a redesign.
5 min read
Security
WordPress security updates: is your site patched?
Check your WordPress version, confirm the September security fix and update safely without paying for work your host has already done.
6 min read
AI
AI grants Scotland: can your business qualify?
Check Scotland's AI grant employee rule, the support on offer and the questions to ask before paying to automate work in your business.
6 min read
SEO
Should a small business block AI crawlers like GPTBot?
For most local businesses the answer is no: being recommended is worth more than the copy is worth protecting. When blocking is right and how to do it.
6 min read
Websites
WhatsApp and SMS appointment reminders: cost and results
What appointment reminders on WhatsApp and SMS really cost a salon, garage or dentist: the three-message pattern, the UK rules, and when a paper diary is fine.
6 min read
SEO
What is GEO, and does a Lothian business need it?
Generative engine optimisation explained in plain English: how AI assistants choose which businesses to name and what a local firm can do about it for free.
6 min read
SEO
Does llms.txt actually do anything for a small business?
As of July 2026 llms.txt does very little for AI citations and a bit for agents. What the file is, what the data shows, and why it comes last.
6 min read
SEO
Does my small business actually need SEO?
An honest look at when SEO is worth paying for and when it is not: how to tell which camp your small business is in before you spend anything.
5 min read
Websites
Website redesign, rebuild, or leave it alone?
A website redesign is not always the answer. Five checks that tell you whether your site needs a new look, a new build, or honestly nothing at all.
6 min read
SEO
Local SEO in Edinburgh and the Lothians: what works now
What changed for local SEO in Edinburgh and the Lothians in 2026: why the Google Business Profile now outranks the website and what to stop paying for.
6 min read
Local
Answering Google reviews is now your best-value SEO job
Why you should respond to Google reviews quickly in 2026: how replies feed the local map pack and AI recommendations and how to answer a bad one well.
6 min read
Security
Cyber Essentials 2026: MFA is now mandatory
Cyber Essentials made multi-factor authentication compulsory in April 2026. What that means for a small business website and who really needs the certificate.
6 min read
Websites
How much does a small business website cost in Scotland?
What a small business website really costs in Scotland in 2026: the four pricing models explained and what you should get for the money.
5 min read
AI
How ChatGPT and Gemini pick a local business
What AI assistants read before they name a local business: the signals that decide it in 2026 and the old tricks that now do nothing at all.
6 min read
Local
Google Business Profile setup for Lothian businesses
A step-by-step Google Business Profile setup for businesses in Edinburgh and the Lothians: claim it, verify it and fill it in properly in half an hour.
4 min read
AI
An AI assistant on your website: what must it never do?
What a website chat assistant is genuinely good at, and the five things it must never be allowed to do including taking payments or promising anything.
7 min read