Notes from the workshop
What we have learned building websites, internal software and AI automation for companies in Albania, the UK and France. Written by the people who do the work.
Websites
- Do I own my website? Five checks for UK businesses worried their agency has them locked inOnly if the domain is registered to your company, a signed document assigns you the copyright, and the code and accounts sit where you control them. Paying the invoice transfers none of that. Five checks show where you stand, and most need nothing from your agency. 10 min read
- How much does a website cost in the UK? What actually sets the priceThere is no single price for a website in the UK. Every site is quoted, and quotes that differ wildly are usually pricing different websites. The scope sets the price, so send every supplier the same brief and compare the quotes line by line, not by the total. 12 min read
- Website design for tradesmen and builders: what our projects in London and France taught usA website for builders and tradespeople has one job: turn a local search into a quote request. Give each service its own page with photos of your own jobs, name the areas you cover, put proof beside the form, and take enquiries by phone, email or WhatsApp. A sole trader starting out may need only a Google Business Profile. 10 min read
Internal software
- Custom software vs off-the-shelf: when building your own pays off, and when to buy insteadBuy software for any job that works the same way in every company, and change your process to fit the product. Build when the software's main job is what sets you apart, or when every product forces a daily workaround that changing your process can't remove. Often the best answer is both: a product you configure, plus one small piece built around it. 12 min read
- Outgrown your spreadsheets? Seven signs it's time to replace them with softwareReplace spreadsheets with software when the spreadsheet has become the system: several people edit it, data moves between it and the inbox by hand, one person understands it, and nobody can say who changed what. Keep the spreadsheet for analysis, one-person work and processes that still change every few weeks. When you do move, rebuild the process, not the file. 10 min read
Automation and AI
- What not to automate with AI: a checklist for small firms, from a studio that builds automationsKeep AI away from promises to customers, decisions about people and the conversations your clients pay you for. Don't automate a process nobody has mapped, work that depends on knowledge nobody wrote down, or a task that happens a few times a month. Automate the frequent, document-heavy work that is left, with a person checking whatever the machine is unsure about. 10 min read
- AI agents vs workflows: why most business agents should be plain automationsIn a workflow, your code sets the path and AI may handle one step. In an agent, the model chooses its own steps and tools. Most jobs a small firm is pitched as agents follow a path you can draw in advance, so a workflow does them for less, with results you can test and audit. Build an agent only when the path depends on what it finds, and design its limits first. 13 min read
- How much does an AI agent cost to build and run? What sets the priceHow much an AI agent costs to build depends on how many of your systems it touches and how much it may do without asking a person. Of the four running costs, model usage is usually the smallest; staff review time and upkeep are where budgets go wrong. Every project is quoted, so this guide explains what sets the price. 12 min read
Company knowledge
Choosing a partner
Tell us what you need built
Describe the project, or the part of the business that still runs by hand. You will hear back within one business day, from the people who would build it.
info@thespiral.studio