https://thespiral.studio/blog/ Notes on building websites, internal software and AI automation that hold up. en Sat, 26 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0200 https://thespiral.studio/blog/do-you-own-your-website.html https://thespiral.studio/blog/do-you-own-your-website.html Sat, 26 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0200 Only 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. https://thespiral.studio/blog/software-studio-in-albania.html https://thespiral.studio/blog/software-studio-in-albania.html Sat, 26 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0200 A studio in Albania works on Central European Time, one hour ahead of London, and in English. Outsourcing software development there changes the paperwork more than the work. Albania is an EU candidate but not a member, so personal data needs transfer clauses and you account for the VAT yourself. Ownership and vetting work as they would with any agency, and some projects should stay local. https://thespiral.studio/blog/what-not-to-automate-with-ai.html https://thespiral.studio/blog/what-not-to-automate-with-ai.html Sat, 26 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0200 Keep 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. https://thespiral.studio/blog/company-second-brain.html https://thespiral.studio/blog/company-second-brain.html Sat, 26 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0200 A company second brain is one written source for how your company works, which a new hire can read and an AI model can search. Connecting ChatGPT to your shared drive doesn't give you one: the model answers from whatever it finds, including last year's version. The work is deciding what is true, giving every note an owner and reviewing it on a date. https://thespiral.studio/blog/ai-agents-vs-workflows.html https://thespiral.studio/blog/ai-agents-vs-workflows.html Sat, 26 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0200 In 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. https://thespiral.studio/blog/custom-software-vs-off-the-shelf.html https://thespiral.studio/blog/custom-software-vs-off-the-shelf.html Sat, 26 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0200 Buy 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. https://thespiral.studio/blog/website-cost-uk.html https://thespiral.studio/blog/website-cost-uk.html Sat, 26 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0200 There 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. https://thespiral.studio/blog/ai-agent-cost.html https://thespiral.studio/blog/ai-agent-cost.html Sat, 26 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0200 How 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. https://thespiral.studio/blog/replace-spreadsheets-with-software.html https://thespiral.studio/blog/replace-spreadsheets-with-software.html Sat, 26 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0200 Replace 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. https://thespiral.studio/blog/websites-for-builders-and-trades.html https://thespiral.studio/blog/websites-for-builders-and-trades.html Sat, 26 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0200 A 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.