Everything on this site that isn't a tool or a builder review lives here, arranged roughly in the order you'd actually need it: work out what you're building, work out what it costs, find the advice for your specific kind of site, then ship the thing.
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How to make your own website in 2026
The three honest paths, the five decisions that actually matter, and picks for each kind of site, from someone who has been doing this since 1998.
Read the guide →How much does a website really cost?
The honest range, the teaser-renewal trap, the page cap that turns a cheap plan expensive, and the line items everyone forgets.
Read the guide →Advice for your kind of site
Generic advice is how people end up with generic sites. Each of these is written for one kind of owner, with the money pits that kind of owner actually falls into.
A site that sounds like you
Shows, music links, and a mailing list the algorithm can't throttle, from someone who runs real music sites.
See the picks →A site that makes the phone ring
What actually drives customers, the Google Business Profile pairing, and the $3,000 package to skip.
See the picks →The sidewalk phone test
Menu, hours, address, booking. Plus the PDF-menu mistake and the delivery-platform commission trap.
See the picks →A site where the images hit first
Portfolio picks, the client-delivery split, and why 20 great photos beat 200 good ones.
See the picks →The purest kind of website
From someone running three since 2000. Neocities to static files, the page-count trap, and the two rules that keep you out of trouble.
See the picks →The main guide
Not on this list? The flagship guide covers every other kind of site and the decisions they share.
Read the guide →Ship it
From domain name to live site in one weekend
Friday: domain and one sentence. Saturday: the ugly complete draft. Sunday: ship it. Hour by hour, with the day-two rule.
Read the plan →The weekend launch checklist
The same plan as 18 tickable steps, with your progress saved in your browser between sittings.
Open the checklist →Field notes
The useful website is making a comeback
AI answers killed the filler site. What survives is the site that does a job. The bookmark test, and why 1999 had it right.
Read the note →Choosing an AI stack without chasing every shiny model
Three questions that filter the hype, and the deliberately boring stack that rebuilt a 27-year-old portfolio.
Read the note →Reviving a 1999 web empire
Rebuilding the whole portfolio of 90s-era sites in public, with real numbers. First up: the coupon site.
Follow the rebuild →