Kingstown Web Studio

10/07/2026

Is It Me?

Is it just me, or does every tradesperson have one brilliant thing gathering dust in a drawer?

Tim (electrician, ISO 9001 certified, genuinely proud of it) has his certificate framed. In the office. Nowhere near his website.

Ask him about it and he'll talk your ear off. Ask his website and you'll get... nothing.

Websites are apparently very good at showing off what you had time to add three years ago, and less good at keeping up with what you're actually proud of now.

What's in your drawer that your website doesn't know about? https://www.kingstown-web-studio.co.uk/post/out-of-date-website

09/07/2026

Meet Margot. Her website's been up since 2019 - she qualified in a brand new therapy last spring.

Properly trained, properly certified, genuinely excited about it.

Her website never got the memo. Still selling the old Margot. Old services, old bio, not a whisper of the new string to her bow.

Nobody's site announces it's out of date. It just quietly stops telling the truth about the business behind it, and keeps doing it, day after day, while you're getting on with the actual work.

If your website's still selling last year's you, worth five minutes: https://www.kingstown-web-studio.co.uk/post/out-of-date-website

08/07/2026

I found a brilliant looking event, right here in Hull. Practically had my coat on.

Then I looked at the date on the website properly. 2024.

Nothing had crashed. It just sat there, looking perfectly normal, giving zero clues it was two years past its best. That's the sneaky thing about a website going out of date - it never puts up a sign.

Once you spot it on one site you start seeing it everywhere. Local events a year stale. Phone numbers that don't match. Becoming a bit of a party trick round here (not the good kind).

Worth a five minute check on your own. Full piece, and the signs to look for, here:

Nothing's crashed. Nothing's technically broken. But is your website still telling the truth about your business? Here's what to check first.

04/07/2026

When it is this hot, people are not always in buying mode.

They are in “later” mode.

So here is a five-minute exercise for your website.

Ask yourself:

Is there a summer slant on what you offer?

Not a fake seasonal offer. Not “book now because it is sunny.”

A genuine reason why your service makes sense right now.

For example:

☀️ Getting the roof sorted while the weather is dry.
☀️ Booking the garden work while the garden is actually being used.
☀️ Fixing the outdoor space before the next family barbecue.
☀️ Sorting the extension plans before autumn creeps in.

Then check your homepage.

Can people see that reason quickly?

Or are you leaving them to make the connection for themselves?

Sometimes the best summer marketing is not a new offer.

It is simply helping people realise why now makes sense.

02/07/2026

Is it hot enough for you yet? Who needs to go abroad eh?

Hot weather changes how people behave (and yes, far too many men with no tops on!! Perlease???).

I did mean that we actually prefer to be out and about rather than cooped in the house or office.

So we wander. We browse. We stop when something catches our eye.

If you are in Hull this week, have a look at the shop windows around you.

What is being pushed to the front?

Sales? Fans? Cold drinks? Garden bits? Summer offers?

What is making people pause? Something reminding you of the holiday you are looking forward to?

Then ask the same thing of your homepage.

What are you putting in the window?

Not buried three clicks in. Not hidden halfway down a service page. Right there, where people make the first tiny decision to stay or leave.

If something is timely, useful, seasonal or popular right now, your homepage should probably be showing it.

Your website has a shop window too. It just happens to be digital.

30/06/2026

Your website should not go quiet just because summer does.

Especially in a week like this, when half the country is melting, hiding indoors, or pretending a desk fan is air conditioning.

If business feels slower over summer, it is a good time to get your website organised before everyone comes back ready to make decisions again.

☀️ Check your homepage.
☀️ Check your service pages.
☀️ Check whether people can quickly see what you do, who it is for, where you work, and what to do next.

I wrote about this here:
https://www.kingstown-web-studio.co.uk/post/summer-business-slowdown-website

A slower week is not wasted if it helps your website do its job better when things pick up again.

The summer slowdown is real, but quieter footfall isn't quieter intent. Here's what a small business website should do over the quiet months, plus six fixes you can knock off today.

30/06/2026

Sorry! I know it’s a bit non-pc but I loved this and - yes- we all know someone!

25/06/2026

Before the deckchair comes out, give your website ten minutes.

Not a rebuild. Not a grand summer project. Just six quick checks:

* Does your contact form actually work?
* Are your summer opening hours correct?
* Does your main service page answer the obvious question?
* Have you added the question customers always ask?
* Can people book ahead for autumn?
* Is there anything tired or out of date?

I’ve put them all into this Summer Website Wishlist.

A useful little check before Hull moves into festival, holiday and ice-cream mode.

Save it, work through it with a cup of tea, and make sure your website can hold the fort while you are off enjoying the summer.

23/06/2026

The summer slowdown is starting to loom on the horizon.

The schools break up. People disappear for a few days. Hull gets busy in different places. And once Humber Street Sesh arrives, plenty of us will be thinking more about music, food and a day by the marina than what our website is doing.

Fair enough.

But while you’re out enjoying yourself, people are still searching.

They might finally have time to compare a few local businesses properly, read a service page, check your opening hours or send an enquiry for something they want sorting later in the year.

That is why your website should not pack its bucket and spade just because you do.

I’ve written a new blog about what the summer slowdown really looks like - and how a few small website changes now can help you stay visible and line up work for autumn.

The summer slowdown is real, but quieter footfall isn't quieter intent. Here's what a small business website should do over the quiet months, plus six fixes you can knock off today.

21/06/2026

Here is a rare bit of good news about your website. Being small is the advantage, not the handicap.

Big brands struggle to be found by AI and chosen by humans at the same time.

Their digital team sits in one room optimising for machines. Their brand team sits in another worrying about people. The two barely speak.

You do not have that problem. You are the whole team. The personality, the words, the online presence, all of it is you.

So when you get your website right, you get it right everywhere at once. No strategy document. No six-month project. Just clarity, doing two jobs for the price of one.

The full thinking is on the blog.

AI visibility and human trust are not rivals. They are unexpected besties. ICS-digital's 2026 report reveals the gap between being found by AI and being chosen by humans - and why small businesses that nail clarity are already winning on both fronts.