the journal.

Seven pages, a scorecard and your top five fixes. Here is exactly what is inside a free design review, and how to get the most from it.

Hierarchy, calls to action, layout, user experience, brand and mobile. The six areas we score in every website review, and why each one matters.

Before you pay for a new website, try these five fixes. Some take an hour. If the site still isn’t working afterwards, here’s what to prepare.

From a DIY builder to a London agency, what small business websites typically cost in the UK, what drives the price and how to compare quotes fairly.

A logo is a signature. A brand is a reputation. Here is what a brand identity really includes, and how to check yours this week.

If your designer hands you one PNG and calls it a brand, something is missing. Here is what a brand identity package should include.

Many subscribers read email in dark mode. Here’s how to keep your logo visible, your text readable and your buttons looking like buttons, whatever the inbox does.

A stranger should be able to read your homepage headline and say what you do, who it’s for and where. Here’s a formula and a test.

We reviewed the homepage of an imaginary dental practice. Every problem on it is one we see on real sites, and so is every fix.

Slow pages, unclear buttons, stale news and hidden prices. Seven signs your website is turning people away, and what to do about each.

Two buttons with equal weight ask visitors to make a decision they didn’t come to make. Pick one primary button, label the outcome and repeat it.

The grey line next to your subject is a second chance to earn the open. Four rules, a before and after, and the template details that stop it going to waste.

A logo that looks perfect on a white screen can fail in an avatar, on a photo or at 16 pixels. Five quick tests to run before you approve it.

Most people browse with one hand. Five practical mobile website tips, and a quick test: can you book, buy or call with one hand, standing on a bus?

We mark up an invented tea shop’s newsletter: an offer hidden in a photo, four paragraphs before anything to click, and a lonely “click here”. Then we fix it.

Most brands need two typefaces: one with personality for headlines, one built to be read. Here is how to choose and pair them.

Light grey text looks elegant in a mockup and disappears on a phone in sunlight. The contrast numbers that matter, and three quick fixes.

An email made of one big image becomes a blank box when images don’t load. Four design habits that keep your message readable either way.

Sixty per cent dominant, thirty secondary, ten accent. A simple colour rule that keeps brands and websites calm, clear and easy to act on.

“Quality service you can trust” could belong to anyone. A simple recipe for taglines and website copy that only your business could say.

Gmail hides the end of emails over about 102KB. What gets lost, why it matters, and the design decisions that keep your campaigns light.

Your menu doesn’t need to list every page. Four rules for simple website navigation, with a before and after you can copy.

Great bread, a long story and four different brands. We review an invented bakery to show how a brand review works, step by step.

Custom fonts only show in some inboxes. Everyone else sees a fallback, so choose it on purpose. Safe fonts, the Outlook trap and type that reads well on a phone.

Stock photos say “any business”. Real photos say “this one”. A five-line brief and a phone-and-window method you can use this week.

Mobile layouts, findable products, product pages that answer every question, real speed and a checkout with no surprises. The essentials, with checks you can run today.

The inbox has changed. What we focus on when designing email templates and campaigns for small businesses, and the mistakes we see most often.

You know your site too well to see it clearly. What a UI/UX design review looks at, how to try one yourself and how to turn findings into fixes.

A great logo has to work as an app icon, a social avatar, a favicon and a sign on your door. Six qualities that make that possible.

People meet your brand in search, social, inboxes and at your door. Effective branding makes every one of those moments feel like you.