Score your site: 1 point for each yes. Under 7 means your website is costing you customers. I have been building and fixing WordPress sites since 2007, and these are the same 10 checks I run on every client site.
The 10-Point Website Checkup
Speed: Does your homepage load in under 3 seconds on your phone? Test free at PageSpeed Insights.
Mobile: Can you tap every button and read every word on a phone without zooming?
One clear action: Within 5 seconds, is it obvious what you want a visitor to do (call, book, buy)?
Contact friction: Is your phone number or contact button visible without scrolling?
Security: Does your address bar show the padlock (https) on every page?
Freshness: Has anything on your site changed in the last 90 days?
Proof: Are there at least 3 real reviews or testimonials visible?
Local presence: Does your Google Business Profile match your website name, address, and phone exactly?
Backups: If your site vanished today, could you restore it by tomorrow?
Findability: When you search your business type plus your city, do you show up in the first 10 results?
Scored under 7?
Most of these take under an hour each to fix, and I can handle all of them for you. Contact me and tell me your score. I will tell you the 2 fixes that will make the biggest difference for your site, free, no strings.
Nick Throlson Web Guy Nick LLC, Rialto CA
Get Free WordPress and AI Tips
Want more practical advice like this? Drop your email below and I will send you tips that help your website bring in customers. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Every week a client asks me which AI tools are worth it. Most lists online are written by people who never ran a small business. I use these tools on real client projects, and this is what actually earns its subscription in 2026.
Website and customer service
Chatbase Build a support chatbot trained on your own website content, no coding. Free plan to start, paid from about $32/month. This is the fastest way to stop answering the same 10 questions by email.
Tidio Live chat plus AI chatbot in one widget. Good free plan. Best for stores that want a human option during business hours and AI after hours.
Content and marketing
Grammarly Not glamorous, but every client-facing email and blog post goes through it. Free plan covers most needs.
Marky Generates and schedules on-brand social posts for your business. Good for owners who know they should post but never do.
Creative and video
Higgsfield AI An AI-native creative suite for generating images and video. I use it for client visuals and social content when there is no budget for a photo shoot.
AutoShorts.ai Creates faceless short videos for TikTok and YouTube on autopilot. Good for businesses that want video presence without being on camera.
Automation
Zapier Connects your forms, email, CRM, and invoicing so leads never fall through cracks. Free tier covers 100 tasks/month, paid from about $20/month. Start with one zap: new contact form entry creates a follow-up task.
HubSpot Free CRM Free CRM with AI features layered in. If you are still tracking leads in a notebook, start here today.
For WordPress specifically
Rank Math AI-assisted SEO plugin. The free version is better than most paid tools were five years ago.
ShortPixel Compresses images automatically so your site stays fast. Cheap and set-and-forget.
WP Rocket Caching that just works. The single biggest speed jump most WordPress sites can buy for under $60.
What to skip
Skip any tool that promises to run your whole business with AI. Skip AI website builders if you plan to grow, you will rebuild later. Buy tools that remove one specific chore each.
FAQ
What should a small business try first? A chatbot trained on your own FAQ content. It pays for itself in saved time within a month.
Is AI content bad for SEO? Lazy AI content is. Google ranks helpful content regardless of who typed it, so use AI for drafts and add your real experience on top.
Can you set these up for me? Yes, AI setup for small businesses is part of what I do at Web Guy Nick LLC. Get in touch here.
Want this stack installed and configured on your site without the trial and error? That is literally my job. Contact me.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you.
How AI Is Transforming the Hospitality Industry in 2026
The hospitality industry is undergoing a massive digital transformation. Hotels, B&Bs, vacation rentals, and restaurants that embrace AI tools and automation are pulling ahead of competitors still relying on manual processes. Whether you're managing bookings, marketing your property, or tracking guest experience, there are now AI-powered solutions for every challenge.
I'm Nick — a web developer and digital strategist who helps business owners adopt the right tools to grow. Here's what's working in hospitality right now.
1. Automate Your Video Marketing
Video is the highest-converting content format for hospitality businesses. Showcasing your property, rooms, and local experiences through short-form video drives bookings. The problem? Most hospitality owners don't have time to produce video content consistently.
That's where AutoShorts.ai comes in. It automates the creation of short-form video content — ideal for showcasing properties, local attractions, and guest experience highlights on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Set it up once and it runs on autopilot.
2. Use AI to Create Video Tours and Promotions
Beyond automation, you can create high-quality promotional videos using AI. Revid AI lets you generate engaging video content from scripts or prompts — perfect for property walkthroughs, seasonal promotions, and social media ads without hiring a video production crew.
3. Fast, Reliable Hosting for Your Booking Site
Your website is your digital front desk. A slow or unreliable site costs you bookings. I recommend Hostinger for hospitality business websites — fast load times, excellent uptime, affordable pricing, and beginner-friendly management. A properly hosted site with fast page speed also ranks better on Google, driving more organic bookings.
4. Track Your Personal Performance as a Business Owner
Running a hospitality business is demanding. Long hours, high stress, and constant decision-making drain your mental and physical energy. High performers are now using wearable tech to optimize their health and recovery. The Oura Ring tracks sleep, HRV, and readiness scores so you can make smarter decisions about when to push hard and when to recover — a real competitive edge.
5. Diversify Your Business Income
Smart hospitality entrepreneurs don't rely on a single revenue stream. Platforms like Fundrise allow you to invest in real estate passively, diversifying your income beyond your primary business operations. It's a way to put your profits to work while you focus on running your property.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you.
AI Tools Every Construction & Building Business Owner Needs in 2026
The construction and building industry is being reshaped by digital tools and AI. Contractors, builders, and remodelers who adopt the right tech are winning more clients, running leaner operations, and building stronger reputations. Here's what's actually working right now.
I'm Nick — a web developer who works with trade businesses and contractors. These are the tools I recommend.
1. Build a Fast, Professional Website That Wins Jobs
Your website is your digital storefront. Homeowners and commercial clients research contractors online before making contact. A slow, outdated site loses you jobs before you even get a call. I recommend hosting on Hostinger — fast page speeds, reliable uptime, and affordable pricing that makes it easy to maintain a professional online presence that generates leads 24/7.
2. Use Video to Showcase Your Work
Before-and-after videos, project walkthroughs, and time-lapses of builds are incredibly powerful for winning client trust and generating referrals. Revid AI lets you create professional-quality marketing videos from your phone footage or photos — no video editing skills needed. Show your craftsmanship and let the work speak for itself.
3. Automate Your Social Media Presence
Most contractors don't post consistently on social media because it takes too much time. AutoShorts.ai automates short-form video creation so you can maintain a consistent presence on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts without spending hours on content creation. Regular posting builds brand awareness and keeps you top-of-mind when homeowners need a contractor.
4. Track Your Energy and Performance
Running a construction business is physically and mentally demanding. Managing crews, client relationships, bids, and projects simultaneously takes a toll. Successful trade business owners are now monitoring their health data with tools like the Oura Ring — tracking sleep quality, recovery, and readiness scores to make better decisions and avoid burnout.
5. Put Your Profits to Work
Smart contractors don't keep all their capital sitting in a business account. Platforms like Fundrise allow you to invest in real estate passively — diversifying your income beyond your trade and building long-term wealth while your business operates.
Every tech company started as an idea someone had in the shower, on a commute, or at 2am staring at the ceiling. The difference between the idea and a real company is execution. This guide breaks down how to take your tech idea from concept to launched product — using the lean tools and strategies available in 2026.
Step 1: Validate the Idea Before You Build
The biggest mistake first-time founders make is building a product nobody asked for. Before writing a single line of code or spending a dollar, validate:
Is there a real problem? Can you articulate the problem in one sentence?
Who has the problem? Define your target customer clearly
Are people already paying to solve it? Existing competition is a good sign
Would they pay for your solution? Talk to 10 potential customers before building
Step 2: Build an MVP Fast
An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is the smallest version of your product that delivers the core value. Don't over-engineer it. Your MVP doesn't need to be perfect — it needs to be testable.
Tools that let you build MVPs faster than ever in 2026:
WordPress + WooCommerce — For SaaS products, marketplaces, or digital goods
Distribution is everything. A mediocre product with great distribution beats a great product with no distribution every time. Your first customers will come from:
Your personal network and LinkedIn connections
Online communities (Reddit, Discord, Twitter/X)
Content marketing — blogging, YouTube, short-form video
Cold outreach to people who fit your ideal customer profile
For content marketing, AI video tools like Revid AI let you quickly turn your founder story, product demos, and tutorials into short-form video content for YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and Instagram — without video editing expertise.
Step 4: Build in Public and Create a Personal Brand
Some of the fastest-growing startups in 2026 are built by founders who document their journey publicly. Share your struggles, wins, lessons, and milestones. This builds an audience that becomes your first customer base.
Tools for building in public:
A personal blog on WordPress (hosted on Hostinger)
Step 5: Build Long-Term Wealth Alongside Your Business
While you're building your tech company, don't forget to build personal wealth in parallel. Platforms like Fundrise let you automatically invest in real estate starting with just $10 — so your savings are working while you're building.
And to make sure you're showing up with maximum focus and energy, tracking your sleep and recovery with the Oura Ring helps you make data-driven decisions about your health as a founder.
Simply existing online is not enough. If you want success, you must stand out and earn people’s trust. The digital world is becoming more crowded every day, and even great businesses can get buried beneath the noise. Whether you are hoping to offer a service or sell lots of products, credibility online is something that you cannot brush past. It can be frustrating as you might already be doing the right things and not seeing real traction. That is simply because visibility without strategy is a waste of time.
Even though you are posting consistently, keeping everything updated, and running ads, you find that not much progress is being made. Once you stop treating digital marketing as a checklist and, instead, as a positioning tool, you will see a shift. You will learn to show up smarter and not simply shout louder. You don’t always need a huge viral campaign or a massive budget to get what you want. Sometimes, it’s just a case of doing a few essential things very well. In this post, we will talk about a few tactics that will help you rise above the noise.
Niche Content That Attracts The Perfect Audience
You may think that casting a wide net will yield huge results, but that’s not often the case. Instead, it’s wise to go deep into specific topics that your audience actually cares about. Knowledge and confidence around niche content build authority very quickly. By making content that feels just for them, they are likely to stick around longer.
Visual Consistency Across Platforms
With cohesive branding, people will look at your project as reliable and established. From the images you use all the way down to the specific fonts, people need to know that you are not amateurs. Whether we are talking about your website or your email signature, the experience should have a sense of verification. Visual consistency is subtle, but it does a lot of heavy lifting psychologically.
Loud Third-Party Proof
You can’t always believe what a brand says about itself. You can, however, believe what others say. Businesses that use strategic reviews and testimonials can boost credibility without feeling sleazy. As a business, it’s a good idea to show what others say about you. Social proof from individuals with genuine photos, bios, and job titles will add a significant chunk of legitimacy. We live in a time where certain reviews and testimonials cannot be faked, so this is perfect validation for your audience to see.
Align Your Website With Expectations
In order to perfect your website, you could partner with a web design agency that understands your market. Professionals like these can radically shift how your business is perceived. A website shouldn’t just be a few pictures that show off your work; it should also build trust. With a clunky and outdated site, you will instantly weaken any credibility you once had. With a quality design and smooth navigation, you will indirectly be telling everyone that they can trust you.
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using our site, you consent to cookies.
Cookie Preferences
Manage your cookie preferences below:
Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.
Name
Description
Duration
Cookie Preferences
This cookie is used to store the user's cookie consent preferences.
30 days
These cookies are needed for adding comments on this website.
Name
Description
Duration
comment_author
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
comment_author_email
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
comment_author_url
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
Google reCAPTCHA helps protect websites from spam and abuse by verifying user interactions through challenges.
Name
Description
Duration
_GRECAPTCHA
Google reCAPTCHA sets a necessary cookie (_GRECAPTCHA) when executed for the purpose of providing its risk analysis.
179 days
Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us understand how visitors use our website.
Jetpack's built-in visitor analytics. It records page views, referring sites, search terms, and outbound link clicks, and also carries the shared visitor-tracking library used by Jetpack Instant Search and WooCommerce Analytics.
