Blog

Notes on design, code and getting found

Plain-English articles for small business owners on websites, hosting and search.
Showing 13 - 24 of 44 Posts

Design & UX

What makes good web design?

Good web design is clarity, usability, and trust made visible, not decoration. A plain-English guide to what good design actually is, from BrainWeb.

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The Thinking Brain

How colour really works in branding

Colour psychology is shakier than the charts claim. Here's how colour really works for a brand: association, consistency, culture, and contrast that does real work.

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A photo of my keyboard and track pad - cleaned up with Gemini

Words & Reach

How to get found when nobody clicks: distribution in a zero-click world

Creating content is easy now; getting it seen is hard. How small businesses distribute content in a zero-click world by delivering value where people already are.

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Found & Ranked

How to get your business cited by ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity

A practical, no-hype guide to getting your small business cited by AI search tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity in 2026. From BrainWeb.

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The Thinking Brain

The science of first impressions in web design

A visitor judges your website in 50 milliseconds, before reading a word. Here's the neuroscience of first impressions, and what it means for web design.

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Running the Studio

The tools we use to run the studio (and what they really cost)

An honest breakdown of the hosting, software, and tools BrainWeb actually runs on, why we chose them, and what they really cost. Includes affiliate links, disclosed up front.

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The Thinking Brain

Loss aversion: why losses loom larger than gains

Loss aversion: we feel losses about twice as hard as gains. How honest framing uses this to tell the truth more sharply, and where it tips into manipulation.

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A black and white photo of a crowded UK street market with distracted people on phones, except for a centrally focused, full-color interaction where a vendor hands fresh produce to a smiling customer. Generated with Gemini.

Words & Reach

How do small businesses actually reach people in 2026?

How small businesses reach people in 2026: make work worth attention, distribute it where customers already are, and own your audience through email. From BrainWeb.

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The Thinking Brain

The anchoring effect: the oldest trick in sales

The anchoring effect is why the first price a visitor sees changes how every other price feels. How to use it honestly in pricing and design, and where it tips into deceit.

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Running the Studio

How we run the studio (and why we tell you)

An honest look behind the scenes at how BrainWeb actually works: our pricing, our tools, how we use AI, and the things we have changed our minds about.

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The Thinking Brain

Priming: how cues shape what visitors choose

Priming is how cues a visitor barely notices shape what they choose next. Here's the web research behind it, and how to use it honestly in design.

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Build & Tech

How to speed up a website (and why it is built in, not bolted on)

Most website speed is decided by how a site is built and hosted, not patched on later. The things that actually make a site fast, in plain English. From BrainWeb.

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