guides · 43 pieces

Working library.

Short, focused guides on the things I have learned shipping 12,000+ sites and running an agency. Pillar guides go deep on a topic. Supporting guides answer one specific question. Filter by topic below.

wordpress 4 next.js & headless 6 seo, aeo & geo 8 performance & core web vitals 7 directories & programmatic seo 2 custom software & architecture 3 agency operations 4 brand & design 2 off-screen 3 tools 2 career 1 fractional leadership 1

custom software & architecture · reviewed 25 jul 2026 Vibe coding to production: what survives contact with real users Vibe coding is fine for spikes. Production needs ownership, review, and a stop rule. How we ship AI-assisted work at Seahawk without demo theatre. read it →
performance & core web vitals · reviewed 25 jul 2026 LCP, INP, and CLS: how to fix each Core Web Vital Fix LCP, INP, and CLS as separate jobs. Concrete levers, common mistakes, and the order that clears field data. read it →
performance & core web vitals · reviewed 25 jul 2026 The Core Web Vitals checklist I actually run Twelve concrete Core Web Vitals checks for launch. Field data first, then LCP, INP, CLS, cache, and third parties. read it →
performance & core web vitals · reviewed 25 jul 2026 Why is your website slow? The real causes, and how to fix each Most slow sites share six causes. Measure field data first, separate server from front end, then fix the Largest Contentful Paint element before touching anything else. read it →
seo, aeo & geo · pillar · reviewed 24 jul 2026 Choosing an SEO agency in 2026: a working framework How to choose an SEO agency in 2026. Four-question framework, four agency tiers, real pricing, the signals that distinguish a serious one from theatre. read it →
agency operations · pillar · reviewed 24 jul 2026 Choosing a web development agency in 2026: a working framework How to choose a web development agency in 2026. The four-question framework, the four agency tiers, and the signals that distinguish a serious one. read it →
fractional leadership · pillar · reviewed 24 jul 2026 Fractional CTO and CMO in 2026: a working operator's guide When a fractional CTO or CMO is the right call, when it is not, what they cost, and the engagement model that actually works. From an agency operator. read it →
career · pillar · reviewed 24 jul 2026 Freelance to agency, the actual path: a working guide The structural decisions that compound across a career, from solo freelancer to agency operator. Pricing, hiring, specialism, geography, the path I actually walked. read it →
brand & design · pillar · reviewed 24 jul 2026 Brand for software companies in 2026: a working guide Naming, visual identity, voice, trademark, and the brand-product feedback loop. Brand as ongoing operational discipline, not a one-time agency engagement. read it →
agency operations · pillar · reviewed 24 jul 2026 Running a web agency in 2026: the operator guide Pricing, hiring, AI cost curves, client onboarding, and the metrics that actually run the business. From co-founding Seahawk Media and shipping 12,000+ sites. read it →
tools · pillar · reviewed 24 jul 2026 The tools I actually use in 2026: a working dock The 12 to 15 tools that earn permanent slots on my dock: editor, AI assistants, project management, terminal, hosting, design. Updated quarterly. read it →
off-screen · pillar · reviewed 24 jul 2026 Off-screen: London life, fitness, reading, family Coffee, fitness, books, parenting, weekend London. The half of life that does not happen at the laptop. Personal pillar from a London-based operator. read it →
wordpress · pillar · reviewed 24 jul 2026 Modern WordPress in 2026: the operator guide When WordPress is the right answer, when it is not, and how to run it well if it is. The operator view from 12,000+ sites at Seahawk Media. read it →
directories & programmatic seo · pillar · reviewed 24 jul 2026 Building a directory site at scale: the operator guide Data model, templated rendering, indexability gates, and programmatic internal linking. From shipping HostList.io at 28,000 pages and NAS at 137,000. read it →
custom software & architecture · pillar · reviewed 24 jul 2026 Building custom software with Claude in 2026: a working guide How I ship custom software with Claude as the primary engineering collaborator in 2026. The workflow, the toolchain, and the decisions AI cannot make. read it →
performance & core web vitals · pillar · reviewed 24 jul 2026 Core Web Vitals and performance in 2026: a working guide Performance as a structural posture in 2026. The four metrics that rank, the image pipeline that fixes most issues, and the CWV checklist I actually run. read it →
seo, aeo & geo · pillar · reviewed 24 jul 2026 SEO for operators in 2026: a working guide Classic organic, AI Overviews, programmatic content, and generative-engine surfaces. The four SEO surfaces in 2026 and how to win across all of them. read it →
next.js & headless · pillar · reviewed 24 jul 2026 Next.js, Astro, or WordPress in 2026: how to choose How I decide between Next.js, Astro, and WordPress in 2026. The framework picks itself once you are honest about team, content, and budget. From a working agency operator. read it →
seo, aeo & geo · reviewed 4 jul 2026 SEO analysis at scale with Ahrefs MCP and API (lean operator workflow) Ahrefs MCP and API patterns for batch SEO analysis at scale, with a lean daily operator workflow and when Semrush still earns a seat. read it →
seo, aeo & geo · reviewed 4 jul 2026 Website translation at scale: DeepL vs Claude Haiku in production DeepL API vs Claude Haiku for bulk website translation, when each wins, and the humanization pass that keeps machine output from getting filtered. read it →
seo, aeo & geo · reviewed 4 jul 2026 Ahrefs vs Semrush vs Majestic: which authority metric should you trust? Domain Rating, Authority Score, and Trust Flow measure different things from different indexes. After years on all three platforms, Ahrefs is my default for UI, pricing, and interpretability. read it →
performance & core web vitals · reviewed 21 jun 2026 Core Web Vitals for WordPress: a 2026 field guide WordPress can pass Core Web Vitals, but the defaults work against you. Here are the WordPress-specific causes of bad scores and the fixes that move the needle. read it →
custom software & architecture · reviewed 3 may 2026 The Claude spec-driven workflow for shipping software My exact workflow for building software with Claude. Brainstorm to spec to implementation, with the gates that catch failures early. read it →
directories & programmatic seo · reviewed 3 may 2026 The directory site data model that scales to 100K rows How to design the data model for a directory site that scales to 100K listings without breaking. Entities, attributes, slugs, indexes. read it →
agency operations · reviewed 3 may 2026 The agency hiring loop that worked at Seahawk How I run hiring at Seahawk Media in 2026. Sourcing, screening, paid trials, decision criteria. The loop that consistently produces senior hires. read it →
brand & design · reviewed 3 may 2026 Design tokens that survive a redesign How to build a design token system that outlives the next visual refresh. Semantic naming, three-layer structure, and what to avoid. read it →
performance & core web vitals · reviewed 3 may 2026 CSP for static sites: the directives nobody documents The CSP directives that actually matter for static sites in 2026. The FAL + Supabase + Pagefind playbook from real production incidents. read it →
performance & core web vitals · reviewed 3 may 2026 The image pipeline that hits Lighthouse 100 by default The FAL plus Sharp image pipeline I run on every Seahawk site to hit Lighthouse 100 by default. With concrete code and file-size numbers. read it →
wordpress · reviewed 3 may 2026 What WordPress care plans actually cover (and what they do not) What a WordPress care plan should actually deliver in 2026. Structure, pricing tiers, and the operational cadence that keeps sites alive. read it →
seo, aeo & geo · reviewed 3 may 2026 AEO and GEO in 2026: a working playbook How to win citations on AI Overviews, ChatGPT search, Perplexity, and Bing Copilot in 2026. Structural moves, not tactical ones. read it →
next.js & headless · reviewed 3 may 2026 Static site hosting in 2026: Vercel vs Netlify vs Cloudflare Pages Vercel vs Netlify vs Cloudflare Pages compared. Pricing, DX, performance, integration. From shipping all three across Seahawk and personal projects. read it →
next.js & headless · reviewed 3 may 2026 Next.js ISR pricing reality at scale on Vercel What Vercel ISR actually costs at scale. Real billing numbers from 91K pages, the cost driver, and the merge-budget rule we run. read it →
next.js & headless · reviewed 3 may 2026 Headless CMS comparison 2026: Sanity, Contentful, Supabase, Strapi, Payload Sanity, Contentful, Supabase, Strapi, Payload, the five headless CMS options I evaluate on every project, ranked by where each wins. read it →
next.js & headless · reviewed 3 may 2026 Astro vs Next.js: how I decide in 2026 How I decide between Astro and Next.js in 2026. Content vs product, performance ceilings, team fit, ecosystem realities. read it →
tools · reviewed 3 may 2026 Five apps on my dock in 2026 The five apps on my dock in May 2026, ranked by how much I would pay to keep them. Updated quarterly. read it →
off-screen · reviewed 3 may 2026 Soho on a friend-visit weekend: the loop I run The Soho loop I run when friends visit London. Bars, restaurants, rooftops, the order to do them in for the best evening. read it →
off-screen · reviewed 3 may 2026 The London coffee bars worth visiting in 2026 The London coffee bars I actually go to in 2026: Hermanos, Workshop, Origin, Climpson. Personal list, no affiliate links. read it →
agency operations · reviewed 3 may 2026 Agency pricing that does not race to the bottom How I price agency engagements in 2026 to maintain margin and avoid the race to the bottom. Hourly versus project, retainers, scope discipline. read it →
seo, aeo & geo · reviewed 3 may 2026 Programmatic SEO without the index-bloat trap How to ship programmatic SEO at scale without triggering the Helpful Content Update. The pattern from HostList.io at 28K pages. read it →
seo, aeo & geo · reviewed 3 may 2026 How to run a technical SEO audit in 2026 The technical SEO audit methodology I actually run on Seahawk client sites in 2026, with named tools, prioritised remediation, and output format. read it →
next.js & headless · reviewed 3 may 2026 When headless WordPress is the right call (and when it is not) When headless WordPress pays in 2026 and when classic WordPress is still the right call. Cost reality and the decision tree. read it →
wordpress · reviewed 3 may 2026 The WordPress plugin diet I run on every Seahawk site The default plugin set on every fresh Seahawk WordPress install, plus the plugins I retire on day one of any audit. read it →
wordpress · reviewed 3 may 2026 How I evaluate WordPress hosting in 2026 How I evaluate WordPress hosting in 2026 across managed, value-tier, and shared options. The methodology I run on every Seahawk engagement. read it →