Articles & thinking.
Practical thinking on digital strategy, accessibility, and AI, written from the work itself: government rebuilds, audits, and the agents that run our own products.
What is answer engine optimization (AEO) and why it is replacing SEO for AI search
AEO is how you get your business named in the direct answers AI tools like ChatGPT and Google give, not just ranked in a list of links.
How to get cited by AI: a practical guide for small businesses
A plain-language guide to how ChatGPT and other AI assistants pick which businesses to cite, and what owners can do to earn those mentions.
Picking your first AI agent: a practical guide and what it should do
How to choose your first AI agent: pick a repetitive, rules-based, high-volume task with low judgment, then start small and keep a person in the loop.
How to automate back-office busywork without replacing your team
A practical guide to automating invoicing, data entry, scheduling, and reporting so your staff get their time back, not pushed out.
Replacing your CMS with agentic content workflows: keep the editors, lose the bottleneck
Agentic content workflows can replace the traditional CMS as your publishing hub without replacing your editors. Here is what moves to agents, what stays human, and how to start without a migration.
What an AI agent can take off a small business's plate this month
Not someday, not after a transformation project. A concrete list of the work an AI agent can absorb in the next thirty days, what it costs, and the two rules that keep it from becoming another job.
Will AI agents replace your employees?
The honest answer for small teams: no. Here is what an agent actually takes off the plate, what stays human, and how to test it with one job.
AI agent security: the questions to ask before you let one into your business
Before an AI agent touches your data, ask four questions about access, data handling, oversight, and failure. A practical checklist for small teams.
AI agents vs chatbots: the real difference for a small business
A chatbot answers questions. An AI agent takes action across your systems. Here is what that difference actually means for your team's time.
The ADA Title II deadline: a 2027 checklist for cities and counties
DOJ moved the web accessibility deadline to April 2027. Here is the quarter-by-quarter checklist that gets a city or county compliant without a panic rebuild, and the reasons not to treat the extension as a pause.
What does a fractional CTO actually cost?
Hourly rates, retainers, and the full-time comparison nobody runs honestly. Real numbers for nonprofits, local government, and small businesses trying to budget for technology leadership.
How Nonprofits End Up Locked In by Their Software Vendors
Nonprofit software vendor lock-in turns a routine purchase into a hostage situation three years later. Here is how the trap works, the signs you are already in it, and what to do before the next renewal.
ADA Title II Deadline Extended to 2027. Don't Spend the Year Waiting.
The DOJ pushed the ADA Title II web accessibility deadline to 2027 for larger public entities and 2028 for smaller ones. Here's what to do with the extra year, and why doing nothing is the wrong move.
Signs It's Time to Replace Your Digital Agency
Most organizations wait too long to switch agencies. Here's how to tell when it's time, and what to do about it without getting stuck.
Your Tech Team Doesn't Need More People. It Needs Direction.
Most organizations hire when they hit a technology wall. Six months and $180,000 later, they have more people and the same problems. The gap is almost never headcount.
Get an AI Audit Before You Buy Another Tool
Most companies buy AI tools without knowing what they need. An AI systems audit saves you from expensive mistakes and shows you what's actually worth building.
The Real Cost of Bad Technology Decisions for Nonprofits and Government
Bad technology decisions cost mission-driven organizations more than money. They cost time, trust, and mission impact. Here's what goes wrong and why it keeps happening.
Why Your Nonprofit Needs a Fractional CTO (Not a Full-Time One)
Most nonprofits can't afford a full-time CTO — and don't need one. A fractional CTO gives you senior technology leadership without the $250K salary.
What is an AI Systems Audit?
An AI systems audit is a structured assessment of your organization's operations to identify where artificial intelligence can deliver real, measurable improvements — and where it can't.
What is digital accessibility compliance?
Digital accessibility compliance means your website, applications, and digital services can be used by people with disabilities — and that you meet the legal standards requiring it.
What is a Fractional CTO?
A fractional CTO is a senior technology leader who works with your organization part-time, providing the strategic guidance of a full-time executive without the full-time cost.
Drupal Is More Than a CMS: Building Data Platforms and APIs That Power Real Systems
When most people hear "Drupal," they immediately think of content management: articles, pages, blocks, and menus. But what makes Drupal truly powerful isn't just how it manages content. It's how it can also model data, enforce governance, and share that data across systems.
Drupal is dying
Not because it is useless. Because the incentives around it push buyers away.
How-to host Drupal 11 on Heroku
Heroku doesn't usually come up in conversations about Drupal hosting. Most teams reach for it when building Rails apps, Node backends, or launching SaaS prototypes. But that doesn't mean it's off the table for Drupal.
The credibility of complexity
Complexity intensifies as internet development evolves. Remember the early days? A simple website with basic HTML and a few images was enough. But, new tech and higher standards have made it hard to make tools for users.
How to properly log an issue
Logging issues on your project is an inevitability. Unfortunately, so are the hassles that come with improperly logged issues.