From the Workshop

Web Development & AI Blog

Technical deep-dives, architecture decisions, and lessons from building custom web applications and AI integrations.

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The decisions behind a new site: whether to build, which stack and CMS to build on, and what AI search changes about the brief.

  1. 01 Do You Still Need a Website in the AI Search Era? Build
  2. 02 When to Build a Custom Web App vs. Use Off-the-Shelf Tools Build
  3. 03 Do You Need React or Next.js for a Marketing Site? Build
  4. 04 WordPress, Done Properly: Custom Themes and Blocks vs. Plugin Sprawl Build
  5. 05 EmDash CMS Review: We Migrated a Real WordPress Site Build
  6. 06 How to Make Your Site Citeable by AI Monitor

Latest posts

Automate 11 min read

AI Chatbot Laws: What They Ask of Your Website

AI chatbot laws from 2027 mostly target companion bots. What they ask of your support chatbot, and what our tests found when a model carries each duty.

Read Oct 20, 2026 Automate 11 min read

When Not to Use AI (and What We Use Instead)

When not to use AI: the four questions we ask before a step of a process goes to a model, with evidence from our builds and tests, and where a model belongs.

Read Oct 13, 2026 Build 11 min read

Astro vs WordPress: Who Will Actually Edit Your Site?

Astro vs WordPress comes down to who will change your site after launch. What each one asks you to maintain, where WordPress wins, and when Astro fits.

Read Oct 6, 2026 Monitor 10 min read

The Layout Shift Lighthouse Misses, and How to Find It

Lighthouse can score zero layout shift while your page jumps. Two shifts we found on our own site, why the default run missed both, and how to check yours.

Read Sep 29, 2026 Monitor 9 min read

How to Check Traffic From ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini

How to check traffic from Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, DeepSeek, and Google's AI Overviews: what each one passes, and where GA4 files it.

Read Sep 22, 2026 Automate 11 min read

RAG vs Fine-Tuning: Which One Does Your Business Need?

RAG vs fine-tuning: retrieval changes what a model knows when it answers, fine-tuning changes how it behaves. Which one your business needs, and when.

Read Sep 15, 2026 Monitor 10 min read

WCAG Beyond Color Contrast: What Automated Scans Miss

A scanner can only settle the failures a machine can judge. Here is what your last accessibility report could not have contained, and how to find it.

Read Sep 8, 2026 Build 9 min read

One Platform Instead of Five Tools: What a Custom Operations Platform Replaces

A company ran hiring, logistics, payroll, and tax reporting across five tools and a spreadsheet. Here is what replacing them with one platform actually changed.

Read Sep 1, 2026 Automate 9 min read

What an AI Agent Actually Is for Your Business

An AI agent takes actions in your systems, where a chatbot only answers. What the word means, and why what it can do without asking is the real decision.

Read Aug 25, 2026

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