UntitledAre you a small business owner thinking about getting a website? In this episode, David Waumsley and Nathan Wrigley break down the real traps and trade-offs of using no code website builders versus hand coding your site.

- How the commercial website builder market is taking over—and what that means for business owners

- The surprising decline of hand-coded websites and why HTML still matters

- The hidden costs and limitations of using platforms like Wix and Squarespace

- A practical walkthrough of building a simple one-page business site from scratch

- Why simplicity, clear messaging, and owning your code can set you apart from the competition

Want to avoid vendor lock-in and make smarter website choices? Dive in for actionable advice and real-world examples.

This episode looks into how platforms lure us in, lock us down, and extract value from everyone and how small, independent websites can push back.

What this episode covers

The 3 stages of Enshittification (Cory Doctorow’s framework applied to web platforms)

Real‑world examples: Facebook, Amazon, Google

How interoperability was intentionally broken and antitrust was weakened

The hidden human labour and exploitation behind “AI magic”

The rise and hangover of vibe coding (Karpathy, YC, GitClear findings)

Why AI‑generated codebases are brittle and hard to maintain

Tim Berners‑Lee, the fight to keep the web in public ownership, and why the web is for everyone

Practical ways web designers and developers can reclaim agency:

Static sites and the “dumb web”

IndieWeb and POSSE (Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere)

Using AI as a tool, not a master

If you’ve been feeling uneasy about AI hype, social media, and the state of the modern web, this episode might help connect the dots and point to a healthier, more human direction for making websites.

Mentioned in this episode

Cory Doctorow – Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It

Karen Hao – Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI

Yanis Varoufakis – Technofeudalism

Tim Berners‑Lee – This Is for Everyone

Ed Zitron – Better Offline (podcast & newsletter)

Carl Brown – Internet of Bugs (YouTube channel)

IndieWeb & POSSE (Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Everywhere)

On the podcast today we have David Waumsley and Nathan Wrigley.

David and Nathan have been helping local businesses build websites for years, gaining insight into the world of digital marketing and the challenges faced by small business owners, from vets and accountants to electricians and therapists. In this episode, they turn their attention to Google Ads, demystifying pay-per-click advertising for those new to it. With the rapid shift from traditional marketing, think local papers and radio, to digital options, spending your marketing budget wisely is more important than ever.

David begins by sharing his experiences supporting clients as they navigate Google Ads: requests to set up tracking scripts, questions about campaign managers, and a recent odd appointment with Google’s own support team. There’s skepticism, are Google’s new beginner-friendly moves as helpful as they seem? As Google adapts to challenges in its search dominance, the duo explore what this means for newcomers.

Nathan and David then break down the landscape. Why is Google so powerful? What do statistics about return on investment actually mean, and why do most small businesses lose money? They discuss the differences between traditional and digital marketing, explaining why driving more traffic is pointless unless your offer really connects.

Using the story of Bob Smith, a landscape gardener, they illustrate common mistakes, like sending ad traffic to generic homepages and neglecting the power of targeted messaging and landing pages. They contrast this with the marketing-savvy approach of Bob’s wife, Mary, who uses landing pages, keyword research, urgency, and lower-risk conversion options to boost results.

The conversation digs deeper into Google Ads practicalities: negative keywords, location targeting, conversion tracking, and why “set it and forget it” just doesn’t work. There’s talk of budgets and timelines, and the importance of time and skill regardless of whether you DIY or hire an expert, along with the red flags to look for if you do.

Finally, David and Nathan round off with a checklist for getting started: optimise your Google Business profile, learn about local service ads, invest in onsite SEO, and always start by clarifying your business problem before jumping in.

If you’re a local business owner, or guiding one through the world of online advertising, this episode is packed with actionable advice, real-world stories, and critical perspectives on how to avoid costly mistakes with Google Ads.