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Guides for small businesses

Microsoft 365, buying IT, and websites. Written by us, from the work we actually do. No gated downloads and no sales pitch. If you want to do any of this yourself, everything you need is on the page.

Buying IT

Business Basic vs Standard vs Premium

What each plan actually includes, the four questions that decide it, why mixing plans is normal, and what the 12-month licence term means for you.

Jack Davies · 17 October 2026 · 6 min read

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O365 Admin

Do You Need to Back Up Microsoft 365 Email?

What Microsoft does and does not do with your email, the recovery windows you already have, when a backup earns its keep, and the six questions to ask any provider.

Jack Davies · 17 October 2026 · 5 min read

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Web Design

How Much Does a Small Business Website Cost in the UK?

The three ways to get a site built, what pushes the price up, the running costs most quotes leave out, and the four questions to ask before you pay anyone.

Jack Davies · 17 October 2026 · 5 min read

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Web Design

Why a Small Business Needs a Website in 2026

How customers check you before they call, why your Google Business Profile and AI assistants work better with a site behind them, what a website will not do, and the minimum it needs.

Jack Davies · 17 October 2026 · 5 min read

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O365 Admin

What Happens to Email and Files When an Employee Leaves

The same-day checklist. Blocking access so it actually sticks, keeping the mailbox without paying for it, saving their OneDrive before the clock runs out, and the things outside Microsoft 365 everyone forgets.

Jack Davies · 24 July 2026 · 9 min read

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O365 Admin

Why Shared Logins Cost More Than Buying a Licence

One account, six people. What it really costs you in audit trail, MFA and Cyber Essentials, plus the frontline licence maths most owners have never been shown.

Jack Davies · 24 July 2026 · 8 min read

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Buying IT

Business Email on Your Own Domain, Not Gmail or Hotmail

Why you do not own a free address, what you cannot do with one, what a proper setup costs, and how the move works without losing a day of mail.

Jack Davies · 24 July 2026 · 8 min read

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Buying IT

What IT Support Actually Costs in the North West in 2026

Published UK ranges, the three pricing models, what pushes a quote up, our own prices in full, and the seven questions that make two quotes comparable.

Jack Davies · 24 July 2026 · 9 min read

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Web Design

Do I Need a Website If I Have a Facebook Page?

Sometimes the answer is no. When a page is genuinely enough, the six things it cannot do, and the risk nobody thinks about until the page is gone.

Jack Davies · 24 July 2026 · 7 min read

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O365 Admin

Microsoft 365 Setup for a Small Business in the UK

Plan choice, domain verification, mailbox migration, SPF DKIM and DMARC, the security baseline and device enrolment. What it costs and how long it realistically takes.

Jack Davies · 23 July 2026 · 11 min read

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Cybersecurity

How to Secure Microsoft 365 for a Small Business

Twelve controls in the order worth doing them. Identity first, then email, devices and data, with a 30 day plan and how it maps to Cyber Essentials.

Jack Davies · 23 July 2026 · 12 min read

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Cybersecurity

Microsoft 365 Security Audit: What to Check and Why

The nine areas a proper tenant audit covers, the free tools that do most of the work, what good looks like, and how to write the findings up for a business owner.

Jack Davies · 23 July 2026 · 10 min read

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Buying IT

Local Microsoft 365 Support: What to Look For

What local support actually means now the server has gone, what genuinely needs someone on site, how it is priced in the UK, and what to ask before you sign anything.

Jack Davies · 23 July 2026 · 9 min read

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Would rather not do it yourself?

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