Knowledge base
Costs, choices & compliance
What things cost, how to compare quotes, and what the law requires. Market price ranges, reading a proposal, accessibility law, GDPR, NIS2, and the deadlines that apply to you.
64 articles
Articles in Costs, choices & compliance
Accessibility law for websites in the EU: what applies to your business
Which European accessibility rules apply to public bodies and to businesses, what the standard requires, and how to find out whether you are in scope.
4 min read
Accessibility statements: what they are and who needs one
What an accessibility statement must contain, who is legally required to publish one, and why an honest statement beats a claim of full conformance.
4 min read
AI features and disclosure: what to tell users
What to publish about the AI in your website, product or service: where it is used, what it does with data, and who remains responsible.
4 min read
Analytics and consent: what you can measure without a banner
Which website measurement is possible without consent, what makes analytics consent-free, and why that usually gives a business better data.
3 min read
Build now or wait: how to decide when the budget is tight
A way to decide between starting a digital project with limited budget, phasing it, or waiting, based on what waiting actually costs.
3 min read
Company details on your website: what must be shown
The identification information a business must publish online, where to put it, and why it also affects trust and search visibility.
4 min read
Compliance for clinics and care providers online
The requirements that shape a healthcare website: health data protection, professional advertising rules, accessibility, and secure patient communication.
4 min read
Compliance for financial and advisory websites
What regulated financial and advisory firms must consider on their websites: permissions, communication rules, record keeping and the line around advice.
4 min read
Compliance for municipalities and public websites
The obligations that shape a public sector website: accessibility, transparency, archiving, procurement, open standards and algorithm registers.
4 min read
Contact forms and GDPR: retention, purpose and who sees the data
How to run a contact form lawfully: what you may ask, on what basis, where the submissions go, how long you keep them and what to tell people.
4 min read
Contracts for maintenance and hosting: the clauses that matter
The ten clauses that decide whether an ongoing web contract protects you, what fair wording looks like, and the combinations that trap.
4 min read
Contracts with freelancers versus companies: the practical differences
What changes in continuity, liability, capacity and paperwork when an individual does your web work, and how to protect yourself.
3 min read
Cookie policy and consent: the practical version
What the rules require before a website stores cookies or similar identifiers, what a compliant banner looks like, and how to need less consent.
4 min read
Data breach procedures: a one-page plan
What counts as a personal data breach, the notification deadlines, and a one-page procedure a small business can actually follow under pressure.
4 min read
Data processing agreements: when you need one with your web partner
What a processing agreement is, when the GDPR requires one, what it must contain, and which of your website suppliers need one.
4 min read
Deposits, milestones and payment terms: what is normal
How payment is usually structured for web and software work, what protects each side, and the terms that should make you pause.
3 min read
Digital Services Act: does it apply to a small business?
Which businesses the Digital Services Act covers, what it requires of small online platforms and marketplaces, and why an ordinary business site is outside it.
4 min read
Disclaimers: which ones matter and which are theatre
Which notices on a website do legal or practical work, which are copied habit, and how to keep the ones that matter readable.
4 min read
Domain names: buying, valuing and protecting yours
How to choose and buy a domain, when a premium one is worth it, which variants to register, and how to keep the one you have.
3 min read
E-commerce law basics: right of withdrawal, pricing, terms
The consumer rules a European online shop must follow: pre-contract information, the fourteen-day withdrawal right, pricing transparency and the order process.
4 min read
Ending a contract: checklist for a clean handover
The twenty steps to end a web or software relationship without losing access, data, rankings or goodwill, in the order to do them.
3 min read
Exit clauses: how to leave without losing everything
The clauses that decide what happens when you end a web or software relationship, what a fair exit contains, and the terms that trap.
3 min read
GDPR for business websites: the ten things that actually apply
The ten obligations from the General Data Protection Regulation that a normal business website has to meet, in plain terms, with the primary sources.
4 min read
Grants and subsidies for digitalisation: where to look
Which public funding exists for digital projects in small businesses, how the application process typically works, and when it is worth the effort.
4 min read
Hosting outside the EU: what it means legally
What changes when your website or its data is processed outside the European Union, which transfer mechanisms exist, and how to keep it simple.
4 min read
Insurance for digital risks: what to ask your insurer
What cyber and professional insurance typically covers and excludes for a small business, and the questions to ask before relying on a policy.
3 min read
Intellectual property: who owns the design, the code, the content
Who owns a website's design, code, photographs and text by default, what a contract should say instead, and what you need to check before you rely on it.
4 min read
Invoicing and VAT for digital services across borders
How VAT works for websites, software and digital services sold across borders, what an invoice must show, and the schemes that simplify it.
4 min read
Legal and cost glossary: 40 terms in one sentence each
The forty terms that appear in proposals, contracts and invoices for digital work, each explained in one plain sentence.
4 min read
Legal pages every business website needs
The pages a business website must or should publish, what each contains, and how to keep the set small, accurate and current.
4 min read
Licences: fonts, images, plugins and what you are allowed to use
How licensing works for the fonts, images, themes, plugins and libraries a website is built from, and the records to keep so you can prove it.
4 min read
Newsletter sign-ups: double opt-in and what proof you need
What European rules require before you email someone marketing, why double opt-in is the practical standard, and what records you must be able to produce.
4 min read
NIS2 and small businesses: are you in scope?
What the NIS2 directive requires, which organisations it covers, and why suppliers to in-scope organisations feel it even when they are not directly covered.
4 min read
Our take: the cheapest quote is rarely the cheapest website
Why the lowest number usually costs the most over three years, where the difference hides, and how to compare quotes properly.
3 min read
Phasing a project: what to build first when you cannot afford everything
How to split a digital project into phases that each deliver value, in the order that pays back soonest and builds foundations for the rest.
3 min read
Pre-signing checklist: 26 questions before you commit to a web project
Twenty-six questions to answer before signing for a website, software or ongoing digital work, grouped by what each protects.
3 min read
Privacy policy: what it must say and how to keep it true
The information a privacy statement must contain under the GDPR, how to write one that matches your actual website, and how to keep it current.
4 min read
Procurement for public organisations: how to buy a website properly
How a public body can specify, evaluate and contract a website or application within procurement rules and end up with something it owns and can maintain.
3 min read
Rebuild or improve: how to decide about your current website
Six questions that decide whether your website should be improved in place or rebuilt, and the signs that make the answer obvious.
4 min read
Record keeping: what you should keep about your website and data
The records that make a business defensible: processing activities, consents, agreements, incidents, decisions and the website's own history.
4 min read
Security obligations under GDPR: what "appropriate" means
What the regulation requires of website security, how appropriateness is judged, and the measures a small business is expected to have.
4 min read
Stock photos and AI images: rights, risks and better options
What you may and may not do with stock photography and AI-generated images on a business website, and why your own photographs usually beat both.
4 min read
Terms of service for online tools and portals
What the terms for a customer portal, an online tool or a subscription service need to cover, and the clauses that matter most when something goes wrong.
4 min read
The cost of not deciding: what an outdated website costs every month
How to put a monthly number on a website that is slow, dated or unmaintained, and why the number usually ends the debate.
3 min read
Trademarks and your website: the basics
What a trade mark protects, how it relates to your domain and company name, and the checks worth doing before you invest in a brand.
4 min read
Warranty and guarantees in web contracts
What a warranty on a website or software should cover, for how long, what it cannot cover, and how to tell a real guarantee from a phrase.
3 min read
Choosing between a website, a platform and an app: the decision tree
Five questions that decide whether you need a website, a logged-in platform or a mobile app, and what each choice commits you to.
4 min read
What drives the cost of an app
Why mobile app quotes vary so widely, the seven factors behind the number, and the two that get underestimated.
3 min read
What drives the cost of custom software: reading the quote
How to read a software quote line by line, which lines predict the real total, and the questions that expose a price built on hope.
4 min read
Working with a Dutch company from Malaysia or Singapore: how it works
What a business in Southeast Asia should expect when engaging a Netherlands-based web partner: contracts, invoicing, hours, hosting regions and communication.
4 min read
Working with an agency abroad: contracts, tax and time zones
What changes when your web partner is in another country, from contract law and invoicing to communication rhythm, and what to settle before starting.
3 min read
Budgeting for digital work per year: a simple model
Digital work gets budgeted as a surprise. A four-line yearly model: running costs, maintenance, improvements and one project.
3 min read
Change requests: how to keep them from wrecking the budget
Every project meets 'can we also'. How change requests are handled so the price stays fixed and the good ideas still get built.
4 min read
Cheap websites: what you actually get and what it costs later
A cheap website is a specific product with trade-offs that are invisible on launch day. What is in the box, what is not, and when cheap is right.
3 min read
Comparing three quotes: a scoring sheet
Three quotes, three products, one decision. A twelve-criteria scoring sheet so the choice rests on fit and three-year cost, not the bottom line.
3 min read
Fixed price versus hourly for websites: what protects you
Fixed price puts the estimating risk on the supplier. Hourly puts it on you. When each is fair, what a good fixed-price scope contains, and the hybrid we use.
3 min read
How to read a website quote, and the questions to ask before you sign
Two quotes for the same website can differ fivefold and both be honest. What to check in scope, ownership, hosting and aftercare, and eight questions to ask.
3 min read
Monthly costs of running a website: the full list
The build is paid once; the site costs money every month after. Every recurring line, which ones depend on the build, and how to keep the total low.
3 min read
Support contracts for websites and software: what to look for
The support contract decides what happens after launch. Eight terms that count, clauses that favour the supplier, and what fair looks like.
4 min read
Total cost of ownership: three years, not the launch price
The launch price is one line of a three-year bill. How to build the full picture, which lines suppliers leave out, and why cheap builds cost most.
3 min read
What a good proposal for digital work contains
A proposal is a promise you can hold someone to. The eleven sections a serious one has, the two most often missing, and how to compare them.
4 min read
What drives the cost of a business website
No prices here, on purpose. The eight factors that move the cost of a business website up or down, so you can see what you are paying for.
4 min read
What "you own the code" should mean in a web contract
Suppliers say it, contracts rarely define it. The five things ownership must include, the phrases that quietly take it away, and how to check before you sign.
3 min read
Why website quotes differ so much for the same brief
Five suppliers, five prices for one brief: all honest. What each quote actually assumed, and how to make the numbers comparable before you choose.
3 min read