Insights
Everything we've written for your industry.
Website and search guides for construction, engineering, architecture, manufacturing, energy, property, maritime, logistics and government contracting firms.
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IndustriesWhat good looks like
The 15 best manufacturing websites in 2026 & what mid-size manufacturers can copy.
Fifteen of the best manufacturing websites in 2026. All are US manufacturers, making jet engines, satellites, windows, steel and more. For each one: a screenshot of the homepage, what the site does well and what a mid-size manufacturer can copy.
Oct 202613 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
What should an architecture firm website do to win commissions?
An architecture firm website wins commissions when it answers four questions in order: what work you do, whether you've done work like the client's, who they'd be working with and how to start a conversation. Here's how to set up the portfolio, client quotes, team page and inquiry form to do that.
Oct 20268 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
What should an electrical contractor's website show general contractors and facility managers?
General contractors check your licenses, safety record and bonding before they invite you to bid, and facility managers want a number they can tap. Here is what an electrical contractor's website should show, where it goes and who keeps it current.
Oct 20267 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
What should a construction website show to get you on bid lists?
A construction website helps you get on bid lists when it shows projects at the buyer's size and puts your safety record, insurance and bonding where buyers can find them. Add an inquiry form that asks for the project details you need. Here's what to put on each page and where to start.
Oct 20266 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
What should a trucking or logistics website show shippers and drivers?
A trucking or logistics website has two readers. Shippers want fleet size, the lanes you run, on-time figures and your safety record. Drivers want pay, equipment age and home time. Give each one a separate path from the homepage and lead with numbers.
Oct 20266 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
What should a crane or heavy-lift company website show buyers?
A crane or heavy-lift company website should show what each machine can lift, your safety record in numbers and projects written up with weights and site constraints. Add an inquiry form that asks for the lift details, and a buyer can shortlist you without a phone call.
Oct 20265 min read
IndustriesHow to buy it
How to write a website RFP that gets you bids you can compare.
A website RFP works when every bidder answers the same questions in the same format. Most don't, because the person writing it has never bought a website before. This is the RFP we'd want to receive.
Oct 20267 min read
IndustriesHow to buy it
When state & local government websites must meet WCAG 2.1 AA, and what to fix first.
The Justice Department's ADA Title II rule requires state and local government websites to meet WCAG 2.1 AA. An interim rule moved the deadlines to April 2027 and April 2028. Who it covers, what it leaves out and where to start.
Oct 20266 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
What a government contractor's website needs before a contracting officer looks.
Contracting officers and primes usually find you in SAM.gov or a search, then open your website to check. In a minute or two they look for five things. Here is what each one needs.
Oct 20266 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
Four languages, one of them Arabic. What we learned building iknow.us.
Iknow publishes every page in English, Spanish, French and Arabic, with no English allowed on the other three. These are the decisions that made that work, and the checks that keep it true.
Oct 20266 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
What a manufacturer's website needs before an engineer shortlists you.
Engineers and buyers find a supplier through a search, a distributor or a trade show, then open the website to check. In a few minutes they decide whether to send an RFQ. This is what they look for, in the order they look.
Oct 20266 min read
SEOWhat it costs
How much does SEO cost for a construction or engineering firm in 2026?
Industry surveys put most monthly SEO retainers between $500 and $5,000, and US providers sit toward the top of that range. For a construction or engineering firm, the price moves on how many pages need writing and what state the site is in.
Sep 20265 min read
SEOWhat good looks like
How do owners, developers & general contractors find a construction company on Google?
Owners, developers and general contractors search in different words. An owner searches for the job and the place, a developer for a building type and a delivery method, a GC for a trade and a region. A contractor gets found when it has a page for each of those, a complete Google Business Profile and projects written up with the facts buyers check.
Sep 20266 min read
SEOWhat good looks like
How do engineering & environmental consultancies win work from Google search?
Clients hire engineering and environmental consultants on qualifications, and they search for them by service, standard and place. The consultancies that get found have a page for each service that names the standards they work to, pages for their people and project write-ups a client can check.
Sep 20266 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
What should an energy or petrochemical company website show?
An energy or petrochemical website has four kinds of reader: operators checking output and uptime, HSE teams checking your safety record, regulators checking permits and investors checking your transition plan. Give each one a section of its own and lead with figures and named standards.
Sep 20265 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
What should a shipping or maritime company website show cargo customers?
Cargo customers check four things on a shipping or maritime website: the fleet, your certificates and vetting status, the routes and ports you serve and who to call in their time zone. Put each one where a buyer finds it without having to ask.
Sep 20266 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
Why isn't your engineering firm's website bringing in RFQs?
Engineering websites usually lose RFQs in four places: certifications buyers can't find, engineers listed without their licenses, projects shown as photos with no technical detail and a contact form that won't take a drawing. Most of the fixes are content your team already has.
Sep 20265 min read
AI searchWhat good looks like
How AI tools choose which contractors, engineers & professional firms to name.
When a facilities manager asks ChatGPT for a roofing contractor near them, or a developer asks which firms do geotechnical surveys in their state, the answer is a short list of names. The firms on it are easy for the tool to find, read and match to the question. Here's what that takes for a contractor, an engineering firm or a professional practice.
Sep 20265 min read
IndustriesWhat it costs
What a construction company website costs in 2026 & what actually moves the number.
With us, a construction company website costs $9,500 or $19,500. Sites that run portals or dashboards start at $30,000. What moves the number is how much of your operation the site has to carry. Page count matters far less.
Sep 20266 min read
IndustriesWhat it costs
What an engineering firm website costs in 2026 & where the money actually goes.
An engineering firm's website is read by people who are professionally skeptical, which moves the cost out of the visual design and into the structure and the data underneath it.
Sep 20266 min read
IndustriesHow to buy it
The website RFP checklist for an architecture practice.
Most architecture practices commission a website roughly once a decade, so the person writing the brief has almost certainly never written one before. This is the checklist we would want to receive.
Sep 20267 min read
IndustriesHow to buy it
How to choose a web agency when you run a contracting business.
You already know how to buy a subcontractor, and almost none of that instinct gets applied when a contracting business buys a website. It should be, because it is just a trade you do not happen to know.
Sep 20265 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
Best Architecture Firm Websites 2026: 15 Examples
15 top architecture firm websites reviewed. See the designs, writing and layouts that help them win commissions, and what a mid-size practice can copy. Benchmarks for 2026.
May 202611 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
The 15 best engineering firm websites in 2026 & what mid-market firms can copy.
Most engineering firm websites give a technical buyer marketing copy where they want numbers. We break down 15 firms whose sites get it right, and what a mid-market firm can copy.
May 202611 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
The 12 best environmental engineering websites in 2026. What firms targeting regulators, agencies & ESG buyers get right.
Environmental engineering is growing faster than most professions. The websites in the category haven't caught up. We break down 12 firms doing it right, plus the patterns mid-market practices can copy.
May 202610 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
The 15 best property development websites in 2026 & what mid-market developers can copy.
Property development is the rare industry with three deeply different buyer audiences hitting the same homepage. Investors, tenants and the press. Most sites address none of them well. We break down 15 doing it right.
May 202612 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
The 15 best construction company websites in 2026. What the firms doing it right have in common.
Most construction company websites still look like 2015. The ones that don't share a small number of patterns. We break down 15 sites doing it right, the five things they have in common and what mid-market firms can copy without a six-figure rebuild.
Apr 202612 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
The 15 best energy & petrochemical websites in 2026 & what mid-market operators can copy.
The best energy and petrochemical sites put results, safety data and the physical assets one click from the homepage. We break down 15 of them in 2026, and the patterns mid-market and independent operators can copy.
Apr 202612 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
The 12 best shipping & maritime websites in 2026. What a mid-size carrier or forwarder can copy.
Shipping is one of the most globally distributed industries on earth and one of the most poorly served by its websites. Customers in twenty markets, regulatory frameworks across every jurisdiction, certifications that decide qualification. We break down 12 firms doing it right.
Apr 202610 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
The 15 best transport & logistics websites in 2026. How the firms doing it right prove capacity, route inquiries & recruit drivers.
Logistics is a margin-thin industry where customers commoditize vendors fast. The website is one of the few places a transport firm can credibly differentiate. Most don't try. We break down 15 firms who do.
Mar 202611 min read
IndustriesWhat good looks like
The 10 best crane & heavy-lift websites in 2026. How the specialists communicate fleet, safety, engineering & reach.
Crane and heavy-lift is a high-stakes, niche industry. The buyer is a construction manager or EPC contractor with a lift to plan. The website is the qualification document. Most firms in the space are still running brochure sites. We break down 10 doing it right.
Feb 20269 min read
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