The RunCabin Blog
No-nonsense answers for local business owners - what things should cost, what you actually need, and where the fine print bites. Written by the team that builds done-for-you small-business websites.
For new owners · July 12, 2026
Keep the page - but do not let it be your only home online. What a Facebook page does well, where it quietly costs you jobs (strangers on Google cannot find you, and you do not control who sees your posts), and why a website on your own domain is the one asset you actually own.
Getting started · July 11, 2026
A plain-English checklist of what actually belongs on a local-service site - the headline, services, real photos, reviews, and a quote form that lands in your inbox - plus the stuff you can safely skip. Written for tradespeople, not marketers.
Getting started · July 10, 2026
File the LLC on Tuesday, and by Friday your phone will not stop. Why the calls start the day you register, the four lines that should make you hang up, and what actually helps a new local business get found - free, boring, and in your control.
For new owners · July 9, 2026
How to get name@yourbusiness.com: why email rides on a domain, what the a-la-carte route really costs (including the year-two renewal jump), the free workarounds and their honest limits, and how to make it one line item instead of four.
Fix-it guide · July 8, 2026
You have a website and the phone is still quiet - in peak season. A plain-language fix-it checklist for painters, landscapers, and local trades: the five mechanical problems that silence a site, the free fixes first, then how to tell whether an old site is worth patching or replacing.
Getting found · July 7, 2026
The five moves that actually decide who appears when someone nearby searches for your trade - the map pack, a complete Google Business Profile, a real website with your city on it, consistent business info, and reviews. No secret trick, no paying for the top spot.
Before you sign · July 6, 2026
With a lot of website companies, yes - and often your domain too. What you actually keep when you cancel, by provider type, and how to leave any provider without losing your site, your web address, or your business email.
For the poets · July 3, 2026
We built Technical Rhymer - phoneme search, slant-rhyme controls, and 2020s slang for poets and songwriters - in Claude Code, then published it by asking Claude to use the RunCabin connector. Badaboom: live site. Ends on a couplet, for the poets.
For the AI-curious · June 16, 2026
Asked Claude or ChatGPT to build a website? Here is the practical how-to for getting it online at a real, live HTTPS URL in one step - free to start, no DNS, no account.
For new owners · June 12, 2026
Your Google profile gets you noticed - your website gets you chosen. What each one does, and why Google shutting off its free websites in 2024 changed the answer.
Buying guide · June 12, 2026
Real numbers for DIY builders, home-services website companies, and CRM bundles - plus the setup fees, contracts, and "cancel and lose your site" clauses in the fine print.
For working contractors · June 12, 2026
Shared leads, ghost leads, denied refunds - what pros report in their own words, and the owned-channel setup that makes the meter optional.
For new owners · June 12, 2026
The five-move playbook for brand-new plumbers, electricians, painters, and contractors - all free or cheap, all compounding, no bought leads required.
How it works · June 12, 2026
"AI website" can mean a one-time draft, a ticket queue, or a site you change by asking. The differences - and the next step: sites your AI assistant can manage directly.
We build it for you - your name, your work, your city - for $39.99/mo with no setup fee. See a real preview free.
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