The Attention
Essays, product notes, and field reports from the team at Squish.
- ·5 min read#email#security
How to Spot a Fake Email From Your Own IT Provider
The most convincing phishing emails impersonate the companies you already pay. Here are the signals that give them away, and what a real provider will never ask you for.
- ·5 min read#security#managed-it
What Is Two-Factor Authentication, and Do You Really Need It?
Two-factor authentication is the one security step that stops most real attacks on small businesses. Here is what it is, which kind to use, and where to turn it on first.
- ·5 min read#ai#websites
Can AI Really Build My Website? What Faber Does and Doesn't Do
An honest account of our own AI site builder: what it produces, where it genuinely saves you weeks, where it does not, and when you should hire a person instead.
- ·5 min read#email#security
Why Is My Email on a Blocklist, and How Do I Get Off?
If your domain lands on an email blocklist, your messages stop arriving and nobody tells you why. Here is how it happens, how to check free, and how to get removed.
- ·5 min read#hosting#managed-it
What Does Website Maintenance Actually Include?
Website maintenance is one of those line items nobody explains before invoicing it. Here is what the work actually consists of, and how to tell if yours is happening.
- ·5 min read#domains#security
Your Domain Is About to Expire. Here's What Actually Happens.
A domain does not just switch off on its expiry date. Here is the timeline that follows, how much of it you can recover from, and how to check your own date free.
- ·5 min read#email#security
What Is DMARC, and Why Did Someone Just Tell Me I Need One?
Someone told you your domain needs DMARC and did not explain why. Here is what it actually does, what happens without it, and how to check yours free in a minute.
- ·5 min read#websites#pricing
What Does a Custom Website Actually Cost?
Website quotes come back thousands of pounds apart with no explanation of why. Here is what actually drives the number, and how to work out which one you need.
- ·5 min read#hosting#security
Is Your Website Actually Backed Up? How to Tell
Nearly everyone believes their website is backed up. Far fewer have ever restored one. Here are the four questions that tell you whether yours would actually work.
- ·5 min read#hosting#security
Why Does My Website Say 'Not Secure'? SSL Certificates in Plain English
Your browser suddenly says your website is not secure, with no warning and no explanation. Here is what that actually means, why it happened, and how to check yours free.
- ·6 min read#email#security
Why Do My Emails Go to Spam? A Plain-English Checklist
Your email keeps landing in spam and nobody can tell you why. Here is what inbox providers are actually checking, in plain English, and how to see your own score free.
- ·4 min read#managed-it#guide
Twelve Questions to Ask an IT Provider Before You Sign Anything
The right questions to ask an IT provider are the ones a bad provider answers vaguely. Here are twelve, what a good answer sounds like, and the replies to walk away from.
- ·4 min read#managed-it#pricing
In-House IT Hire vs. Managed Services: How to Work Out the Real Cost
Comparing the cost of an in-house IT hire against managed services? The salary is the smallest part. Here is how to build the real number for your own business.
- ·4 min read#security#managed-it
Seven Small Business IT Security Mistakes (and How to Fix Each One)
The small business IT security mistakes we see most often are ordinary, not exotic. Here are seven of them, why each one matters, and the fix for every single one.
- ·6 min read#ai#websites
Can AI Actually Find Your Business? How to Check What ChatGPT Sees
More people now ask ChatGPT or Perplexity instead of searching. Here is what those engines actually see when they look at your business, and how to check yours free.
- ·4 min read#managed-it#guide
What Is Managed IT Services? A Plain Guide for Business Owners
What is managed IT services, in plain English? Here is what you actually get, what it costs, who it suits, and the honest case for when you do not need it yet.
- ·2 min read#managed-it#the-squish-way
What 'Vendor Lock-In' Really Means (and How to Tell If You're Stuck)
Vendor lock-in is the quiet trap that keeps you paying a provider you have outgrown. Here is what it actually means, the warning signs, and how to stay free.
- ·1 min read#managed-it
One Provider for Domains, Hosting, and Email: Smart or Risky?
Should you keep your domain, hosting, and email all in one place, or spread them out? Here is the honest case for and against consolidating your core services.
- ·1 min read#ai
Do You Actually Need an AI Assistant for Your IT? A Grounded Take
Everyone is bolting AI onto everything. Here is an honest look at when an AI assistant genuinely helps with your IT, and when it is just a buzzword on a page.
- ·1 min read#dns#security
Free Ways to Check Your Domain's Health in 5 Minutes
Your domain quietly runs your website and email, and small problems hide in plain sight. Here is how to check its health in a few minutes, for free, no signup.
- ·2 min read#ai#websites
What an AI Website Builder Can (and Cannot) Do for Your Business
AI website builders are having a moment, and the hype is ahead of reality. Here is an honest look at what they can genuinely do for your business, and what they cannot.
- ·2 min read#email#migration
Moving Your Business Email Without Losing a Single Message
The fear of losing years of email keeps teams stuck on the wrong provider. Here is how an email migration actually works, safely, with nothing lost along the way.
- ·2 min read#email
Which Microsoft 365 Plan Do You Actually Need?
Microsoft 365 comes in several tiers with unhelpful names. Here is a plain-English guide to which plan actually fits your team, without overpaying for extras.
- ·1 min read#email#managed-it
Should You Run Your Own Business Email, or Have It Managed?
You can set up and run business email yourself, or have it managed for you. Here is an honest look at what each one really takes, and who should pick which.
- ·2 min read#email#microsoft-365
Microsoft 365 vs. Google Workspace for a Mid-Size Team: An Honest Comparison
Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace? Both are good. Here is an honest, jargon-free look at which one actually fits a growing mid-size team, and why.
- ·1 min read#hosting#pricing
Is $10-a-Month Hosting Too Cheap to Trust?
Cheap hosting sounds too good to be true, and sometimes it is. Here is how to tell honest low pricing from the kind that quietly costs you a lot more later.
- ·1 min read#hosting
How Do You Know When You've Outgrown Cheap Shared Hosting?
Cheap shared hosting is perfect until suddenly it is not. Here are the real signs your business has outgrown it, and what to move up to when it happens.
- ·2 min read#hosting#migration
How to Switch Web Hosts Without Taking Your Site Down
Afraid moving web hosts will crash your website? Here is how a proper, zero-downtime migration actually works, step by step, and why it is safer than staying stuck.
- ·1 min read#domains#privacy
What Is WHOIS Privacy, and Does Your Business Actually Need It?
When you register a domain, your name, address, and phone can go into a public database. WHOIS privacy hides them. Here is what it is and why it should be free.
- ·2 min read#domains#dns
What Is DNS, in Plain English (and Why 'It's a DNS Thing' Is Not an Excuse)
DNS is the internet's phone book, and it quietly controls whether your website and email work. Here is what it is and what the records actually do, minus the jargon.
- ·4 min read#ai#guide
The AI That Actually Does the Work (Not Just Deflects Your Support Ticket)
Most 'AI' in tech is a chatbot that deflects you. Squish's assistant actually does the work: find a domain, build a site, pick a plan, all by just asking.
- ·4 min read#email#guide
Business Email, Done Right: A Plain Guide to Managed Microsoft 365
Business email is where growing teams quietly get stuck: setup, security, deliverability, the wrong plan. Here is managed Microsoft 365, explained in plain English.
- ·4 min read#hosting#guide
Web Hosting, Explained: From a $10 Site to Enterprise AWS (and How to Pick)
From a $10 website to enterprise AWS, business hosting is a ladder, and most people pick the wrong rung. Here is how it works, in plain English.
- ·3 min read#support#managed-it
Get Help Your Way: Real Tools When You Want Them, a Real Human When You Don't
Good support means getting help your way: genuinely useful self-serve tools when you want to do it yourself, and a real human who knows your setup when you do not.
- ·4 min read#domains#guide
Owning Your Domain: The Honest Guide to Getting One Without Getting Nickel-and-Dimed
A plain-English guide to registering and actually owning your domain: what should be included, what gets upsold, how DNS and renewals work, and how to never get locked in.
- ·3 min read#domains#pricing
Why Does My Domain Renewal Price Keep Going Up?
Your domain renewal keeps climbing and nobody explains why. Here is the honest reason big registrars hike the price, and how to check your next invoice.