Cyber Essentials changed in April 2026. MFA is now pass or fail.
Version 3.3 landed on 27 April 2026. Missing MFA on a cloud service is now an automatic fail — no warnings, no exception for paid-only tiers.
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Getting started
Plain-English explainers for anyone who has not done this before — what the thing is, what it costs, and what to decide first.
14 articles
Your rankings held and your traffic fell. That's AI Overviews.
Same positions, fewer clicks? Nothing broke — Google started answering the question itself. What changed, how to confirm it, and what to do next.
The three attacks that actually hit small businesses
Not zero-days and not nation states. The things that genuinely happen to small firms are ordinary, preventable, and rarely discussed at the right level.
What is iDRAC? Dell's out-of-band controller in plain English
Every Dell PowerEdge server has a small computer inside that runs whether the server is on or off. What iDRAC does, why it matters, and where it stops.
The five numbers every small business should watch
Analytics dashboards show hundreds of metrics and most of them are noise. These five tell you whether your website is doing its job.
Choosing the right social platform for your business
You cannot be good on all of them, and trying is why most small business social media fails. How to pick one or two and actually commit.
How to set a marketing budget when you're starting from zero
No historical data, no benchmarks, no idea what a lead should cost. Here's a way to size a first budget that won't bankrupt you or waste the money.
How to prepare for a website project and keep it on budget
The projects that launch quickly all have one thing in common: a prepared client. Here's exactly what to have ready before your website build starts.
Email marketing: the most underrated channel for small businesses
No algorithm, no ad auction — just a direct line to people who already know you. Why email quietly outperforms, and how to start without being spammy.
Does my small business really need branding?
Branding sounds like something for big companies with big budgets. What it actually means for a small business, and the parts worth paying for.
Google Ads for small businesses: a plain-English starter guide
How Google Ads actually works, what a sensible starting budget looks like, and the mistakes that burn money — explained without the jargon.
Local SEO: how to get found by customers in your area
For most UK small businesses, local search is the highest-value marketing there is. Here's a practical guide to showing up when nearby customers search.
How much does a website cost in the UK? (2026 guide)
A plain-English breakdown of what a website really costs in 2026 — from simple brochure sites to Shopify stores — and what actually drives the price.
SEO, Google Ads or social: which is right for you?
Not sure where to spend your marketing budget? Here's how to choose between SEO, paid ads, and social media — without the jargon.
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