Thryve Business Solutions • Small Business Websites

Thryve Business Solutions • Small Business Websites A website shouldn’t just exist — it should work for your business. Thryve helps small business owners turn their websites into a lead-generating asset. Hola!
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I’m Mat and I’ve been an entrepreneur for as long as I can remember—starting at age 12, when I turned my lunch money into a mini cigarette business at school. My early passion for enterprise led me to co-own and run a chain of 11 bookshops, where I first glimpsed the transformative power of the World Wide Web. In 2003, I launched a successful coffee bar, eatery, and live music venue, handling ever

ything from daily operations to marketing – today, I still consult for that business and others, leveraging my background in design, along with my lifelong love of martial arts, music and of course, coffee! Whether I’m advising clients, working out at the gym, or playing bass alongside talented jazz musicians, I bring curiosity, creativity, and a drive to make an impact.

Is AI actually replacing creatives, or is it just making weak creative work easier to spot?I’ve been thinking about this...
05/06/2026

Is AI actually replacing creatives, or is it just making weak creative work easier to spot?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot.

I use AI in my business.

■ I’ll use it to spark ideas.
■ I’ll use it to help structure content.
■ I’ll use it to speed up coding jobs where I already know what I’m trying to build.
■ I’ll use it to pull out SEO phrases that should probably be included on a page.

But I wouldn’t say AI “creates” the final thing.

Not really.

Because the useful bit is still the context.

→ What is the business trying to say?
→ Who are they trying to attract?
→ What does the customer need to understand before they enquire?
→ What makes the business credible?
→ What should be left out because it sounds generic, obvious, or forced?

That’s the bit AI doesn’t magically know.

It can type quicker than me, definitely. But typing quicker isn’t the same as thinking better.

I think small businesses can get a lot from AI, but only when it’s used as a tool rather than a replacement for judgement.

Maybe the real question isn’t “will AI replace people?”

Maybe it’s:

Are we using it to improve the work, or just produce more average stuff faster?

What do you think?

Are you using AI in your business yet, or still avoiding it?

One thing people often assume about getting a website done is that they’ll need to hand over a perfectly organised pack ...
30/05/2026

One thing people often assume about getting a website done is that they’ll need to hand over a perfectly organised pack of content.

In reality, that’s rarely how it works with me.

Most of the time, people come with:

+ a rough idea
+ a few notes
+ maybe an old site
+ a couple of photos
+ a decent amount of uncertainty

Which is normal.

The useful part of the job is often not “building the pages”.

It’s asking the right questions, understanding the customer, working out what really needs to be said, and turning that into something clearer and more useful.

So if you’ve been thinking:

“I know I need to sort the site, but I’ve got nothing ready”

…that’s usually not the deal-breaker people think it is.

Often the real starting point is just a sensible conversation.



If you’d like me to help shape the content as well as the site, quote THRYVE25 for 25% off a new website project.

There’s a difference between having a website and having a website that quietly helps the business.A lot of small busine...
28/05/2026

There’s a difference between having a website and having a website that quietly helps the business.

A lot of small business sites do the first one.

Far fewer do the second.

Because once a website is live, it’s very easy for everyone to assume that box has been ticked.

Then time passes.

The business evolves.
Services change.
The offer improves.
The reputation grows.
The website… doesn’t always keep up.

So what was once “good enough” slowly becomes:

a bit vague
a bit dated
a bit thin
and a bit less convincing than the real business behind it

That’s the bit I think people underestimate.

A website doesn’t need to be fancy.

But it does need to feel like it belongs to the business as it is now, not as it was two or three years ago.



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Quote THRYVE25 for 25% off a new website

Do you think most business owners put off sorting their website because they don’t care… or because it feels like a job ...
26/05/2026

Do you think most business owners put off sorting their website because they don’t care… or because it feels like a job with no obvious end?

I’d say it’s usually the second one.

A website often sits in that awkward category of:

important enough to feel guilty about
vague enough to keep delaying
and technical enough to sound like hassle

Which is why so many businesses end up with something that sort of exists… but doesn’t really help.

Not awful.
Not broken.
Just not doing much heavy lifting.

And that matters because your website is often where people go when they’re almost interested.

Not at the beginning.
Not always at the end.
But often right in that “shall I bother contacting them?” stage.

So I’m curious:

What puts people off more — time, cost, or not knowing where to start?



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Quote THRYVE25 for 25% off a new website project.

There’s a particular kind of frustration that comes with knowing your business is better than the way it comes across on...
24/05/2026

There’s a particular kind of frustration that comes with knowing your business is better than the way it comes across online.

You know you’re good at what you do.

You know customers value what you do.

You know there’s more to the business than a couple of vague lines and an old page that’s been sitting there for years.

But actually sorting it?

That keeps slipping.

Not because you’re lazy.
Not because you don’t care.
Usually because life and business are already full.

And this is the bit I think matters:

When a potential customer looks you up, they don’t see how busy you’ve been.

They just see what’s in front of them.

So if the website feels out of date, unclear, or underwhelming, it can quietly affect trust before you’ve even had a conversation.

That’s why this stuff matters.

Not because every business needs something flashy.

But because your online presence should do a better job of reflecting the quality that already exists.

Does that feeling ring true for you, or am I overthinking it?



Quote THRYVE25 for 25% off a new website project.

A common myth:“To sort my website, I’d need loads of time.”The reality:Usually, you need less time than you think.What y...
22/05/2026

A common myth:

“To sort my website, I’d need loads of time.”

The reality:

Usually, you need less time than you think.

What you often need more than anything else is someone who can:

★ ask the right questions
★ research properly
★ shape the message
★take the heavy lifting off your plate

Because most business owners already have the raw material.

It’s in:

⦾ the conversations they have with customers
⦾ the questions they answer every week
⦾ the jobs they do best
⦾ the reasons people recommend them

The problem is not usually “there’s nothing to say”.

It’s more often:

“I haven’t had time to pull it together.”

That’s a very different problem. And a much more solvable one.

If you’ve never really thought about what a website is supposed to do for a business, comment GUIDE and I’ll send over the free guide.



Quote THRYVE25 for 25% off a new website project.

A useful question for any business owner:Is your website helping people choose you — or just confirming that you exist?B...
20/05/2026

A useful question for any business owner:

Is your website helping people choose you — or just confirming that you exist?

Because those are not the same thing.

✪ A website doesn’t need to be huge.
✪ It doesn’t need to be flashy.
✪ And it certainly doesn’t need ten pages of waffle.

But it does need to do a few simple things well:

✓ explain what you do
✓ show who it’s for
✓ build trust
✓ answer obvious questions
✓ make the next step feel easy

That matters because people are checking businesses out online whether we like it or not.

And according to a 2025 Forbes Advisor UK survey, 78% of UK small businesses have a website, with 83.5% of those owners saying it plays a big part in their business.

So the question is no longer really, “Should I have a website?”

It’s more:

Is mine doing enough?

If you’ve already got a website and you’re not sure whether it’s helping or quietly holding you back, comment CLARITY and I’ll send over the Website Clarity Check.



Quote THRYVE25 for 25% off a new website project.

One thing I’ve noticed from working with small businesses:A lot of the time, the issue isn’t that the business is unclea...
18/05/2026

One thing I’ve noticed from working with small businesses:

A lot of the time, the issue isn’t that the business is unclear.

It’s that the website is behind.

↓ Behind the service.
↓ Behind the reputation.
↓ Behind the level the business is actually operating at now.

So someone can be excellent at what they do, well thought of, reliable, experienced, properly established…

…and still look a bit vague online.

Not because they’re not good.

Usually because they’ve been busy doing the work rather than stepping back and translating it clearly.

That’s why websites matter more than people sometimes think.

They’re not just there to “look nice”.

They often shape that quiet first impression of:

🗸 professionalism
🗸 credibility
🗸 clarity
🗸 confidence

And if that part feels weak, the business can end up underselling itself.

Have you ever looked at your own website and thought, “That’s not really us anymore”?



Quote THRYVE25 for 25% off a new website project.

Do you ever put something off in your business because you assume it will take more time than you’ve got?I think website...
15/05/2026

Do you ever put something off in your business because you assume it will take more time than you’ve got?

I think websites often fall into that category.

Not because business owners don’t care about how they look online. They do.

But because they imagine the process will mean weeks of writing content, gathering photos, explaining everything from scratch, making endless decisions, and fitting another project into an already full week.

The reality can be very different.

Most of the business owners I’ve built websites for have given me little to nothing to start with. Sometimes just a few notes, a conversation, an old leaflet, a rough idea of what they do, or a few links to competitors. Sometimes nothing at all.

From there, the work is usually about asking the right questions, researching the business properly, understanding the customer, shaping the message, and then checking that it feels right.

A good website project shouldn’t feel like another job dumped on your desk.

It should feel like someone helping you finally explain the business clearly.

Is there something in your business you’ve delayed because you thought it would take too much time?

QUOTE 'THRYVE25' and get 25%OFF your project costs this month, so you'll save not only time, but money...

I know investing in a website can feel like a big step.That’s one reason I keep things simple:50% upfront, 50% on comple...
07/05/2026

I know investing in a website can feel like a big step.

That’s one reason I keep things simple:
50% upfront, 50% on completion.

It keeps the project moving, keeps expectations clear, and makes the process feel fair on both sides.

For me, a website project should feel collaborative, practical and worthwhile — not vague or overcomplicated.

If you want to talk through what your website could be doing better, you can book a free web strategy call via the link in my bio or through my website.

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