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Since 2 August 2026 the AI Act applies to virtually every business. What must you be able to demonstrate you've arranged, and what can still wait?
The law doesn't look at what kind of business you are, but at what you do with AI.
AI Act, AI regulation, AI policy, small business
EU AI Act voor het MKB: wat moet u doen vóór 2 augustus 2026?
EU AI Act mkb: verplichtingen en deadlines 2026
AI-regelgeving Nederland 2026: EU AI Act, toezicht & ethiek
More AI Act checklists have appeared this year than businesses that have done anything with them. That's a shame, because the essence fits on a beer mat and most of the work is an afternoon. Since 2 August 2026 the main obligations of the European AI Act apply, and they apply to virtually every business that uses AI — no exception for size, no transition period any more. Below: what you need to have on file demonstrably, what can wait a while, and where it goes wrong in practice. Who does it apply to? To you, probably. The regulation doesn't look at what kind of business you are but at what you do with AI. A chatbot on your website counts. Having text or images generated counts. A tool that sorts CVs or drafts quotes counts. Even an employee who signed up for a subscription on their own counts, because it happens within your organisation and under your responsibility. For small businesses, lighter requirements and lower maximum fines apply on some points. That's a softening, not an exemption. What you must be able to demonstrate An overview of your AI tools A list of every AI application running within your business: name, what it's for, who the provider is, what risk level it has and what data goes into it. A spreadsheet will do. The difficulty isn't in the format but in the completeness — nearly every business comes across tools during this inventory that management didn't know were in use. Policy: who may do what An internal document setting out how your organisation deals with AI. Who may use which tools, what data may and may not go into them, how you check the output before it goes out. Two pages that are right are worth more than twenty pulled off the internet. Demonstrable AI literacy Employees who work with AI must know what the risks are, and you have to be able to show it. An e-learning, a meeting record, an internal certificate — the proof can be light. For most small businesses an hour-and-a-half session with a short test is defensible. Transparency towards customers If someone is talking to a chatbot, it must be clear it isn't a person. If a text or image is made by AI, that should be recognisable. One line at the opening of the chat window or a short note on generated content usually covers this. What isn't required yet The heavier requirements for high-risk applications — recruitment and selection, lending, education, critical infrastructure — have shifted to 2 December 2027. If you fall into that category, you still have well over a year for conformity assessments, technical documentation and human oversight. If you don't, you don't have to do anything about that whole chapter. That saves considerably more than the average checklist suggests. The Netherlands is also working on an AI sandbox: an environment where you can experiment without immediately risking sanctions. Interesting if you want to build something whose classification you're not yet sure of. Where it breaks down in practice The register is a snapshot A list that was right in August isn't right any more in November. A tool gets added, someone tries something, a supplier builds AI into a package you already had. Without a fixed moment to update the register, it's fiction after six months. Put a recurring appointment on it — that's the whole solution. The training is a tick-box An hour and a half of general explanation about what a language model is clears the bar but changes nothing about how people work. Explanation about your own processes, with your own documents and your own mistakes, costs the same and actually delivers something. Nobody looks at the supplier You're responsible for what happens within your organisation, even when the AI sits in someone else's package. Ask your suppliers whether they comply with the regulation themselves and where the processing takes place. A supplier who's vague about that is the risk itself. It stays on paper Register done, policy done, training had — and after that nothing changes about how people work. Then you have a file for a regulator who probably never shows up, and nothing else. The obligations are the trigger; the gain is in what you set up afterwards. And the fines? They run up to amounts that are painful for a small business, with lower maximums for smaller organisations. But enforcement is only getting going and the chance of someone on your doorstep tomorrow is small. That's no reason to let it slide — the real risks are elsewhere. An employee pasting customer data into a free tool, a chatbot promising something you can't deliver, a generated text with an error in it going out under your name. You don't need a regulator to feel the pain of those. Where do you start? With the inventory, always. You can't write policy about tools you don't know are running. Ask around, look in the invoices, check the browser extensions. What comes out of that determines whether you have an afternoon's work or a project — and in most cases it's an afternoon. Then policy, then the session with your team, then the transparency on your site. Four steps, half a day per step. And if it does turn out to be bigger: then you know that now, instead of at the moment someone asks about it.
Increasing conversion in your web shop: what actually works?
Your web shop has traffic but too few orders? These are the changes that actually raise conversion — tested and proven.
Searching, comparing, judging — every step can be smoother.
You have visitors. But they don't buy. Or not enough. The average conversion rate of a Dutch web shop is around 2-3%. That means 97 of every 100 visitors leave without buying anything. The question isn't whether you can improve, but where you start. Not with a new design or a different font — but at the places where you're actually leaving money on the table. The checkout: this is where you lose the most Forced account creation "Create an account to order." Five words, thousands of lost orders. Always offer a guest checkout. Anyone who wants to come back will create an account on their own. Too many steps Every step in your checkout is a moment to drop off. Address, shipping method, payment method, confirmation — four steps is standard, but three is better and one (one-page checkout) is best. Fewer clicks, more orders. Hidden shipping costs The number one reason for cart abandonment worldwide: unexpected costs in the checkout. Show shipping costs as early as possible — on the product page or in the cart. No surprises. Limited payment options iDEAL is a must in the Netherlands. But don't forget Bancontact for Belgian customers, credit card for international, and buy-now-pay-later (Klarna, Riverty) for those who hesitate. Every missing payment option is a lost customer. The product page: this is where you convince Good product photos One photo isn't enough. Multiple angles, detail shots, in-context photos (the product in use), and if possible a 360-degree view or video. People buy with their eyes — give them something to look at. Clear product information Sizes, materials, weight, fit, delivery time — the more relevant information, the less doubt. And less doubt means more conversion. Write product descriptions that answer questions before they're asked. Social proof Reviews, ratings, customer photos, the number of times ordered — people buy what others buy. If you have no reviews, start collecting them today. A product with five reviews converts dramatically better than one without. Urgency and scarcity "Only 3 left in stock" works — if it's true. Fake scarcity is seen through by everyone and damages your brand. But real stock messages, temporary offers and seasonal products create legitimate urgency. Speed: the silent conversion killer One extra second of load time costs you 7% conversion. Amazon, Google and Walmart have measured it. If your product page loads in 4 seconds instead of 2, you lose money. Every day. Optimise images, use caching, choose good hosting, minimise scripts. The technical foundation has to be right before you start on the marketing. Navigation and search functionality Filters that work If you have a hundred products and your customer has to scroll through all of them to find what they're looking for, you lose them. Good filtering — by price, colour, size, category — isn't a nice-to-have, it's essential. Search bar Visitors who use the search bar convert 2-3x more often than those who browse. Invest in a search function that works: with autocomplete, spelling correction and relevant results. Category structure Think from the customer, not from your stock system. "Men > Shoes > Sneakers" is logical. "Category 7 > Subcategory 12b" is not. Make it easy to find what they're looking for. Building trust Trust marks and guarantees Thuiswinkel Waarborg, WebwinkelKeur, money-back guarantees — they're signals that remove uncertainty. Visible in the footer, on the product page and in the checkout. Reachability A phone number, an email address, a physical address. Show there's a real business behind the web shop. Anonymity is suspicious. A clear returns policy Don't hide it in the small print. A clear, fair returns policy isn't a cost — it's a conversion booster. Customers who know returning is easy order more readily.
Having a logo designed: what to look out for?
Having a logo designed? These are the things that really matter — from brief to delivery.
Designers lay logo variants and colour swatches side by side.
Having a logo designed sounds simple. Send a brief, get three options, pick one, done. But if it were that easy, half of all startups wouldn't be replacing their logo again after two years. A good logo isn't decoration. It's the most compact translation of your brand — and that takes more than a nice shape. What makes a good logo? Recognisability over beauty A logo doesn't have to be "beautiful" in the classic sense. It has to be recognisable. Think of the Nike swoosh or the Apple apple — not necessarily complicated, but unmistakable. Simplicity beats complexity, almost always. Scalability Your logo has to work on a business card and on a building facade. On a 16×16 pixel website favicon and on a three-metre-wide exhibition stand. If it only works at one size, it isn't a good logo — it's an illustration. Timelessness vs. trends Gradients, 3D effects, ultra-thin lines — every era has its trends. The problem: trends are by definition temporary. A logo that feels hyper-modern now looks dated in five years. Choose character over fashion. Context and applicability Does your logo work on a dark background? In black and white? On fabric? In neon? A professional logo is delivered in multiple variants — full colour, monochrome, horizontal, vertical — so it works everywhere. The process: from brief to delivery Step 1: The brief A good brief is half the work. What does your business do? Who is your audience? What are your values? Which brands do you admire — and which not? The more concrete the input, the sharper the result. Step 2: Research and positioning Before a single sketch is made, a good agency looks at your market, your competitors and your positioning. Not to copy, but to know where you can stand out. Step 3: Concept development Not three random options, but reasoned directions. Each concept tells a different story about your brand. The choice isn't "which do you like most?" but "which best fits who you are?" Step 4: Refinement and variants The chosen concept is worked out in all the variants you need. Full colour, monochrome, with and without tagline, horizontal and vertical. Plus guidelines for use — so nobody starts distorting your logo in a PowerPoint. Step 5: Delivery All files in the formats you need: vector (AI, EPS, SVG), raster (PNG, JPG) and, where relevant, specific formats for social media or print. Source files included. Red flags when choosing a designer "Choose from 100+ logo options" If someone gives you a hundred options, nobody thought about it. Quantity isn't quality. Three well-reasoned directions say more than a folder full of variants. No questions, straight to a concept A designer who starts right away without asking questions isn't efficient — they're lazy. Without a brief and research, every logo is a shot in the dark. No source files If you don't get vector files, you depend on that one designer for every future change. Source files aren't optional — they're part of the deal. Extremely low prices A €50 logo isn't an investment, it's a gamble. The chance you'll be happy with it longer than a year is small. And the chance it's legally watertight, smaller still.
WordPress and Drupal are building AI in as fast as they can. But what happens when the AI no longer needs the dashboard? Why the CMS structure is being torn up — and what replaces it.
The dashboard was scaffolding around one limitation — and that limitation has gone.
AI CMS, WordPress, Drupal, content management
The big CMSes take AI dead seriously. Since 2025 WordPress has been working on official AI building blocks for the whole ecosystem — an SDK, an Abilities API, an adapter for AI agents. Drupal has its own AI initiative with dozens of partners and a roadmap that literally states that every action a user can take must also be doable by an AI agent. That's not marketing talk; it's really being built. And that's exactly where the discomfort is: they're building AI into a structure that only exists because AI wasn't around. What a CMS is actually for A content management system bundles three things: a place where the content lives, a screen to edit that content, and a layer that turns it into pages. Two of those three are indispensable — content has to live somewhere and appear somewhere. But the screen in between exists for exactly one reason: people can't write directly into storage. Databases are unreadable, code is scary, so along came a dashboard with input fields, previews, media libraries and an update button. Everything else hangs off that screen. Roles and permissions exist because there's a login. Plugins exist because the dashboard has to be extensible. Updates exist because all those layers have to be maintained. It's scaffolding around one limitation — and that limitation is disappearing. What WordPress and Drupal are building now Look at what the platforms themselves are doing and you see the same move everywhere: AI becomes an extra user of the existing system. The agent gets the same buttons you have. It can create a post, add alt text to an image, start a workflow — neatly within the permissions and approval steps designed for people. Drupal names that explicitly as a design principle: AI under the same governance as the human editor. That's defensible. WordPress runs on more than forty per cent of the web; those installations aren't switching to a different architecture because something more elegant is possible. Anyone dragging along hundreds of editors, approval workflows and twenty years of content can only add AI as a layer on top of what's there. But notice what's happening too: the overhead is being automated instead of removed. The AI fills the input fields that existed because people needed input fields. An assistant is being built to operate the scaffolding — while the question should be why the scaffolding is still standing. The reversal Turn it around. An AI can write directly into storage. Structure isn't an obstacle for an agent but a foothold: the tighter the content is structured, the more reliably it works with it. The moment the editor no longer needs a screen, the screen isn't a feature any more but ballast — and so is everything hanging off it. No dashboard, so no login. No login, so a lot less to hack. No plugins, so no updates. What's left is the content itself, the structure it lives in, and a log of changes you can roll back. And because there's no longer a system between visitor and content, every page can sit ready-made — as good as static, with the speed that comes with it. This isn't a distant future. For an informational site — company site, brochure site, portfolio — this works today, and it works remarkably well. The site you're reading this on is managed this way: there's no dashboard to log into. From CMS to CMS instructions So a layer disappears, but something comes back in its place — and that's where the real work of the coming years sits. If the agent no longer has the buttons that bound it, the boundaries have to live somewhere else: on paper. What may change and what may not. In what tone things are written. What structure a new page follows, what has to happen with the menu, breadcrumb and sitemap. Where in a classic CMS those rules are locked into field definitions and plugin settings, they now become a readable document that both human and machine follow. Call it CMS instructions. The centre of gravity of site management shifts from operating screens to drawing up agreements — and the quality of those agreements determines the quality of the site. That also changes what you should assess when you have a website built: not what the dashboard looks like, but how good the structure and the rules are that get worked with afterwards. What doesn't disappear Fair is fair: the middle layer has places where it really does work. Five editors working in the same content at once, a web shop with stock and orders, an editorial process with approval steps — there the management layer isn't scaffolding but a tool, and there it will stay. So WordPress and Drupal aren't disappearing. But note what their own roadmaps say: if every action can also be done by an agent, the screen has officially become optional. And what's optional gets left out where it can be. For the large middle segment — single-owner sites that occasionally want to change something — the question isn't whether that layer goes, but when. What this means for you If a new website is on the cards, ask a different question than "which CMS will it be". Ask what the management looks like when you want something said rather than clicked. For informational sites, Braaf. already delivers that today as AI CMS: a site without a management system that you then update in plain language — every change recorded and reversible, findability and structured data baked in. No waiting for the roadmap of a platform that first has to tear down its own scaffolding.
Shopify or WooCommerce: which is better?
Shopify or WooCommerce? An honest comparison of both platforms — no affiliate links, no hidden agenda.
Packing and shipping — your platform has to carry the work around it.
You want a web shop. Two names always come up: Shopify and WooCommerce. Google it and you drown in comparison articles — written by parties who get an affiliate commission if you order through their link. No hidden agenda here. Just an honest comparison of two platforms that are both good — but not for the same situation. Shopify in brief Shopify is a hosted platform. You pay a monthly subscription and get everything in one package: hosting, security, updates, a CMS and a web shop environment. You don't have to install or maintain anything. Sounds ideal — and for many entrepreneurs it is. Strengths Plug-and-play: Online within a day, without technical knowledge. Reliable infrastructure: Hosting, SSL, uptime — Shopify handles it. App ecosystem: Thousands of apps for reviews, email, fulfilment, upsells. Payment integrations: Shopify Payments, iDEAL, Apple Pay — out of the box. Scalable: From ten products to ten thousand, Shopify grows with you. Weaknesses Monthly costs: €36/month (Basic) to €384/month (Advanced), plus transaction fees if you don't use Shopify Payments. Limited customisability: Liquid (Shopify's template language) is less flexible than PHP/WordPress. Custom functionality requires a Shopify developer. Vendor lock-in: Your data sits on Shopify's servers. Migrating to another platform isn't impossible, but it isn't painless either. Ongoing app costs: Those handy apps? Many cost €10-50 a month each. It adds up quickly. WooCommerce in brief WooCommerce is a free open-source plugin for WordPress. It turns your WordPress website into a web shop. You have full control over hosting, design and functionality — but that also means you're responsible for maintenance. Strengths Free base: The plugin is free. You pay for hosting, a theme and any premium extensions. Full control: Your own hosting, your own code, your own rules. No platform dictating what you can and can't do. Flexibility: Everything is customisable — design, checkout flow, product layouts, integrations. Ownership: Your data is yours. You can move tomorrow if you want. Ecosystem: Thousands of plugins, themes and developers available. Weaknesses Maintenance: WordPress, WooCommerce, theme, plugins — everything has to be kept up to date. If you don't, you run risks. Performance: Without good hosting and optimisation, WooCommerce can be slow. The standard shared hosting that comes with many providers isn't enough for a serious web shop. Complexity: The learning curve is steeper. You can do a lot yourself, but "being able to" and "doing it well" are two different things. Hidden costs: Free at the base, but premium extensions (€50-200 each per year), a good theme, reliable hosting — it adds up. The comparison Cost per year Shopify Basic: ~€432/year + apps (~€100-300/month) + transaction fees WooCommerce: Hosting (~€120-600/year) + theme (~€60 one-off) + extensions (~€200-500/year) On paper WooCommerce is cheaper. In practice it depends on how many apps and extensions you need, and whether you need a developer for changes. Ease of use Shopify wins on ease of use for beginners. Everything works, right away. WooCommerce is more powerful but takes more knowledge — or a developer who sets it up for you. SEO WooCommerce wins here by a nose. WordPress is SEO-friendly by nature, with full control over URL structures, meta tags and speed. Shopify's SEO is fine but less flexible — URL structures always contain `/collections/` and `/products/`. Scalability Both scale, but in different ways. Shopify scales infrastructurally (they handle the servers). WooCommerce scales functionally (you can build anything) but needs better hosting as you grow. When do you choose Shopify? You want to go live quickly without technical hassle You don't have a developer in-house or on retainer You sell products that don't require complex logic You want a reliable platform you don't have to maintain When do you choose WooCommerce? You already have a WordPress website You want full control over design and functionality You need specific integrations (ERP, accounting, bespoke) Your budget is limited but you have technical knowledge (or a partner who does) Ownership of data and hosting matters to you
The difference between a logo and a brand identity
A logo isn't a brand. Read what brand identity really means — and why a logo alone isn't enough.
A brand guide on the table: colour, rhythm and typography do the real work.
"We have a logo, so we have a brand." It's one of the most stubborn misconceptions in business. A logo is a part of your brand — an important part — but it isn't your brand. That's a bit like saying a front door is a house. Understanding the difference saves you money, frustration and a lot of inconsistency. What is a logo? A logo is the most recognisable visual element of your brand. It's a symbol, a wordmark, or a combination of the two. The purpose: recognition. At a glance, people know who they're dealing with. A good logo is simple, scalable and timeless. It works on a business card, a website, a facade and an Instagram profile picture. But on its own it doesn't tell the whole story. What is a brand identity? A brand identity — or visual identity — is the complete system behind your visual communication. It's the collection of all the elements that together determine how your brand looks, sounds and feels: Logo and variants — the mark in all its forms Colour palette — primary and secondary colours, with exact colour codes Typography — which typefaces you use and how Imagery — photographic style, illustration style, graphic elements Tone of voice — how you write and communicate Applications — business cards, letterhead, social media templates, signage Together these elements form a coherent system. Consistency across every point of contact. Why a logo alone isn't enough Inconsistency Without guidelines, everyone goes their own way. One employee picks blue, another green. The website uses typeface A, the brochure typeface B. The result: a brand that looks different every time. Not professional, not recognisable. No scalability You start with a website and a business card. Then comes a brochure, an exhibition stand, social media, packaging. Without a system connecting all those applications, you build from scratch every time. Missed opportunities A strong brand identity makes every expression more powerful. A quote in your own house style feels more professional than a Word document in Times New Roman. A consistent Instagram feed builds more trust than random posts. It's the details that make the difference. When is a logo enough? Honestly? Almost never. But if you're just starting out, have a limited budget and communicate on one channel, a logo with a basic colour palette can be a starting point. As long as you know it's a starting point — not the final stop. When do you invest in a full brand identity? You communicate across multiple channels (website, social, print) You work with several people on your communication You want to come across as professional to a specific audience You're ready for a next growth phase Your current materials feel inconsistent or "no longer of this time" In all those cases your brand deserves more than a logo and a good feeling.
VPS vs shared hosting: what's the difference?
VPS or shared hosting? The difference in speed, security and control — explained without jargon.
A hall full of servers — the difference is in what you rent from it.
Hosting is the most underestimated part of a website. As long as everything works, nobody thinks about it. But the moment your site is slow, crashes or gets hacked, hosting is suddenly the only thing on your mind. The difference between shared hosting and VPS hosting is the difference between a student room and your own apartment. Both a roof over your head — but not the same experience. Shared hosting: what is it? With shared hosting you share a server with dozens to hundreds of other websites. Everyone uses the same processor, the same memory and the same disk space. The hosting provider manages everything — you don't have to do anything. Advantages Cheap: From €3-10/month. The lowest entry. Simple: cPanel, one-click WordPress install, no technical knowledge needed. Managed: Updates, backups and security are (in theory) the provider's job. Disadvantages Shared resources: If another site on your server has a spike, you feel it. Slowness, time-outs, sometimes even downtime. Limited control: No root access, no custom server configuration, no choice of PHP version or web server. Security risks: One hacked site on the server can affect the rest. You're as safe as your weakest neighbour. Scalability: As your website grows, you hit limits quickly. VPS hosting: what is it? A VPS (Virtual Private Server) is a virtual server with reserved resources. You share the physical hardware, but your CPU, memory and storage are yours. No one else can use them. Advantages Dedicated resources: Consistent speed, regardless of what other sites do. Full control: Root access, your own web server (NGINX, Apache), your own configuration. Security: Your environment is isolated. No trouble from neighbours. Scalability: Scaling up resources is often a matter of moving a slider. Disadvantages More expensive: From €10-50/month for a basic VPS. More resources = higher costs. Technical knowledge required: You manage your own server. Updates, firewalls, backups — your responsibility. Maintenance: No cPanel (unless you install it). The command line is your friend. The comparison in practice Speed An optimised VPS with NGINX and server-side caching loads an average WordPress site in 200-400ms. That same site on shared hosting? 1-3 seconds. The difference is immediately noticeable for your visitors — and for Google. Security Shared hosting is an apartment block: if someone blocks the fire escape, you all have a problem. VPS is a detached house: you decide the locks, the alarm systems and who comes in. Price vs. value Shared hosting is cheap if you look at the monthly price. But if your website represents your business and you lose customers to slowness or downtime, that €5/month saving is suddenly very expensive. When is shared hosting fine? Hobby website or personal blog Test environment or temporary project Very limited budget with no growth ambition Website with minimal traffic (<100 visitors/day) When do you move to VPS? Your website represents your business You have more than 500 visitors a day Speed and uptime matter You want control over your server environment You run a web shop or application You've run into the limits of shared hosting Managed VPS: the best of both worlds Not technical but want the advantages of a VPS? A managed VPS provider or a partner like Braaf. handles the management for you. You get the speed and security of a VPS, without the command line. They install, configure, secure and monitor — you only have to call when you want to change something.
A slow website costs you visitors, conversions and Google rankings. These are the real causes — and what you can do about them.
Behind one slow page there are usually several small causes.
Your website loads slowly. Visitors click away, Google ranks you lower, and you don't know why. "It's the hosting," says one. "You have too many plugins," says another. "Install a caching plugin," shouts the internet. But before you start twisting knobs at random, it helps to understand what's making your website slow. The cause determines the solution. The most common causes Poor hosting The most underestimated factor. If you host for €3 a month with a provider that crams hundreds of sites onto the same machine, slowness isn't a bug — it's a feature. You're paying for a shared toaster and expecting an oven. Upgrade to a VPS or managed hosting. The difference is immediately noticeable. Too many or poor plugins Every plugin adds code. Some plugins load scripts on every page, even when they're only needed on the contact page. Twenty plugins isn't necessarily a problem — twenty badly coded plugins is. Quality over quantity. Unoptimised images A photo straight from the camera is 4 MB. On your website it only needs to be 200 KB. If you don't compress your images and serve them in the right format (WebP, AVIF), every page loads as if you're downloading the whole photo album. No caching Without caching, your server rebuilds every page on every visit. That's like re-arranging your whole shop every time someone walks in. Server-side caching, browser caching and a CDN make the difference between milliseconds and seconds. Too many external scripts Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, Hotjar, chat widgets, Google Fonts, embedded videos — every external script is an extra request to another server. Those servers aren't always fast, and your visitor waits. Render-blocking CSS and JavaScript If your browser loads the HTML but has to wait for a CSS or JavaScript file before anything appears on screen, that's called render-blocking. It's like not being able to open the front door until the curtains are hung. What can you do about it? Switch to better hosting Shared hosting is for hobby sites. If your website represents your business, invest in a VPS or managed hosting. The difference in load time is immediately noticeable — and it often costs no more than €20-50 a month. Audit your plugins Deactivate them all. Turn them on one by one and measure the load time (with tools like GTmetrix or Google PageSpeed Insights). You'll be surprised which plugins have the biggest impact. Optimise images Use a tool like ShortPixel, Imagify or Squoosh to compress images. Serve them in WebP format. Use lazy loading so images only load when they come into view. This alone can halve your load time. Implement caching A caching plugin (WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache) or — better still — server-level caching via NGINX FastCGI Cache. The fastest page is a page that doesn't have to be rebuilt. Minimise external scripts Do you really need that chat widget? Is anyone using that Hotjar data? Every script you remove is one request fewer. Load what's left asynchronously or deferred (defer/async attributes). Use a CDN A Content Delivery Network serves your files from a server close to your visitor. Cloudflare is free and effective for most websites. Your visitors in Amsterdam shouldn't have to wait for a server in Dallas. How much faster does it need to be? Google recommends keeping the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) under 2.5 seconds. Anything above that costs you positions in the search results and visitors who drop off. In practice: if your website loads in more than 3 seconds, you're losing money.
Rebranding isn't an impulse buy. These are the signs your brand is ready for a new phase — and when you're better off waiting.
Sketches, swatches and notes — the brand is being weighed up again.
Rebranding is one of those words that either scares entrepreneurs or gets pulled out of the drawer too quickly. "The logo doesn't feel fresh any more" is not a reason for a rebrand. But a brand that no longer fits who you are or who you want to reach — that is a reason. The difference is in the diagnosis. Signs it's time You've grown, your brand hasn't You started as a freelancer with a logo your cousin made. Now you have a team, bigger clients, and ambitions that reach further than your current image conveys. Your brand feels like a coat that no longer fits — not wrong, but too small. Your audience has changed Maybe five years ago you focused on startups and now you work for corporate clients. Or the other way round. If your audience shifts but your brand stays the same, you're speaking the wrong language. You no longer stand out Take a look at your competitors. If your websites, logos and communication are interchangeable, you have a problem. Not because your competitor is better, but because no one can see any more why you're different. You're embarrassed by your own materials A solid gauge: do you dare show your website at a networking event? Do you send a quote with confidence? If you're apologising as you hand over your business card, the answer is clear. Merger, acquisition or name change Sometimes rebranding is purely practical. Two companies become one, the name changes, or your legal structure shifts. Then a rebrand isn't a choice but a necessity. When you're better off waiting You're tired of the logo Personal logo fatigue is no reason for a rebrand. You look at it every day — your customers don't. If the logo still works and is recognisable, "I don't like it any more" isn't a business reason. A competitor has something new Reactive rebranding is rarely good. If you rebrand because a competitor has a hip new logo, you're making an emotional decision. Focus on what sets you apart, not on what someone else is doing. You've just started your business In the first year so much changes — your offering, your audience, your positioning. Don't invest too early in an extensive brand system you'll overturn again a year later. Start with a solid base and build up. Rebrand or restyle? Not every change is a rebrand. Sometimes a restyle is enough: a more modern logo, fresher colours, an updated website. The core identity stays intact, but the outside gets refreshed. A real rebrand goes deeper. It touches your positioning, your story, sometimes even your name. It's a strategic choice, not a cosmetic tweak. Know which of the two you need before you start. How do you approach it? Start with the why What do you want to achieve with the rebrand? More revenue? Different clients? Internal pride? The answers set the scope. Without a clear goal, every rebrand becomes an expensive search. Involve your team A brand doesn't belong to management alone. Employees carry it out, every day. Involve them in the process — not to have them do design, but to understand how the brand feels from the inside. That yields better input than any brief. Work with a partner who keeps asking A good agency doesn't say "I've already got an idea" in the first meeting. A good agency asks questions you don't have an answer to right away. The uncomfortable questions lead to the best brands.
What does implementing AI in your business cost?
What does implementing AI cost in 2026? From an afternoon of policy to a fully set-up way of working — what drives the price and where the money leaks away.
The licence is the start — the integrations around it set the price.
implementing AI, cost, small business, automation
AI en privacy: zo automatiseer je AVG-proof in 2026
Welke AI-trends zullen het MKB beïnvloeden in 2026?
A lot gets written about AI and little gets priced. Every provider talks about possibilities, nobody names a figure. That's understandable — it depends on things — but it's no reason to stay vague. The cost of AI in a business is set by a handful of concrete things, and once you know those, you also see why one quote comes to €2,000 and another to €40,000. What determines the price? What you actually want to achieve This is the biggest factor, and the most skipped question. "Doing something with AI" is not a goal. Saving two hours a week on quotes is a goal. Answering customer questions outside office hours is a goal. The sharper the goal, the smaller the project — because then there's no need to spend six months exploring first. Licences: the layer that keeps running Reckon on €20 to €60 per employee per month for a business AI subscription. That seems little, until you multiply it by your team and add two years. For ten people that's €5,000 to €14,000 over two years, and that's separate from anything that gets built. The setup Here's the real work: figuring out which data may go where, making connections with the systems you already have, and making the output reliable enough to lean on. One process that actually works costs more than five that half-work — but it's also the only one that delivers. Getting the rules in order Since August 2026 the AI Act requires a register, policy and demonstrable AI literacy from virtually every business that uses AI. Bought separately, that's a manageable line item. Taken along in a project you're doing anyway, it largely disappears into the whole. Bringing your team along The most expensive AI is the AI nobody uses. Explanation about your own processes costs a session or two and determines whether the rest of the investment pays off. This is the item that gets cut first and is most often the reason a project delivers nothing. Rough guidelines Rules in order (register, policy, session): €1,500 – €3,500 One process automated and working: €2,500 – €7,500 Setup across multiple processes, with integrations: €7,500 – €25,000 Site or system set up for management with AI: €6,750 – €30,000 Licences, ongoing: €20 – €60 per person per month Where does it go wrong? Twenty subscriptions, no policy The most common pattern: everyone tries something, nobody keeps track. After a year you're paying for seven tools of which two are used, customer data sits in three services whose terms you never read, and you can't explain how it's arranged. An afternoon's inventory nearly always pays for itself here. The pilot that never ends Exploring is comfortable. There's always another tool to try and another use to investigate. But a pilot without an agreed end point and without a measurable goal isn't a pilot, it's a subscription to research. Agree up front when you decide to continue or stop. Paying for a demo There are parties who build an impressive demo that doesn't survive in practice, because real data is messier than sample data. Always ask whether it can be shown on your own data. If it doesn't work there, it doesn't work. Everything at once Tackling five processes at once costs more than five times one process, because everything becomes uncertain at the same time. Start with the process that takes the most time and carries the least risk. What you learn there makes the second project cheaper. What does it deliver? In the right place the sum is simple. A process that takes two hours a week and gets automated for eighty per cent frees up well over eighty hours a year. At an internal hourly rate of fifty euros that's €4,000 a year, against a one-off investment. But not every process is that candidate. Work that's different every time, requires judgement, or where a mistake is costly, is better left alone. The gain is in the boring, repetitive, predictable part — and that's usually exactly the part nobody wants to touch. How do you choose a party? Ask what they run themselves Anyone who sells AI but deploys it nowhere themselves is selling a story. Ask about their own way of working, their own tooling, their own mistakes. That conversation says more than a portfolio. Ask what happens when you stop The most important question, and rarely asked. Can you carry on without them? Do you get the setup, the rules and the documentation, or does that stay in their management? A solution that only works while the builder is watching isn't a solution but a subscription. Ask about the dependency What happens if the AI provider doubles its prices or shuts down? If the answer is "then we have a problem", you know enough. A good setup works without the AI too — it only makes the management easier. Watch out for anyone who starts on savings without knowing your process Percentages named before anyone has looked at how you work come from a sales deck. An honest estimate follows a conversation about your work, not one ahead of it.
What does a visual identity cost? From a few hundred to tens of thousands of euros. Read what sets the price — without the sales pitch.
"What does a visual identity cost?" is a bit like "what does a house cost?" — it depends. From a logo with two colours to a complete brand system with templates, imagery and guidelines for ten channels: the range is enormous. And that's exactly where it often goes wrong. Not because agencies are deliberately vague, but because the question behind the question isn't clear. What do you really need? And what can wait? What determines the price of a visual identity? The scope: logo or brand system? The difference between a logo and a visual identity is the difference between a front door and a whole house. A logo is one element — recognisable, compact. A visual identity is the complete system: logo, typography, colour palette, imagery, tone of voice, and applications. The more parts, the more hours, the higher the investment. A standalone logo design usually sits between €750 and €2,500. A complete brand system with guidelines and templates? Then you're quickly between €3,000 and €15,000 — depending on the scale. The complexity of your brand A local restaurant with one location has different needs than a tech company operating internationally. More audiences, more channels, more applications — that calls for more research, more variants, more coordination. Complexity costs time, and time costs money. Logical. The agency: freelancer, studio or Fiverr? A logo from Fiverr costs €50. A visual identity from a renowned agency costs €10,000+. The difference isn't only in the price, but in what you get back for it. A freelancer or small studio like Braaf. sits in between: personal attention, craftsmanship, fair prices — without the overhead of an office with 40 people. What to watch for The difference between cheap and good value A cheap logo is rarely good value. If you have to redo everything after two years because it doesn't scale, doesn't work in print, or doesn't suit your brand, you end up more expensive. Invest in something that grows with you. What's in the price — and what isn't? Always ask what's included. How many concepts do you get? How many feedback rounds? Do you get source files? Are there costs for stock photos or fonts? One €2,000 quote is a complete package, another is a starting rate with extra work around the corner. Rights and ownership This sounds dull but is crucial. Make sure you get the full rights to your visual identity. No licensing arrangements, no small print. It's your brand — the keys come with it. What does it cost at Braaf.? There are no off-the-shelf packages: every brand is different, so every quote is too. But to give a guideline: Logo design: from €1,000 — including research, concepts, feedback rounds and all source files. Basic visual identity: from €2,500 — logo, colour palette, typography, basic guidelines. Complete brand system: from €5,000 — everything above plus templates, imagery, tone of voice, and a brand guide. A first conversation is always free and without obligation: looking together at what you need and what suits your stage — with an honest indication as the outcome.
What does a web shop cost? From a few thousand to tens of thousands of euros. Read what sets the price — transparent and without gimmicks.
The same web shop on laptop, tablet and phone — that's the standard.
A web shop is more than a website with a shopping cart. It's a sales channel that runs 24/7, processes payments, tracks stock and leads customers through a journey that ends in an order. The cost doesn't depend on "how pretty" you want it, but on how complex your sales processes are. And that complexity is different for every entrepreneur. What determines the price? The platform The choice of platform is the first big cost factor. Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento — each platform has its own cost structure. Shopify costs monthly, WooCommerce is free but requires hosting and extensions, Magento is powerful but expensive in development. Rough guidelines: Shopify web shop (standard): €2,000 – €8,000 WooCommerce web shop (bespoke): €3,000 – €12,000 Magento / bespoke e-commerce: €10,000 – €50,000+ The number of products and variants Ten products with two variants each is a different story than five hundred products with sizes, colours and materials. More products means more attention to navigation, filtering, search functionality and product-page structure. Integrations Shipping software, accounting system, stock management, email marketing, payment provider — every integration costs development hours. Standard integrations are relatively cheap. Custom API integrations with your ERP? That's a different price tag. Design and user experience A standard Shopify theme with some tweaks is affordable. A fully custom design with an optimised checkout flow, cross-sell modules and personalised product pages is an investment. The return on investment is in the conversion: 0.5% higher conversion on 10,000 visitors a month is directly measurable in revenue. Content and product photography Writing copy that sells, product photos that convert, category descriptions that rank in Google — content is often forgotten in the budget but determines a large part of the success. Ongoing costs A web shop keeps running. That costs money structurally: Hosting: €20-150/month (depending on platform and traffic) Platform/licence: €0-384/month (WooCommerce free, Shopify €36-384) Payment costs: 1.5-3% per transaction (depending on provider and method) Extensions/apps: €50-300/month (depending on how many you use) Maintenance: €100-500/month (updates, bug fixes, small changes) Common mistakes Starting with the design A beautiful web shop that doesn't convert is an expensive shop window. Start with the strategy: who is your customer, how do they search, what convinces them to buy? The design follows from that. All features at once "I want everything: reviews, wishlists, a loyalty programme, abandoned-cart emails, live chat, AR product view." Start with the basics that work. Add features based on data, not on a wish list. No budget for marketing The best web shop without traffic is a shop in a dead-end street. Set aside at least 20-30% of your total budget for marketing: SEO, Google Ads, social media, email.
What does it cost to have a website built in 2026? From €500 to €50,000 — read what drives the price and what to watch for.
Where your budget really goes: screens full of bespoke work.
It's the question every entrepreneur asks and that no agency gives a straight answer to. "What does a website cost?" It depends. But that's no reason to be vague about it. The price of a website comes down to a handful of concrete factors — and once you understand those, you also see why one quote is €1,500 and another €15,000. What determines the price? Type of website A simple one-pager for a freelancer is a different story than a multilingual company website with a CMS, contact forms and integrations with external systems. The complexity of what you need drives most of the price. Rough guidelines: One-pager or landing page: €500 – €2,000 Company website (5-15 pages): €2,500 – €8,000 Bespoke website with a CMS: €5,000 – €15,000 Complex web application: €10,000 – €50,000+ Design: template or bespoke? A WordPress theme costs €60 and looks fine after a few tweaks. But it's an off-the-rack suit. Bespoke design is tailored — unique, true to your brand, and distinctive. That costs more, but it also returns more in recognition and conversion. Content and copy The most beautiful website without good copy is like an expensive shop window with empty shelves. Writing content takes time: research, structure, SEO, tone of voice. Some agencies charge this separately, others build it in. Ask about it. Functionality Contact form? Simple. Booking system with calendar integration? More complex. A link to your accounting software? Bespoke. Every extra feature adds hours — and hours cost money. Make a list of must-haves and nice-to-haves up front. Ongoing costs A website isn't a one-off investment. Hosting, domain registration, an SSL certificate, updates, maintenance — reckon on €50 to €300 a month, depending on your setup. Always ask what happens after launch. Where does it go wrong? Choosing the cheapest quote The cheapest quote is almost never the best deal. If agency A asks €1,500 and agency B €6,000 for the same brief, there are reasons behind that. Maybe A doesn't include SEO. Maybe no responsive design. Maybe no revision rounds. Cheap turns expensive if you have to start over a year later. No clear brief "Make something nice" is not a brief. The vaguer your request, the more interpretation is needed, the more revisions come, the more expensive it gets. Invest time in a clear brief — it saves you money. Forgetting what comes next The website is live. And then? Updating content, tracking statistics, running security updates, maintaining plugins. If you have no plan for that, your brand-new website ages faster than you think. How do you choose a web agency? Look at their own website If their website is slow, messy or dated, that says something. Not everything — the cobbler's children and all that — but it's an indication of how seriously they take their craft. Ask about the process A good agency has a clear process: intake, research, wireframes, design, development, launch. If the answer is "we just start and see how it goes," run. Check the portfolio — but the references too A good portfolio says a lot. But call a client too. How was the collaboration? Was it delivered on time? How's the communication after launch? Those are the things a portfolio doesn't show.
Starting a web shop: a level-headed plan
Starting a web shop? No hype, no "passive income" promises. This is what you really need to know — step by step.
Card in hand, order in three taps — that's how your customer shops.
The internet promises you'll be financially independent within three days of starting a web shop. Dropshipping! Passive income! From your armchair! The reality is more level-headed. Starting a web shop is a serious undertaking. It takes time, money, knowledge and perseverance. But if you approach it well, it's one of the most powerful ways to get your product to your customer. Step 1: Validate your idea Who is your customer? Not "everyone." Who buys your product? Why? Where do they search? What do they pay for it at a competitor? The more specific your answers, the sharper your web shop. Is there demand? Use Google Trends, keyword research (Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest) and marketplaces like Bol.com and Amazon to check whether people are actively searching for what you want to sell. No search volume = no demand = no sales. What sets you apart? If you sell exactly the same thing as ten others, you compete on price. And competing on price is a race to the bottom. Find your edge: better quality, better service, a specific niche, faster delivery, or a stronger story. Step 2: Choose your platform Shopify Best choice if you want to start quickly, aren't technical, and want a reliable platform that scales. Monthly costs, but you don't have to worry about hosting and security. WooCommerce Best choice if you already have a WordPress site, want maximum control, or need specific integrations. Technically more complex, but more flexible and often cheaper in the long run. Other options Magento for large catalogues and complex B2B. Lightspeed if you also have a physical shop. Etsy or Bol.com as a marketplace starting point. Choose based on your situation, not on what's popular. Step 3: Sort out the basics Chamber of Commerce registration In the Netherlands you have to be registered with the Chamber of Commerce. As a sole trader, partnership or private limited company — depending on your situation and risk. Do this before you go live. Payment provider Mollie is the standard in the Netherlands: iDEAL, credit card, Bancontact, Apple Pay. Easy to connect with Shopify and WooCommerce. Stripe is an alternative, especially for international sales. Shipping partner PostNL, DHL, DPD — compare rates, delivery times and integration options with your platform. Where you can, offer multiple options: standard, express, pick-up point. Terms and privacy Mandatory. You need terms and conditions, a privacy statement (GDPR) and a returns policy. Have this checked by a lawyer or use a reliable template service. Step 4: Build your web shop Product pages Good photos, clear descriptions, specifications, prices. This is your shop floor. Invest time here — it determines whether people buy or leave. Navigation and structure Categories that make sense to your customer. Filters that work. A search bar that finds what you're looking for. Make it easy, not impressive. Checkout As few steps as possible. Guest checkout on. Popular payment options. Shipping costs visible before checkout. No surprises. Mobile More than 60% of web shop traffic in the Netherlands comes from mobile. If your web shop doesn't work perfectly on a phone, you lose the majority of your visitors. Step 5: Generate traffic SEO Long-term, free traffic. Optimise product pages and categories for the keywords your customer searches for. Write content that ranks. This takes time but pays off structurally. Google Ads The fastest way to buy traffic. Google Shopping ads are essential for product-focused web shops. Start small, measure everything, scale what works. Social media Instagram and TikTok for visual products. LinkedIn for B2B. Facebook for a broader audience. Choose the channel where your customer is, not where you like it most. Email marketing The most underestimated sales tool. A welcome series, abandoned-cart emails, newsletters — email has the highest ROI of any marketing channel. Start with Klaviyo or Mailchimp. Step 6: Measure and optimise Your web shop is live. Now the real work begins. Install Google Analytics 4. Look at: Conversion rate: how many visitors buy? Average order value: how much do they spend? Bounce rate per page: where do they drop off? Traffic sources: where do they come from? Data tells you what works and what doesn't. Listen to it.
Website security: why take it seriously?
Hacked websites, data breaches, ransom attacks — it doesn't only happen to big companies. This is what you need to know about website security.
Security isn't a tick-box but a habit — review, patch, repeat.
"Who would want to hack my website?" It's the most common question from entrepreneurs who treat security as a nice-to-have. The answer: bots. Automated scripts scanning the internet for known vulnerabilities. They're not looking for specific websites — they're looking for weak spots. And they find them. Every day. The risks Your website gets hacked The most obvious one. Your site shows spam, redirects to phishing pages, or gets used to spread malware. Your visitors see it — and so does Google. Result: blacklisting, reputational damage, and a long road back. Data breaches If your website processes customer data — contact forms, orders, accounts — you're responsible for that data. A breach means not just reputational damage, but a possible GDPR fine. And those can run up. Ransomware Your website gets locked. Pay €2,000 in Bitcoin or you lose everything. It sounds like a bad film, but it happens to thousands of websites a year. Without a backup you depend on the goodwill of criminals. Not an ideal position. SEO spam A subtler attack: hackers inject invisible links and pages into your website. You don't notice, but Google does. Your SEO positions plummet, your domain authority drops, and it can take months to recover. The most common vulnerabilities Outdated software WordPress not updated? Plugins three versions old? PHP 7.2 while 8.x is available? Outdated software is the number one cause of hacks. Every update contains security patches — not updating is leaving the door open. Weak passwords "Admin123" as the password for your WordPress admin isn't security. Use strong, unique passwords and two-factor authentication (2FA). Always. Unsecured forms Contact forms without validation and protection are an open invitation for SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS). Sanitise all input. Always. No SSL certificate HTTPS is no longer a luxury — it's a requirement. Without SSL, all data between your visitor and your server is unencrypted. Chrome warns visitors, Google ranks you lower, and customers don't trust you. Poor file permissions Files and folders with the wrong permissions (777 on a web server, anyone?) are an open door for attackers. Every configuration mistake is an opportunity. What can you do? Keep everything up to date WordPress, plugins, theme, PHP — update regularly. Turn on automatic updates for minor releases. Schedule a monthly check for major updates. It's the minimum. Make daily backups When it goes wrong — and it always can — you want to be able to go back to yesterday. Daily backups, in an external location (not on the same server). Test your backups regularly — a backup that doesn't work isn't a backup. Use a firewall A Web Application Firewall (WAF) blocks known attack patterns before they reach your website. Cloudflare offers a free tier. Sucuri and Wordfence are options for WordPress. It's an extra layer of protection. Limit access Who has admin access to your website? Everyone who ever "just had to change something"? Limit it. Remove unused accounts. Don't give everyone full rights. Monitor your website Set alerts for downtime, unauthorised changes and suspicious traffic. You don't want to find out you've been hacked because a customer calls you. Choose a host that takes it seriously Not every hosting provider is equal when it comes to security. Ask about firewall configuration, DDoS protection, isolation between accounts, and how they handle incidents. The cost of doing nothing An average hack costs a small business between €5,000 and €50,000 in recovery, downtime, lost revenue and reputational damage. Prevention costs a fraction of that. It's not a question of "if" you get hacked, but "when" — and how well prepared you are.
Looking for a web agency in Dordrecht? Braaf. builds websites that work — no templates, no hassle, just results.
Working over the design together: choosing imagery, refining, deciding.
You're looking for someone to build a website for you. In Dordrecht, or at least nearby. Someone you can talk to, who understands what you do, and who doesn't disappear after launch. That's a reasonable wish — and a rarer find than you'd think. Because the internet is full of web agencies, but a partner who genuinely thinks along? You have to look for that. Why work locally? Short lines An agency in Dordrecht means: popping by for a cup of coffee and a whiteboard session. No waiting three weeks for a Zoom link. Working locally is more personal, faster, and you get a better sense of whether it clicks. Context An agency from the region knows the market. Not every website is for an Amsterdam startup with Series A funding. Dordrecht has small businesses, family firms, local service providers — and those have different needs than a SaaS company in Silicon Valley. Availability If something goes wrong — and sooner or later something goes wrong — you want someone who picks up. Not a ticket system, not a chatbot, but a person. Local agencies are generally more reachable. They have a reputation to lose in their own city. What to look for when choosing an agency Portfolio and references Don't just look at how the websites look, but also whether they're still live, how fast they load, and whether they work well on mobile. A nice screenshot says little if the live site is slow and unusable. Process and communication How does the agency work? Is there a fixed point of contact? How are changes made? What does the timeline look like? A professional agency has clear answers to this — and doesn't have to improvise them. What's in the price? One quote is all-inclusive, another is a starting rate with extra work for every change. Ask specifically: how many pages, how many revision rounds, is content included, is basic SEO included, what are the ongoing costs? Maintenance and support The website is live. And then? Who runs the updates? Who makes backups? Who's there when the site goes down at three in the morning? The answer to this is at least as important as the design. What makes Braaf. different? Design and development in one hand No separate designer, developer and project manager working past each other. At Braaf. strategy, design and technology sit in the same person. That's faster, more efficient, and you never have to explain anything twice. Bespoke, not templates No websites based on a WordPress theme that a hundred other companies also use: every website is bespoke — whether that's in WordPress, React, Vue, or pure HTML. The technology follows the need, not the other way round. Or no CMS at all For informational sites there's now a third route alongside WordPress and bespoke: AI CMS — a website without a management system that you then update in plain language. No login screen, no plugins, no update button: you say what needs to change and there it is. For a company site touched a few times a month, that's exactly enough — and it saves everything a CMS brings in maintenance. Honest communication No jargon, no overpromises, no scope creep. What's said gets done. And if something isn't needed, you'll hear that too — even when it costs revenue. Blazing-fast hosting included Building and hosting: own VPS servers with NGINX, caching and daily backups. No slow shared hosting at some random provider. One party for everything. Dordrecht and the region Braaf. is based in Dordrecht and works for businesses across the whole Drechtsteden area and beyond. From Zwijndrecht to Papendrecht, from Sliedrecht to Gorinchem — and also for clients in Rotterdam, The Hague and Amsterdam. Locally based, not locally limited.
Improving website speed: what actually works?
No vague tips but concrete steps to make your website faster — from server to frontend, tested and proven.
Leaner files, fewer requests — speed is in the details.
Google it and you get lists. "Ten tips to make your website faster!" Install a caching plugin. Compress your images. Use a CDN. Not wrong, but they're plasters. The real speed gains are in the foundation: how your server is configured, how your code is written, and how your assets are loaded. Let's talk about that. The server: where it all begins Choose the right hosting Everything below is irrelevant if your server itself is the bottleneck. A €5/month hosting package at a bulk provider undermines every optimisation. Start at the foundation: a server with reserved resources and a decent configuration. NGINX over Apache Apache is the default at many hosting providers. NGINX is faster at serving static files and better at handling many simultaneous connections. The difference is measurable: NGINX serves the same page in a fraction of the time. Server-side caching A page rebuilt on every visit by PHP and the database is always slower than a page that's ready as a static HTML file. NGINX FastCGI Cache, Redis or Varnish — server-side caching is the biggest single step you can take. PHP version Every new PHP version is faster than the last. PHP 8.x is up to twice as fast as PHP 7.0. Check your version. Upgrade if you can. It takes five minutes and delivers measurable speed. The frontend: what the browser has to load Optimise images Images account for 50-70% of page size. Three steps: Compress: Tools like ShortPixel, Imagify or Squoosh. Right format: WebP or AVIF instead of PNG/JPEG. Smaller file, same quality. Lazy loading: Off-screen images only load when they come into view. Standard in modern browsers with loading="lazy". Minimise CSS and JavaScript Every kilobyte counts. Minify your CSS and JS (remove whitespace, comments, unused code). Bundle where possible. Load non-critical scripts with defer or async. Remove what you don't use — that jQuery library you added three years ago but no longer call anywhere? Get rid of it. Render-blocking resources If the browser has to wait for a CSS or JS file before it can draw anything, that's called render-blocking. Put critical CSS inline in the . Load the rest asynchronously. Move scripts to the end of the or use defer. Web fonts Loading fonts takes time, especially when they come from Google Fonts (extra DNS lookup, extra HTTP request). Self-host your fonts, use font-display: swap to make text visible right away, and limit the number of variants. Content Delivery Network (CDN) A CDN serves your files from a server close to your visitor. Your visitor in Amsterdam gets your images from a server in Amsterdam, not from a server in Frankfurt or New York. Cloudflare is free and effective. BunnyCDN is affordable and fast. For most websites a CDN is a quick win. Measuring and monitoring Google PageSpeed Insights The standard. Measures LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), FID/INP (Interaction to Next Paint) and CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift). Score below 90? There's work to do. GTmetrix More detailed than PageSpeed. Shows exactly which files take longest to load, which scripts block, and where the waterfall chart stalls. WebPageTest For the serious optimiser. Test from different locations and connections. Compare before and after. The filmstrip view is worth its weight in gold. Real User Monitoring Synthetic tests (PageSpeed, GTmetrix) are useful, but real user data is better. Google Search Console shows Core Web Vitals from real visitors. That's the truth. The order of attack If you don't know where to start: Server: Upgrade hosting, enable caching Images: Compress and convert to WebP Scripts: Remove unused JS/CSS, defer the rest Fonts: Self-host, limit variants CDN: Enable Cloudflare or an alternative Measure again: Compare the results In that order you tackle the biggest gains first.
WordPress or a bespoke website? An honest comparison — without pushing a platform. Read which choice fits your situation.
It's one of the first decisions on a new web project: do you go for WordPress or bespoke? The internet is full of articles that either praise WordPress or trash it — usually written by parties with a stake in it. No sales pitch here. Just an honest comparison, so you can make the choice that fits your situation. WordPress: what is it exactly? WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that runs on around 40% of all websites worldwide. It's open-source, free to install, and extensible with thousands of themes and plugins. From a simple blog to a complete company website: WordPress can do it. But that "can do it" comes with a caveat. WordPress can do a lot — but not everything equally well. And the flexibility it offers is at the same time its biggest pitfall. Bespoke: what does that mean exactly? Bespoke means your website is built from the ground up, specifically for your situation. No theme as a starting point, no plugin for every feature, but code that does exactly what you need — and nothing more. That can be in PHP, in React, in Vue, in Next.js — the technology depends on the application. The point is: everything is deliberately chosen and made to measure. The honest comparison Speed WordPress with a few plugins is perfectly fast. WordPress with twenty plugins, a page builder and a heavy theme is not. Bespoke is as fast as you build it — and if you build it well, it's blazing fast. No ballast, no unnecessary code, no plugin overhead. Management and updating content Here WordPress scores. The admin environment is intuitive, you can edit pages, publish posts and upload media yourself without technical knowledge. With bespoke, the ease of management depends on what's built — a headless CMS can be just as user-friendly, but it takes more setup. Cost WordPress is cheaper up front. A theme, a few plugins, a day of configuration — you're online. Bespoke costs more initially, but you only pay for what you use. In the long run bespoke can be cheaper if you don't have to pay for premium plugins and need less maintenance. Security WordPress is the most attacked CMS in the world. Not because it's insecure, but because it runs everywhere — and because plugins aren't always well maintained. Bespoke has a smaller attack surface: no public codebase, no known vulnerabilities, no plugin that hasn't had an update in three years. Scalability For a website with ten pages it doesn't matter. But if you grow to a hundred pages, multiple languages, or complex data flows, you hit limits sooner with WordPress. Bespoke scales with your needs — provided it's built well. Uniqueness With WordPress you can look unique, but under the hood you're the same as millions of others. Bespoke is by definition unique. If distinctive design and technical uniqueness matter for your brand, bespoke is the way. When do you choose WordPress? Your budget is limited and you want to go live quickly You want to update content yourself without a developer Your website is relatively standard (company presentation, blog, portfolio) You don't need complex integrations or custom functionality When do you choose bespoke? Speed and performance are crucial You have specific functionality no plugin solves well You want full control over design and technology Security is a priority Your website is a core part of your business, not "just a website" The middle way It doesn't always have to be either-or. A headless CMS (Strapi, Sanity, Contentful) combined with a bespoke frontend gives you the best of both worlds: user-friendly management with full freedom in design and performance. More complex to set up, but for the right projects an excellent choice. The third route: no CMS This whole comparison leans on one assumption: that there has to be a management system. That assumption is starting to shift. Now that an AI can write directly into the content, the dashboard is no longer a condition for updating your site yourself — you say what needs to change and there it is. For informational sites, Braaf. delivers that as AI CMS: bespoke without a management layer, which you then manage in plain language. The speed and security of bespoke, the ease of management WordPress scores on above — but without the plugins, updates and login screens that come with it. Not for every situation: a web shop with five editors does need that middle layer. For a company site with a single owner, it's beyond the comparison above.
Drycoating Company wraps itself in a new brand identity.
Design your own chocolate bar wrapper with the help of AI.
A short but punchy description of the case itself will go here, not to be confused with the actual full textual content.
Frequently asked questions about advice and support
Can I ask for advice without starting a whole project?
Yes, that's exactly the idea. An hour of sparring about your website, an SEO quick scan, or a second opinion on a quote — it doesn't have to be bigger than needed.
Depending on your needs: on call or through a set number of hours a month. Small changes, updates and questions are picked up quickly. You have a direct line, not a ticket system.
SEO advice and technical optimisation are part of it. For ongoing content creation and link building you'll get a referral to trusted specialists.
A first introduction is always free and without obligation. After that it's an hourly rate or a fixed arrangement, whichever fits. No surprises on the invoice.
Frequently asked questions about the AI CMS
Do I need to be technical to manage this?
No. You describe in plain language what needs to change — the way you'd ask a colleague. The structure is fixed, so there's little to get wrong. What you don't get is a screen full of buttons; what you get back is not having to hunt for where something lives.
Won't a site like this look like every other AI site?
No — quite the opposite. The design isn't generated: layout, tone and brand identity are made by hand, fully bespoke, and then set down as instructions. The AI works within that. Whatever gets added or changed, it happens in your style — the creativity is the foundation, and it doesn't run through AI.
Only if you want it to. A change can also be staged: it sits ready next to the live site, and through a preview link you see the site as it will be — not a loose mock-up, but the real pages with the new content in them. It only goes live once you approve; rejecting it throws it away. You can forward that link to anyone who needs to look, without them having to log in anywhere.
Every change is recorded with an overview of exactly what changed. Undoing it is a single action, even a week later. That's a better way back than most CMSes offer.
It's possible, but this is built for a single owner. The building blocks for it are in place: every change lands in a readable log — who asked for what, and when — and changes can be staged so the owner reviews and approves them before they go live. That's the split between contributor and owner in its simplest form. What's still coming is the queue that handles simultaneous requests one by one. Until it's there: with several editors working on the same content at once, other tooling is wiser.
No. Stock, orders, payments and multiple editors call for exactly the management layer that's deliberately left out here. For a web shop you're better off with a platform built for that.
From € 6,750 for an interactive site: design, structure, schema and the rules you manage it with afterwards. What it comes to exactly depends on the number of pages, the integrations and how much content still needs writing. Not included: the AI subscription you manage the site with — you arrange that yourself, reckon on a few tens of euros a month. That sounds like a downside, but it also means there's no mandatory contract between you and your site.
Frequently asked questions about AI for business
Does my business really need to do something about the AI Act?
If you use AI: yes. Since 2 August 2026 the AI Act applies to virtually every company that deploys AI, regardless of size. For a small business it comes down to three things: knowing which tools you use, a policy on who's allowed to do what, and staff who are demonstrably informed. The heavy requirements for high-risk applications have been postponed to December 2027.
Who manages it afterwards — do I have to keep coming back for that?
No, that's exactly the point. The setup and the rules come with it, so your team can do it themselves. Questions are always welcome, but you're not tied to anything.
What if the AI provider disappears or gets more expensive?
Then everything stays in place. What you get is plain PHP and JSON: readable without any tool, editable by any developer. AI makes the management easier, but nothing depends on it.
Can my customer data go into an AI tool?
That depends on which tool, and where it runs. The principle is simple: data you don't want out in the open doesn't go into a service whose processing you don't know. During the setup you decide per type of data what's allowed where, with a data processing agreement where that's needed.
Better than you're used to. Most sites are hacked through an outdated plugin, a weak password on a login screen or a hole in the database — and those three aren't here. What's left is the server and the PHP version, and that's a manageable list that gets kept up to date.
Is this also something for a small business?
Especially so. The smaller the team, the more work is left lying around that a good setup picks up. And the law makes no exception for size.
Frequently asked questions about automation
In principle anything with an API — and these days that's almost everything. From accounting packages like Exact and Moneybird to e-commerce platforms, CRMs and email tools.
Is automation also worthwhile for small businesses?
Especially for small businesses. If you don't have a team to absorb administrative work, automation isn't a luxury but a necessity. One smart integration can already save hours a week.
What if something goes wrong with an automation?
Every integration comes with error handling and monitoring. If something fails, you'll know — and so will I. No silent errors that only surface weeks later.
Can I make changes to the workflows myself?
That depends on the complexity. Simple changes in tools like Klaviyo or Make you do yourself. For bespoke integrations a quick word is wiser — it prevents silent breakage.
Frequently asked questions about branding
It depends on the scope. A logo with basic guidelines is a different project than a complete brand system with templates and guidelines for multiple channels. What fits your stage — I'm glad to think that through with you.
Reckon on 4 to 8 weeks for a full project, depending on complexity and feedback rounds. A logo-only project can be faster — though it almost always pays to look beyond just the logo.
Can I have my current house style refreshed?
Absolutely. Not every brand needs a complete overhaul — sometimes evolution is more powerful than revolution. The focus goes to what works, what no longer fits, and where the opportunities are.
Yes, always. You get all the files in the formats you need — for print, web and social. It's your brand, and the keys come with it.
Creation + code: branding, websites, web shops, hosting and automation — design and technology under one roof. You don't have to translate anything back and forth between parties; the idea and the execution sit at the same table.
For entrepreneurs and small businesses that take their brand and site seriously — from a first house style to developing an existing web shop further. Working since 2013, so most questions have come up here before.
With a conversation — the first introduction is always free and without obligation. Want a focused start? The intake is six short questions and gives a clear picture of your project straight away.
It varies per project — a price only comes once it's clear what's needed. Always with clear agreements up front: a fixed price where that's possible, hourly where that's fairer. No surprises afterwards.
In Dordrecht. A lot of work goes fine remotely, but for an introduction or a working session you're welcome — there's coffee, and there are biscuits.
Frequently asked questions about hosting
Yes, provided the technology suits the server environment: primarily PHP, Node.js and static sites. When you switch, the migration is arranged, including DNS, SSL and a test period.
What's the difference with regular hosting?
Personal management. At most hosting companies you're a ticket number; here you're a project that's known. Faster responses, an understanding of your setup, and problems solved without you having to become technical yourself.
The guarantee is 99.9% uptime. Servers are monitored continuously, with alerts at the smallest deviation. Downtime isn't an option — certainly not for web shops.
Yes: daily backups, encryption, firewalls and regular security updates. Hosted within Europe, properly in line with the GDPR. Your data is yours.
Frequently asked questions about web shops
It depends on your situation. Shopify is ideal if you want to start quickly. WooCommerce suits anyone who wants more control and bespoke work. Magento is for larger catalogues and higher volumes. The advice follows your needs, not a favourite platform.
Yes — often a full rebuild isn't even necessary. First the bottlenecks are mapped out, then what delivers the most is tackled first.
How do I know if my web shop is performing well?
With data, not gut feeling: conversion rates, bounce rates, average order value and the full checkout path. Those figures tell you exactly where the gains are.
Yes — fast, reliable hosting set up specifically for e-commerce, with the speed and uptime you should expect from a shop.
Frequently asked questions about websites
It depends on the project. Marketing sites often run on PHP or WordPress, more complex applications on React or Vue. The technology follows what your project needs, not what's fashionable.
How long does it take to build a website?
A compact website is ready in 4 to 6 weeks. Larger projects with bespoke work and integrations run up to 8 to 12 weeks. The planning is realistic and the communication clear — no surprises along the way.
That's the starting point: a website you can maintain yourself, with clear documentation and a CMS that suits you. And if you do get stuck, I'm one message away.
What if I already have a website that no longer works?
Then the first step is to see whether a touch-up will do or whether a rebuild is smarter. Sometimes a redesign is enough, sometimes the technical foundation is too shaky — you'll get an honest answer either way, even when that's the cheaper one.
A CMS without the content management. From schema to page — you say what needs to change and there it is.
An informational website, built to be managed afterwards in plain language. Design, structure, schema and the rules an agent works within on its own.
The schema is the agreement — and the agent keeps to it.
Businesses with an informational website and a single owner
Creative studio for branding, web design and development. Working since 2013.
Strategic advice on online presence, SEO and optimisation — with fast, direct communication.
Sketches, swatches and notes — weighing up what's there once more.
AI set up around how your business actually works — the rules in order, the team on board, and a way of working you manage yourself afterwards.
Somewhere in your business, someone is typing into an AI window right now.
Smart integrations and workflows that cut out manual work and streamline processes.
Behind manual work that keeps coming back there's usually one missing integration.
From brand identity to print — logos, house styles, packaging and campaigns that stand out and stick.
Colour, rhythm and typography do the work a logo alone can't.
Reliable VPS hosting with NGINX, caching, security and backups — maintained by the same person who built the website.
Web shops built for revenue — with attention to the customer journey, speed and conversion optimisation.
Laptop, tablet and phone: the same route to checkout.
Websites that communicate, persuade and convert. From concept to live, including UX, UI and development.
Screens full of bespoke work — the form follows what you have to say.