https://lightlycoded.com/notes Field notes and articles from Lightly Coded — practical observations from building and ranking small-business sites. en-ca Wed, 19 Aug 2026 16:54:10 GMT https://lightlycoded.com/notes/do-small-businesses-need-schema-markup https://lightlycoded.com/notes/do-small-businesses-need-schema-markup Sun, 16 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Article / Foundations Yes — but not for the reason it gets sold. What schema actually does, what Google explicitly doesn't promise, and the four types worth having. https://lightlycoded.com/notes/contractor-website-homepage-structure https://lightlycoded.com/notes/contractor-website-homepage-structure Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Article / For Contractors Attention research says most viewing time goes to the first two screenfuls. Here's the homepage order that spends that attention winning the call. https://lightlycoded.com/notes/contractor-quote-form-questions https://lightlycoded.com/notes/contractor-quote-form-questions Sun, 02 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Article / For Contractors A quote form's job isn't collecting data — it's letting you call back first with enough to quote. The fields that earn their place, and what to cut. https://lightlycoded.com/notes/why-homeowners-call-one-contractor-not-another https://lightlycoded.com/notes/why-homeowners-call-one-contractor-not-another Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Article / For Contractors A homeowner deciding whether to call isn't judging your design — they're weighing the risk of hiring a stranger. Here's what wins the call. https://lightlycoded.com/notes/do-contractors-need-a-website-facebook-page https://lightlycoded.com/notes/do-contractors-need-a-website-facebook-page Sun, 19 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Article / For Contractors For trades, Facebook is one of the biggest lead sources there is — and still can't do the jobs a website does. The honest division of labour, with Canadian data. https://lightlycoded.com/notes/contractor-website-checklist https://lightlycoded.com/notes/contractor-website-checklist Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Article / For Contractors A contractor website has four jobs — get found, build trust, capture the call, prove it's working. A plain-language checklist to run down your own site, no dev knowledge needed. https://lightlycoded.com/notes/is-wix-good-enough-for-a-contractor-website https://lightlycoded.com/notes/is-wix-good-enough-for-a-contractor-website Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Article / For Contractors Wix in 2026 isn't the SEO disaster it once was — it server-renders and passes Core Web Vitals. Here's where it still holds a contractor back. https://lightlycoded.com/notes/google-business-profile-vs-website-contractors https://lightlycoded.com/notes/google-business-profile-vs-website-contractors Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Article / For Contractors A Google Business Profile and a website do two different jobs in two different parts of Google. Here's what each does for a contractor — and why you need both. https://lightlycoded.com/notes/how-much-contractor-website-cost-canada https://lightlycoded.com/notes/how-much-contractor-website-cost-canada Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Article / For Contractors A contractor website in Canada runs roughly $1,500 to $20,000+ — but sticker price hides the real cost. What's fair, what you should own, and how to tell. https://lightlycoded.com/notes/how-ai-decides-which-local-business-to-recommend https://lightlycoded.com/notes/how-ai-decides-which-local-business-to-recommend Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Article / AI Search AI recommends local businesses on the same fundamentals as ever — with two real shifts: far fewer get named, and clarity beats proximity. No tricks to buy. https://lightlycoded.com/notes/contractor-not-showing-up-on-google https://lightlycoded.com/notes/contractor-not-showing-up-on-google Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Article / For Contractors Two different things make a contractor invisible on Google — the map pack and organic search. Here's how to tell which one you have, and the fix for each. https://lightlycoded.com/notes/how-to-send-email-that-lands-in-the-inbox https://lightlycoded.com/notes/how-to-send-email-that-lands-in-the-inbox Sun, 07 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Article / Lead Capture Email reaches the inbox when the provider can verify the sender and sees people want the mail. Authentication, bounce hygiene, and a sending subdomain are how. https://lightlycoded.com/notes/store-every-website-lead-in-a-database https://lightlycoded.com/notes/store-every-website-lead-in-a-database Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Article / Lead Capture A site that only emails you a lead keeps one fragile copy of it. Storing every submission in a database is how you stop losing leads you never knew you had. https://lightlycoded.com/notes/where-ai-agents-actually-help-a-small-business https://lightlycoded.com/notes/where-ai-agents-actually-help-a-small-business Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Field note / AI Automation Practical small-business AI agent use cases for lead intake, follow-up, summaries, and admin — plus the decisions that should still stay human. https://lightlycoded.com/notes/why-website-contact-forms-go-to-spam https://lightlycoded.com/notes/why-website-contact-forms-go-to-spam Sun, 17 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Field note / Lead Capture Contact-form emails land in spam mostly from one fixable authentication mistake, not the new bulk-sender rules. Here's what I check first, and why. https://lightlycoded.com/notes/three-things-i-check-first-on-a-contractor-website https://lightlycoded.com/notes/three-things-i-check-first-on-a-contractor-website Sat, 16 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Field note / For Contractors Three checks I run within the first five minutes on any contractor site I audit — and what each one tells me about the rest of the site. https://lightlycoded.com/notes/what-ai-answer-engines-read-on-your-website https://lightlycoded.com/notes/what-ai-answer-engines-read-on-your-website Fri, 15 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Article / AI Search AI answer engines don't reward vague sites. What they actually read — server HTML, schema, clear answers — and the content they skip entirely. https://lightlycoded.com/notes/how-small-businesses-actually-get-found-on-google-in-2026 https://lightlycoded.com/notes/how-small-businesses-actually-get-found-on-google-in-2026 Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Article / Foundations Small businesses get found on Google in 2026 with clear service pages, local signals, fast mobile performance, schema, and lead-focused site structure. https://lightlycoded.com/notes/why-im-building-lightly-coded https://lightlycoded.com/notes/why-im-building-lightly-coded Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT noreply@lightlycoded.com (Darrell Pardy) Field note / Foundations Why I started Lightly Coded — and what I'm trying to build (and not build) for small businesses across Canada and North America.