What we tell clients before they sign anything.
Written by the engineers who run the infrastructure, for business owners who have to make hosting decisions without being engineers. No jargon without a definition, no recommendation without a reason.
Start here.
Three guides that cover most of the questions we are asked in a first call.
Managed hosting vs. doing it yourself: the real cost comparison
A $5 server is not $5 a month once you count patching, backups, monitoring, and the night it goes down. A worked comparison with the numbers.
Infrastructure · SizingShared, VPS, dedicated or cloud? Choosing the right tier for your traffic
How each tier actually works, how to size from real numbers instead of marketing adjectives, and the five signs you have already outgrown yours.
Security · ChecklistThe 15-point website security checklist we run on every new client
TLS, headers, firewall, DNS and email hygiene, backups, access control, and the admin-panel habits that get small businesses breached.
In progress.
Guides we are writing now, in the order clients ask for them. Email contact@ad-men.org if you want one prioritised.
SPF, DKIM and DMARC without the acronyms
Why your invoices land in spam and the four DNS records that fix it.
A backup you have never restored is a rumour
Retention, off-site, encryption and the restore drill that catches silent failures.
How to move hosts with zero downtime
TTLs, parallel environments and the cut-over sequence we use on every migration.
Core Web Vitals for people who sell things
Which three numbers matter, how hosting affects each one, and what to ask your provider.
Rather have someone just handle it?
Everything in these guides is what our plans do for you, on a schedule, with a report.