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In this special 50th episode of the 90-Day Website Mastery Podcast, Jonny Ross and Pascal Fintoni celebrate a major milestone whilst tackling a critical issue facing business owners today: the risks and realities of AI-built websites.
By the Numbers: 50 Episodes of Value:
- 50 questions answered from the community.
- 50 pieces of content reviewed and analysed.
- 100 tools and apps recommended.
- 100 website call-to-action suggestions provided.
This episode also marks the one-year anniversary of their book "WebProud - The 5-Step Roadmap to Feeling Proud of your Website Again!"
https://www.amazon.co.uk/WebProud-5-step-roadmap-feeling-website/dp/1068691603
The discussion explores what happens when your website designer uses AI platforms without transparency, the essential questions you must ask before commissioning any website project, and how to avoid the costly mistakes that come from unclear briefs and assumptions.
Jonny and Pascal also share two powerful tools for creating visual content, and provide actionable website adjustments you can implement immediately.
❓ My Designer Used AI to Build My Website — What Should I Do?
The Hidden Risks of AI Website Builders:
Some website designers are now using AI platforms to create websites quickly, but without proper disclosure or planning.
Common problems include: inability to update content yourself, locked-in proprietary systems, and limited future functionality.
The fundamental issue isn't AI itself — it's lack of transparency and inadequate project briefing.
Essential Questions to Ask Before Commissioning a Website:
- What platform is it built on? Understanding the content management system (CMS) is crucial for long-term flexibility.
- Who actually owns the website? Clarify ownership rights in case you need to change agencies or freelancers.
- Can I update and modify content myself? Ensure you have editing access and the ability to make changes independently.
- What's the future-proofing plan? Ask about adding features later, such as e-commerce functionality or additional pages.
- Who is building it — humans or AI? Understand the level of human expertise and oversight in the project.
- What's in the Terms & Conditions? Review all contractual agreements carefully before signing.
The Importance of a Comprehensive Brief:
- Your expertise as a business owner isn't in building websites, that's why proper briefing is essential
- Request a detailed project plan with clear stages, review points, and deliverables.
- Ask for transparency about tools, methods, and team members involved
- Use AI to help you: Ask ChatGPT or Claude to create a checklist of questions for website project vendors.
Slowing Down in the Age of Speed:
- AI's advantage is speed, but that doesn't mean you should rush decisions.
- Use the time AI saves to invest in proper due diligence, reflection, and questioning.
- Cheaper and faster doesn't always solve the problem — quality and control matter more.
📖 Celebrating One Year of WebProud: The Journey & The Book
The Evolution from Webinars to Book:
- During COVID, Jonny and Pascal launched a five-part webinar series sharing their passion for websites.
- This evolved into the 90-Day Website Mastery Podcast (now at episode 50).
- The webinar content became the foundation for their book: WebProud: The 5-Step Roadmap to Feeling Proud of Your Website Again!
- Published November 2024, launched December 2024, and became a #1 Kindle bestseller within 48 hours.
What Makes WebProud Different:
- Two main sections: Executive Briefings (actionable steps) and Bonus Content (inspiration and tools).
- Five core executive briefings form the heart of the book's methodology.
- Highly interactive format: Includes idea catcher pages, checklists, tables to complete, and space for notes.
- Available in print and interactive Kindle: The Kindle version allows you to type directly into forms and tables.
- Bonus features: Yearly planner with 52 weekly website adjustments, tool recommendations, and article reviews.
The Book's Philosophy:
- Designed as a field guide to be used, marked up, and referenced repeatedly.
- Focuses on practical, actionable advice rather than theory.
- Reflects Jonny and Pascal's approach as trainers and advisors.
🛠️ The Website Engine Room: Two Essential Visual Tools
LandingSite.ai (Jonny's Pick):
https://landingsite.ai Generate a beautiful website for your business in five minutes.
Best use case: Creating optimised landing pages quickly for specific marketing campaigns.
Key benefits:
- Rapid deployment for testing different messages and funnels.
- Perfect for matching landing page messaging to specific ad campaigns (Facebook, Google Ads, Instagram).
- Ideal for squeeze pages designed to capture leads from email flows.
- Uses AI-driven insights and pre-made templates.
Strategic value: Enables fast testing and iteration without committing to full website builds.
EZGif.com (Pascal's Pick):
https://ezgif.com Simple, free online GIF maker and comprehensive animation toolset.
Key features:
- Create GIFs from static images or video clips.
- Edit existing animations: crop, resize, add text, change formats.
- Convert between formats: GIF, APNG, WebP, MNG, and AVIF.
- Transform video footage (from events, presentations) into engaging animated content.
Strategic applications:
- Enhance blog articles with animated headers and visual breaks.
- Create eye-catching social media content (GIFs are "the new emojis").
- Animate promotional content for LinkedIn, Facebook, and other platforms.
- Add visual interest to presentations and email campaigns.
Business model: Free to use with optional donation (buy them a coffee).
📢 The Website Call to Action: Two Quick Wins for Immediate Impact
Call to Action #99: Add Clear Opening Hours (Jonny's Recommendation)
Why this matters in 2025 and beyond:
- AI and machine learning systems need explicit, structured data.
- Search engines and AI assistants rely on clear information to answer user queries.
- Builds trust by showing your business has regular operations and real premises.
Implementation steps:
- Display opening hours prominently on your contact page.
- Consider adding them to your website header or footer for visibility on every page.
- Critical: Ensure your website hours match your Google Business Profile exactly.
- Use consistent formatting across all platforms.
SEO and trust benefits:
- Helps users immediately know when they can reach you.
- Reinforces legitimacy and professionalism.
- Provides explicit data for AI to read and interpret accurately.
- Joins the dots for Google between your website and Business Profile.
- Improves local SEO signals and search visibility.
Call to Action #100: Audit and Optimise Your Google Business Profile (Pascal's Recommendation)
Why Google Business Profile matters more than ever:
- AI summaries (the evolution of SEO) pull heavily from Google Business Profile data.
- Well-maintained profiles boost your visibility in AI-generated search results.
- Google uses profile-website correlation as evidence of business legitimacy.
Action plan:
- Reacquaint yourself with all Google Business Profile features and content fields.
- Fill in blank or unused fields (every empty field is a missed opportunity).
- Match information precisely with your website (address, hours, services, descriptions).
- Update regularly (stale information damages trust and rankings).
Using AI to maintain your profile:
- Ask your favourite LLM (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) to create a quarterly action plan.
- Request weekly update reminders and content suggestions.
- Use AI to generate posts, offers, and updates tailored to your audience.
Unexpected benefit:
- Reviewing your Google Business Profile often sparks ideas for website improvements.
- Features that work well on your profile can inspire similar additions to your website.
🎯 Key Takeaways for Website Managers and Business Owners (with timestamps)
00:18 – Welcome to Episode 50: A landmark celebration
01:14 – Celebrating the WebProud book anniversary and ChatGPT's third birthday
02:38 – You Ask, We Answer: The AI website builder dilemma
04:25 – The importance of due diligence and comprehensive briefs
06:04 – Pace vs. reflection: Don't let AI rush you into poor decisions
08:44 – Using AI to generate your own vendor question list
09:37 – Website Stories: Looking back at the WebProud journey
10:27 – From COVID webinars to bestselling book
11:59 – Finding the right style and format for WebProud
12:32 – The five executive briefings at the heart of the book
13:25 – Interactive features: Idea catchers and the Kindle version
15:04 – Celebrating 50 episodes: 100 tools and 100 call-to-actions
17:08 – Thank you to everyone who made WebProud a bestseller
18:26 – Jonny's pick: LandingSite.ai for rapid landing page creation
20:02 – Pascal's pick: EZGif.com for creating and editing GIFs
22:37 – The Website Call to Action #99: Add clear opening hours to your website
24:22 – The Website Call to Action #100: Audit your Google Business Profile
25:42 – Using AI to create a quarterly action plan for profile updates
27:00 – Celebrating small victories and marking milestones
28:05 – Wrapping up Episode 50 with gratitude
28:44 – Where to find more information and book discovery calls
🔎 SEO Keywords & Tags:
Primary Keywords:
AI website builders, website ownership rights, Google Business Profile optimisation, landing page creation tools, AI-generated websites, WebProud, feeling proud of website, 90-day website strategy, GIF marketing tools, landing page optimisation
Secondary Keywords:
website due diligence checklist, Google Maps SEO, interactive Kindle publishing, website mastery programme, website call to action strategies, visual content marketing tools, AI quarterly planning, micro-content repurposing, WordPress alternatives
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About the Hosts
Jonny Ross is a leading digital marketing consultant and SEO strategist with decades of experience helping businesses transform their online presence.
Pascal Fintoni is a digital skills trainer and video marketing expert, known for making complex tech topics accessible and actionable.
132 episodes