I am Dan Knauss, and New Local Media is my consultancy. I host, build and care for bespoke WordPress sites for select clients. I work with you as a partner: practical solutions, clear advice and support you can rely on.
I started in neighbourhood news and community publishing. Read where I come from.
舍
shě: to give up, to let go.
Great work requires there are things we will not do.
After Mencius, Lí Lóu II (4B:8)
The full line in Mencius is 人有不為也，而後可以有為. In James Legge’s translation: “Men must be decided on what they will not do, and then they are able to act with vigour in what they ought to do.”
That line has been on my site for years. Care and craftsmanship do not scale well, and good ideas come from limits. My work is better when I can focus on one person, one project and one problem at a time. So I keep a small group of long-term clients, and I say no a lot.
I say no to bad ideas, to deadlines that will not hold, and to features that cost more than they give back. When there is a real trade-off, I lay it out plainly and you decide. Less really is more.
How I work
You talk to the person doing the work.
There is no sales team and no handoff. I scope your project, build it and support it.
Questions before estimates.
I start by learning how your organisation actually runs. Then I write down what we decide.
Straight answers.
I say no to bad ideas and tell you why. When there is a real trade-off, I explain it in plain language and you decide.
Cared for from day one.
Updates, backups, security, access and accessibility are part of the job from the start.
Built to be changed.
The test is simple. Two or three years on, is the site still easy to run and worth putting money into?
Tools with a person in charge.
AI and automation speed up routine work. I check everything, and I make the judgment calls.
Process
Design
Clear thinking before anything gets built. I make a practical plan for your WordPress site that fits how you actually work.
Build
I build the site with you, help with the hard decisions and see it through to launch.
Sustain
Managed hosting and steady support, so what you launch keeps working and keeps getting better.