I'm Michael Perks — a web designer and managed hosting provider based in Duncan, BC. I'm also low vision, so when I write about web accessibility here, I'm not working from a compliance checklist — I'm writing about something I navigate every day. No fluff, no affiliate filler. Plain-English articles on web hosting, web design, and accessibility, written from real professional experience.
Accessibility first. This site is built to WCAG 2.1 Level AA and targets AAA for all body text. The author is low vision — accessibility here is lived experience, not a checkbox. Read the accessibility statement →
What managed hosting actually means, how Canadian data residency works, and what to look for when choosing a host.
Hosts advertise 99.9% uptime like it settles the matter. What that number really promises, how much downtime it still allows, what the guarantee actually pays you, and what to check before you trust it.
Read article →Every host looks the same on the pricing page. Here is what actually separates a good Canadian web host from a cheap one: support, performance, backups, and the fine print most people never read.
Read article →A careful migration is nearly invisible to visitors. Here is the safe order of operations for moving a Canadian website: copy, test, then switch, plus the DNS TTL trick that prevents downtime.
Read article →What WCAG means in practice, what Canadian accessibility law requires, and how to build sites that genuinely work for everyone.
Accessibility is usually pitched as a legal or moral duty. It is also a straightforward commercial decision: a wider audience, a site that works and ranks better for everyone, and less legal risk down the road.
Read article →Accessibility guidelines make more sense when you see what they protect. Here is how I really navigate websites with low vision: zoom, high contrast, keyboard, and the small design choices that make or break a page.
Read article →Low-contrast text is the most common accessibility failure on the web. What the contrast ratios mean, the numbers to hit, how to check your own site, and why good contrast makes design better, not blander.
Read article →PIPEDA, Quebec Law 25, CASL, and accessibility legislation — what Canadian businesses are actually required to do on the web.
If your website takes orders or payments, provincial consumer-protection law expects certain things disclosed before the customer buys: all-in pricing, refund and delivery terms, and who you are. General information, not legal advice.
Read article →Canada anti-spam law reaches further than most owners think, and the penalties are severe. What CASL requires of your website forms and marketing emails, in plain language, with the consent rules that matter.
Read article →Privacy policy, terms of use, disclaimers, cookie notice: which legal pages does a Canadian website actually need, and which are just clutter? A plain-language guide to what belongs on your site and why.
Read article →What good web design actually costs in Canada, how to evaluate a proposal, and what separates a site that works from one that just looks okay.
A beautiful website with the wrong words still fails. How to write web copy that leads with the customer problem, chooses clear over clever, and points to one obvious next step.
Read article →Most of your visitors are on a phone, and Google judges your site by the phone version. What responsive and mobile-first design really mean, why they matter for Canadian businesses, and how to tell if your site measures up.
Read article →If visitors cannot find what they came for in a few seconds, they leave. How to structure a website so people and search engines find things easily: menus, page hierarchy, and the navigation mistakes that cost you customers.
Read article →What happens after the site launches — maintenance, performance, and the ongoing work that keeps a website working well.
Plenty of small businesses assume they need an app. Most do not. The real cost difference, the narrow cases where an app earns its keep, and the progressive web app option in the middle.
Read article →You can understand your website traffic without surveilling the people who visit it. How privacy-first analytics work, why they sidestep cookie banners and Canadian consent rules, and the tools worth knowing, including a Canadian one.
Read article →Schema markup is the invisible label that tells Google and AI assistants what your content actually means. What structured data is, why it earns rich results and AI citations, and which types a Canadian business should add.
Read article →Backups, hacks, and the basics that protect a Canadian small business website — written plainly, without the scare tactics.
Most businesses are not hacked through clever code, they are talked out of their passwords. How phishing, spear phishing, and business email compromise work, the tells to train on, and the defences that survive a bad day.
Read article →Most website malware is invisible to the owner and obvious to Google. How infected sites behave, how to confirm an infection, the safe way to clean one, and how to stop it coming back.
Read article →A web application firewall filters attacks before they reach your site; DDoS protection keeps you online when someone tries to flood you offline. What both do, why small sites are targeted, and how to get protected without overpaying.
Read article →My name is Michael Perks. I run Design Menu, a web design and managed hosting service based in Duncan, BC. I am also low vision, which means accessibility on the web is not an abstract concept for me — it is something I live with every day. iWebServe is where I write what I have learned about building websites that work: technically sound, legally compliant, and genuinely accessible to everyone.
Everything here is my own experience and research. This is not a review farm or an affiliate site. I am a working web professional writing what I actually know.
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