A small update to the site (and a quick favour)

I’ve been making a few improvements behind the scenes on the blog recently, and I wanted to share what’s changing — and why.

This site has always been about practical, real-world HomeKit and Apple automation help: the kind of posts you can follow, step-by-step, when something isn’t working or you’re trying to build a better setup. The one thing I’ve been missing is a clear way to understand what’s actually landing well for you, and what you’d like me to cover next.

So I’ve added two simple ways to tell me.

1) “How useful did you find this post?” (5-star rating)

At the bottom of each post, you’ll now see a quick rating form with a 5-star scale and a submit button.

This is not about chasing perfect scores. It’s about signal.

A short post that solves a specific problem might be more useful than a long post that tries to cover everything. A guide might be clear to some readers and confusing to others. A troubleshooting article might miss the exact edge case you’ve run into. Star ratings give me a fast, consistent way to see what’s working and what needs improving.

What I’ll use this for:

• Prioritising updates to older posts that need clarification, new screenshots, or revised steps

• Spotting topics to expand into deeper guides (or a follow-up post)

• Understanding what “useful” means for you: quick fixes, product recommendations, automations, or deeper technical detail

If you’ve just finished a post, tapping a star rating is a small thing that makes a big difference to what I write next.

2) “Contact Me” — suggestions, requests, and questions

I’ve also added a “Contact Me” form with this prompt:

Got a suggestion?
Tell me what you’d like to see next — topics, products, guides, or fixes. Or even if you just have a question.

This is for anything that doesn’t fit neatly into a star rating. If you’re thinking:

• “Can you cover this product next?”

• “Can you do a guide for this specific automation?”

• “This part didn’t work for me — what am I missing?”

• “Could you write something for beginners on X?”

• “I’ve got a weird HomeKit issue and I’m stuck…”

…send it through.

I read everything. I may not always be able to reply immediately, and I won’t always be able to cover every request, but it will directly shape what I prioritise.

Why I’m doing this

Two reasons, both simple:

1. To make the blog more useful.
   I’d rather improve what already exists and publish posts that solve real problems than guess what people want.

2. To focus future posts on what you actually care about.
   HomeKit and smart home setups can go in a hundred directions — devices, cameras, sensors, automations, Matter/Thread, reliability fixes, router quirks, iOS changes, and more. Your feedback helps me choose the best direction.

A quick note on privacy and intent

I’m not adding these forms to pester anyone, gate content, or turn the site into a marketing funnel. This is simply about creating a clean feedback loop: write → publish → improve → repeat.

If you enjoy a post, a quick star rating tells me it was worth doing. If there’s something you want next, the contact form gives you a direct line.

If you want to help, here’s the “call to arms”

Next time you finish a post:

• Leave a star rating (it takes seconds)

• Drop a suggestion if there’s something you want covered

That’s it — small actions, high impact.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for helping me shape what this site becomes next.

Paul