About & methodology
Disclosure: Some links may be affiliate links. See disclosure.
Agency Tool Stack Guide is an anonymous, lightweight site for agencies, freelancers, and consultants who want to choose tools without wading through marketing fluff.
Privacy-first by design
- No newsletter: we don’t ask for your email to “unlock” anything.
- No account: the Stack Builder and guide helpers save only to your browser (local storage).
- No personal brand: the goal is practical picks, not influencer content.
- Minimal first‑party tracking: we don’t build behavioral profiles. Third‑party ads/affiliate links may still set cookies (see Privacy).
How recommendations are made
- Scenario fit over “best overall”: we bias toward workflows that actually show up in small agencies (handoffs, client approvals, multi-client reporting).
- Adoption matters: fast setup and low-friction routines beat “power features” that nobody uses.
- Trade-offs included: every pick gets a “watch-out” so you can avoid bad fits.
- Templates included: we publish reusable frameworks (pipeline stages, delivery board structure, proposal outlines) that work regardless of tool.
When we’re uncertain about a detail, we link you to the vendor and say “Verify on vendor site” rather than guessing.
- No pay‑to‑play: we don’t accept payment to include a tool in a shortlist or rank it higher.
- Affiliates and ads don’t decide picks: commissions never override workflow fit.
- We optimize for boring reliability: setup time, team adoption, client approvals, and reporting that survives real delivery.
- If a vendor changes plans/pricing or a tool drifts out of “best fit”, we update the shortlist and the “Last updated” stamp.
Editorial policy
What “updated” means
When a guide is refreshed, we re-check the shortlist, watch-outs, and the vendor pages for plan changes. Always verify current pricing and plan limits on the vendor site.
How the site makes money
Some links are affiliate links. If you sign up through those links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We may also run display ads. Both help fund updates, testing, and more guides/templates.
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