1995 - 1999
The business was started in Aberdeenshire in 1995 to realise the potential of the web for rural craft businesses in Scotland. It soon became obvious that there was a wider small business market needing experienced commercial web development services, and so in 1996 we branched out to offer web design for any small or medium sized business and registered a limited company to protect the brand.
In 1995 the web was brand new and we had to sell the concept before we could sell our services. The lack of product knowledge in our target market meant we were frequently competing against opportunists with a good sales pitch but no technical knowledge or background. Over time we developed a reputation as a trustworthy company that got results, with most of our new business coming through word of mouth. Clients found that they could talk to us, and that we could explain complex technical issues in a way they could understand and relate to their business.
2000 - 2003
By the time the new millenium arrived clients' knowledge and expectations had grown and they were demanding more web performance for their money. We developed our skills with the popular PHP programming language and MySQL databases so we could offer features such as bulletin boards, photo galleries and e-commerce. The range of industry sectors we dealt with broadened as awareness of the web as a cost-effective marketing tool spread.
2004 - 2008
In mid-2003 the rapid spread of broadband across the UK enabled us to move the business to its current location in rural Argyll. Five years on our client base is as diverse as ever, with industry sectors from agriculture through to yachting represented in our current portfolio. The almost universal availability of broadband has meant we are increasingly developing graphically rich sites, often with the inclusion of video elements or in-page photo galleries. With well over 100 million domains registered worldwide good search engine performance is increasingly critical, and so we make sure this is an area we consistently deliver in.
Another big development is the growing awareness of the importance of web standards and the need to create interoperable sites that look good in the wide variety of web browsers and screen resolutions currently being used.
The Future
We are catering for a mature market now, with some very good competition out there. We are confident however that our long experience, integrity and value for money will ensure that the company continues to grow through the next exciting decade.
