Website design demand increases

9:13am Tuesday 21st October 2008

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A WEBSITE design business could take on up to 80 new consultants after an upsurge in demand for its services.

Britnett Web Services, based in Barnard Castle, County Durham, has seen a 24 per cent increase in orders from small to medium sized enterprises in a month.

Company founder Paul Harper, 45, believes the pressure from the credit crunch had led small businesses to focus on new ways of getting their marketing message out to potential customers.

He said: “In August, which is normally a quiet month, the order values and amount of orders went up by 24 per cent. The general consensus seemed to be that customers, independent retailers and small businesses, had been thinking about the internet for a while, but the credit crunch seemed to push them to get this done.”

As well as inquiries for new sites, Britnett is also experiencing an increase in the number of requests for rebuilds of existing sites.

The firm, started in 1999 with help from business support service Business Link, has 40 franchises operating under the Britnett banner across the country.

Mr Harper said: “We have a network of about 40 consultants located down the ‘spine’ of the country, many of who are very active and able to generate very good incomes from a modest initial investment – for the right person.

“We have identified that potentially an additional 80 postcode areas, branching out from this spine, could support a locally-based Britnett franchise.”

Britnett now has a client base in excess of 2,500.

Mr Harper added: “Our software, in particular the Britnett- Carver CMS, is intuitive and easy for our clients to use.

“We designed it and it has evolved from working alongside our UK customers. We rarely develop new ideas which haven’t had a considerable input from customers.

“We are looking to create an ongoing relationship with clients and this often starts with a simple question – what do you want your website to achieve for the company?

“Once the client gives us that basic information, we work together to develop a proposal. We can typically complete the project in three to four weeks.”