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Goodbye Yellow Pages…Hello Little Blue Book

After 51 years, Yellow Pages have announced they are ceasing to print their directories.

At Local Pages we understand the importance of a strong on and offline presence for your business and after 38 years know that many business owners will want to continue to advertise in a printed format, so here are 5 reasons why you would want your business to be included in our Little Blue Books;

94% of our customers said they are happy to advertise with us again
Our Little Blue Books get delivered through Royal Mail to nearly 500,000 letterboxes
24 editions cover 50 areas across the South-West & South Wales
Focusing on the hyperlocal market, we can bring you 100’s of local leads
Last year was our biggest ever sales year in 38 years of successful trading

Click price list to see what we offer.

We also offer print, design and website services, so whether it’s business cards, flyers or a new company website – we can help.

Please give us a call on 01179 231122 or email info@localpages.co.uk

If you just want to add your business for free, please click here

Choosing The Right Font And Colour For Your Brand

THE FIVE FONT GROUPS
There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of fonts/typefaces to choose from, so it is a daunting prospect to narrow down your choices! How do you choose? A lot of it will be based on your own personal choice of course, but sometimes we need to take into consideration the message that a font may convey by the way it looks.

Firstly, I will take you through the basic different classifications of font styles: SERIF, SANS SERIF, SLAB SERIF and SCRIPT. These are illustrated on the photo above.

1. SERIF
A serif is a small line attached to the end of a stroke in a letter. Serif fonts are widely used for body text because they are considered easier to read than sans-serif fonts in print.

Associations: Classic, traditional.
Examples: Times, Baskerville, Caslon.

2. SANS SERIF
Derived from the French word “sans”, meaning “without” – a sans-serif font does not have the small projecting features called serifs at the end of strokes and less line width variations. Most web pages employ sans-serif type as they are considered to be legible on computer screens. It is also used as a device for emphasis, due to thicker line strokes.

Associations: Modern, clean, simple, minimalistic.
Examples: Helvetica, Gill Sans, Futura.

3. SLAB SERIF
A type of serif typeface is characterised by thick, block-like serifs. Originally intended as attention-grabbing designs for posters, they have very thick serifs. They make clearer reading on lower quality paper.

Associations: Masculin, authoritative.
Examples: Rockwell, Courier, Lubalin Graph.

4. SCRIPT
A typeface with a flowing flourish. Script typefaces are based upon the varied and often fluid stroke created by handwriting. Many emulate the styles of hand-drawn signs from different historical periods. As phototypesetting and then computers have made printing text at a range of sizes far easier than in the metal type period, it has become increasingly common for businesses to use type for logos and signs rather than hand-drawn lettering.

Associations: Flowery, beautiful, decorative.
Examples: Shelley, Snell.

5. DECORATIVE
The most diverse of all the groups. Anything goes with flourishes and decoration. Rarely used for lengthy blocks of text, decorative typefaces are popular for signage, headlines and similar situations where a strong typographic statement is desired. They can reflect an aspect of culture – such as tattoos or graffiti – or evoke a particular state of mind, time period or theme. Many – such as psychedelic or grunge designs – are time-sensitive and fall out of fashion. Some decorative typefaces use unorthodox letter shapes and proportions to achieve distinctive and dramatic results.

Associations: Whatever you want it to be!
Examples: Rosewood, Bremen, Davida.

Now we will look at fonts in more detail. Say you were designing a wedding invite, we immediately think of something flowery. Here is an example:

The use of the script font is appropriate for this type of design. It lends itself to the beauty of the day. It’s delicate and enchanting. Also note that a serif font is used in the smaller text as this is also very traditional in its look and is readable as smaller text. If we used the script font all over, it would become too fussy. Just use it as an emphasis on key words.

Fonts used on a poster for a heavy metal band would look very different typeface-wise. On the poster below a decorative font has been used in the main heading and this is the sort of typeface we associate with heavy metal – it’s heavy in form, it’s quite in-your-face, intimidating perhaps, grungy and gothic. Again, the principle of not overusing this font is carried through – a sans serif font.

Another thing to consider is that your work (e.g. flyer or brochure etc) should keep to 2 or 3 typefaces at the most. Keep the typefaces exactly the same and perhaps use different weights of the same font to keep it clean, or change it a lot in terms of two completely contrasting fonts.

We want them to co-exist beautifully. Try to avoid using two or three fonts from say the “sans serif” category like Helvetica and Franklin Gothic. This can be distracting for the reader – are they the same or not? Stick to different weights of that font to create contrast and a cleaner look. Ultimately, it’s up to you which fonts you decide to use, but using the principles outlined above can improve the image and message you are trying to convey.

COLOURS
There are countless possibilities out there on the colour spectrum. We all have our favourite colours that we use on the walls of our house, or the clothes we wear, or the decorative objects we buy for our homes. These things are automatically going to influence our choices. It’s very subjective – what feeling a colour evokes in one person might have the opposite affect on another someone else. This is important to keep in mind if you are looking for a colour palette for your brand.

Colours a non-verbal communication system, but that doesn’t mean they don’t say anything! Below is a basic outline of some individual colours. There are obviously countless varying shades of each of these colours which in itself convey different meanings, but this will hopefully give you an idea of what different colours might be associated with in Western culture.

For a flyer that is advertising the services of a landscape gardener, you would expect to see greens – the colour of nature and other calming colours. However, cultural differences can mean colours convey different meanings in contrasting countries. Red in China is lucky. Red in the West can mean danger or passion. Red is a very emotionally intense colour, and along with orange and yellow it is a warm colour which can convey positivity.

Colours like blue, purple and green are cool colours. Blue is often associated with trust, calm and credible. There are for example a number of banks whose brand is blue – this is probably not a coincidence! The colour purple can be associated with luxury and wealth – you might have seen a luxury spa using the colour purple?

THE POWER OF FONTS AND COLOURS
Fonts and colours are more powerful than what we might initially think, and they are likely to have an (unconscious?) affect on how consumers choose which brands they will shop from or which bank they will go to. Therefore, it is vital that you consider who your audience is and who you will be trying to reach with your message. That way, your fonts and colours will be a conscious choice that is aimed at your audience rather than based on what you personally like.

I hope you found this blog post useful. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject so please comment below!

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Leave a commentBlogbranding, colour, font, marketing, smallbusiness

How To Brief A Creative Agency

Maybe you’re a growing business looking for an agency to create a marketing campaign? Or you’ve already found one, but their work isn’t delivering the results you were expecting? Either way, you can increase your chances of success next time (or first time) ’round by immersing yourself in the brief-writing process.

Learning to put a good brief together is essential. Great briefs inspire the agency to bring your campaign vision to life. Poor ones create ambiguity and stifle creativity. Your brief doesn’t have to be complicated or convoluted, but it does need a few essential ingredients.

WHAT?

Set out in straightforward terms and simple language what it is that you are trying to promote. If it’s a product, give as much background information as possible; category performance, competitor products, any research you’ve conducted. Maybe it’s an offer or seasonal campaign, in which case the exact details are vital. Also, what’s worked well in previous campaigns? What hasn’t?

The other “what” is a practical one: the deliverables. What is it that you want to be produced, and in what format(s)?

WHY?

Why are you running this campaign? What are the objectives behind it and what would you like it to achieve? Success is best achieved when everyone involved knows what success looks like! So being as precise as possible about the KPIs is vital. We regularly get briefs asking for a campaign to increase sales. But without knowing by how much, how do we know whether it’s worked?

WHO?

You may know your customers inside out, but if your relationship with your agency is at an early stage, chances are they won’t.

The agency will want to really get under the skin of your audience, so they will need access to as much information as possible about your customers` demographics, habits, likes, dislikes, relationship with your brand, shoe size. OK, maybe not the last one. But don’t be afraid to include as much info as you have. Particularly consumer insight; you can pop any research documents in the appendix.

Download our FREE Creative Brief Template here.

WHEN?

Perhaps it’s a little obvious to say, but it’s vital that timings are outlined in the brief. When do you want the campaign to launch and how long do you envisage it running for? The other timescale issue is the response to the brief itself. Recent research from the University of the West Of England found that a major bugbear within agencies is lack of time to respond to briefs. So it’s advisable to plan ahead, and make sure Christmas campaign briefs aren’t sent out in November.

HOW?

How much money would you like to spend on this activity? Even if it’s a ballpark or bookended figure (between £x and £x), being upfront about this from the beginning means that the agency can tailor their solution to your budget. It can be tempting to simply ask for a quote, particularly if you’re unsure how much to commit. But this is counterproductive, as your agency won’t be able to propose an appropriate solution without at least an idea of what you’d like to spend. So even a rough figure is crucial.

Good luck with your next campaign!

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Leave a commentBlog, Business Tips, Creative, Marketing, Small businessesagency brief, brief template, creative agency, creative industry, marketing campaign, marketing project

The Pro’s and Con’s Of Owning a Business

For many, running your own business is a life-long dream, and whilst it does have some major points in the “Pro’s” column, there are also some challenges many new business owners face. This week, we thought we would take a look at the high’s and low’s of running your own gig.

24/7
Your business is your baby, and like most newborns, it doesn’t sleep! The amount of energy and effort you put into making your venture a success can feel overwhelming. Gone are the days of shutting down a computer and switching your brain to “social” mode, you will find that you
constantly have ideas whirring away in the back of your mind and a never-ending “to-do” list to keep you occupied! New businesses rarely become an “overnight success”, they are often the result of months, if not
years, of dedicated hard work and energy.

The High’s & Low’s
The responsibility for the success of your business is all yours, and that can feel pretty heavy at times, especially when you get to the point of employing other members of your team. That being said, the high-points are all yours too! Those days when you win a new customer, or a client is really happy with the work that you’ve done – they are the BEST. And the reason why you do what you do.

Employee Benefits
In essence, you no longer have any! When you kiss goodbye to being an employee, you leave behind a lot of what we like to call “comfort”. These aren’t necessarily the things that are a good enough reason to stay employed in a job or career that doesn’t inspire you, but they sure make it
“comfy”. We’re talking about a regular income, sick pay, holiday pay, and maybe your employer also made pension contributions on your behalf or offered private medical insurance. None of that exists when you become your own boss. At least not in the beginning, drawing a salary from your fledgling business can make you feel guilty, let alone paying yourself to sip Margaritas on a beach somewhere (not that you will have time for that – see point one).

For some considering setting up their own business this is the hardest and scariest thing to leave behind, understandably so, and business ownership is definitely not for everyone.

Social
Unless your new business venture is running a bar or restaurant, branching out on your own can be pretty lonely at times. In the beginning there might not be team behind you, and you don’t always want to bore family and friends with your new-business woes. We would highly recommend getting a mentor, if you haven’t already. They can prove invaluable as a sounding board for those days when you can’t “see the wood for the trees”, and trust us, they happen!

People might not “get it”, even those that you love dearly. And that’s OK. We’ve often heard “you do what?” and “you can really make money from that?”. Don’t let others’ doubts or own “comfort-zone”-worries put you off reaching for your dreams. Ultimately, you become the master of your own destiny, which is pretty incredible. And when you love what you do, it honestly doesn’t feel like work.
Wishing you all of you business entrepreneurs out there every success! Comment below with what you wish you had known about being your own boss before you started, we’d love to hear your stories.

Leave a commentBlogbe your own boss, business, business owner, enterprise, entrepreneur, small business

How To Get New Business Through Referrals

How much time do you or your sales team spend looking for new prospects rather than developing a stronger relationship with your best clients? Referrals can be one of the most effective ways of gaining new business but are often under-estimated.

When asking businesses if they use their existing clients to help them find new business, the answer I typically get is; “I’ve already gotten my current clients to buy, it’s time to move on to the next prospect!”. OK, but how do you get that next prospect? There’s business directories, newspaper advertising, cold calling, networking, trade shows, radio, TV.. The list goes on and on. What’s missing? Asking current clients for qualified referrals.

A few months ago, I was talking to a business owner whose company has serviced the Bristol community for more than 50 years. He spent nearly an hour discussing the difficulties of identifying and landing new business in today’s market. He informed me that the traditional mediums aren’t as effective as they used to be and that most sales people struggle to find new leads. I asked him if he provides his customers with a good service, and he was proud to say that he does. He also mentioned that he has between 175 and 200 current customers and that he hadn’t received any complaints for more than six months.

The next question I asked would tell me what I really wanted to know, and what I probably already knew; I asked him if he asks current customers for more business or for referrals. He then explained that he was much too busy taking care of current orders and managing his sales staff to bother his current customers with that type of request. So, he has 200 satisfied customers that it took him years to find, but he still thinks that the best way to grow his business is to continue working on strategies that he already admitted doesn’t work very well? I next explained to him that it would make more sense to ask those 200 satisfied customers if they wouldn’t mind helping him find a new client. After all, has he not earned the right to ask after years of great service?

For the first time during our meeting he was silent. Although a little embarrassed, he admitted that I was right. In the bestselling book The Power of Focus, the authors recommend the following steps to growing your business:

Create a list of your most valuable ‘core clients.’
Take a close look at this list and review the amount of time you spend with these clients. Is it sufficient? Do you enjoy quality time with them, or just a few seconds on the telephone?

So, how do you identify and stay in touch with these core clients?

Determine the characteristics of your best clients. These clients typically bring you the most business (and profit), appreciate your product/service, regularly refer you to others and are strategically related to your target market.
Compile a simple strategy for keeping in touch with these clients. This could include a phone call, lunch or stopping buy to visit their staff. The key is making sure that you have regular and meaningful contact – tickets to the big game every 6 months isn’t necessarily good enough. Remember, the stronger these relationships and the more satisfied these core clients are, the better and more qualified referrals will be.
Once you are satisfied that you have adequately developed a solid relationship with your clients, it is time to ask for those referrals. Don’t just send your client an email or mention it in passing. Remember, you have earned the right (through the delivery of a good product or service) to ask for this referral. Schedule a meeting to talk about your request and remember to be specific about the perfect candidate for your services.

Now, I am not saying that prospecting is a bad idea. Every business needs new customers and prospecting has to be a key component in your growth strategy. But before you hire a new salesperson or send out another direct mail piece, make sure that you have a solid strategy for developing meaningful relationships with your best customers. These relationships will result in your most qualified and profitable prospects.

I encourage you to spend the next few minutes thinking about your best customers. Who are they? And more importantly, when is the last time you spoke to them? Start your list today!

Leave a commentBlog, Business Tips, Small businessesbusiness tips, customer loyalty, customer referrals, customer relationships, referrals

Common Design Mistakes (and How To Avoid Them)

We all make mistakes. It’s part of life and its a great learning process! As with everything, common design mistakes are subjective to some degree. Here, I will try and highlight a few common design mistakes that people make, and more importantly, how to avoid them.

Fonts & Text

Fonts are essential to your design but which one should you choose? Don’t make the mistake of going for every font under the sun. It creates chaos and doesn’t sit well. Again there are exceptions, but this is the rule-of-thumb. Keep to two fonts, maybe three, and to emphasise anything, use a bold or italic version of these two or three fonts. Your design will look far classier using this rule.

The Comic Sans font has gone down in history as the most despised typeface ever. Try not to use this font even if you are doing a flyer for a nursery school open day! OK, the typeface looks jokey and informal, but it will give off the wrong impression because of its notoriety and it just simply won’t do your design justice.

Something to be aware of once you have laid out the columns for your text is to avoid justifying the text to the column width. This can lead to problems with word spacing and widows (one word on the last line) and can make the page look clunky.

Centred text is generally just used for headings or short paragraphs. For large paragraphs of text you’re more often than not better off going with left or right aligned text. When dealing with a large amount of text, make sure you create 2-3 columns rather than having all the text in one line (see example below). This will make the text a lot easier to read!

HAVE SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO SAY? We’re often tempted to use CAPITAL LETTERS to emphasise the message we’re trying to get across, however this isn’t always the most effective way to do it. Capitals can be great for headlines or short sentences, but using upper case letters generally tends to make it look like you are “shouting”, so avoid using them on whole paragraphs of text.

Visual Elements & Colours

Visual elements are key for all design, whether you’re designing a flyer or a website. But a mistake that is often made is the lack of quality, professional-looking photos or icons. If you’re using photos, you must ensure that these are of the highest quality – blurry photos taking on a mobile will not create the effect you’re looking for. Although it’s always best to have your own photos, it might be worth investing in stock photos from websites like Big Stock Photo or Shutterstock if you don’t have the resources.

Images may be essential to your particular design. A great photograph or graphic can add real panache to your leaflet, brochure or website. Sometimes just one photo per page can be enough, even if that photo fills the page. Don’t feel obliged to use every photo taken relating to the project. One great photo can speak a thousand words. But be careful when overlaying text onto an image. It can be done, but you have to make sure the text is readable. Putting black text onto a fairly dark photo is a no-no.

It is the same with colours. Use colours that complement the other elements of your design such as logos, photos or icons, but try not to overdo it. A lack of colours could lead to a dull design, but more than 4 or 5 could end up looking cluttered. The key to an eye-catching design is to find the balance between the visuals and colours.

White Space

“White space” is a feared word amongst many. We often see that people are terrified not having enough content for their design and feel that an advert or leaflet has to have a whole dictionary contained within it. But don’t be frightened of white space, this cannot be stressed enough. White space is vital to your design as it creates a feeling of freshness and avoids overloading the viewer with information. If you use too much text, it’s hard to fit it into the constraints of the dimensions, which in turn will mean that the font has to go much smaller which may render it unreadable.

But when using white space, don’t be fooled by its name! “White space” doesn’t necessarily mean that the space is white, it just means that the space is free of text or information. The image below is a great example of use of white space. With simple, capturing copy, the designer has left the rest of the page blank – which is what makes this design work so well.

Proof Reading

Proof reading a project is an absolute must! Get someone to share in the proof reading. A fresh pair of eyes can sometimes pick up on something you have missed. A typo in any project can be the difference in getting work or the viewer avoiding you at all costs! It looks unprofessional and sloppy.

In summary, simplicity is often the answer. Use white space wisely, get a hold of high quality images, use colours that compliment the other elements of the design, and use capturing copy that has been proof-read.

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Get Motivated: A Step-by-Step Guide For A Small Business

The kids are back to school and summer is over. We’ve always loved this time of year because it feels like a time to make a fresh start without the pressures we all put on ourselves in January to completely change “this” or “that” about our business, life or career. Here’s a step-by-step guide to ensure you head into autumn motivated and ready to make some changes, and it’s as easy as 1,2,3.

Pause
You might have taken time to do this over the summer, but if not, why not do it now? It could be as little as a few hours one afternoon. Life happens at such a quick pace these days, just having a chance to change your scenery and breathe a little deeper can do you and your business the world
of good.

Reflect
Give yourself the head space to think about the last eight months of the year. Ask yourself some poignant questions and be brutally honest with your answers. What were your goals? How are you tracking against them? Are you on track to achieve what you wanted to in the time frame you gave
yourself? If you are, then great – you should celebrate. But if not, why not? No excuses allowed.

This isn’t an exercise in beating yourself up but more one of reflection. We’re all caught up in the day to day madness that is running your own business, but without taking the time to look at where we’ve come from and where we’re heading you leave no room to manoeuvre, or to change
direction.

Adjust
Once you’ve figured out what’s worked well for you, and what hasn’t, it’s time to adjust. You are the master of your own ship and it’s never too late to change course. Make a new set of goals to reach by year end. Make them SMART.

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Time Based

There’s plenty of blogs and articles out there on goal setting and planning. Here are a few to get you started:

We would love to hear from you. Comment below with one of your goals – after all, sharing them helps keep you accountable!

Leave a commentBlog, Business Tips, Small businessesbusiness owner, inspiration, local business, motivation, small business

Content Creation: The key to your websites’ success

Every decent website revolves around the same thing: content. A Unique, relevant and up-to date content is highly influential in how successful a website and marketing campaign performs. However, many find that content creation is very challenging and it is one of the most common issues in a business. Often this is due to a lack of time or resources, or simply that people don’t know where to start.

In order to create content and use it for marketing purposes, a business needs to consider how the content will be shared on their website and various online marketing platforms. It is also important to consider the frequency of content and who the intended audience is. There is a wide range of options for online marketing, such as social media, email marketing, website content and blogs. There is plenty for a business to choose from!

Many studies have been conducted into the effectiveness of having a content strategy. These studies have found that higher levels of content on a site can have an impact on the business’ marketing strategy and overall search engine ranking. These are just some of the benefits of having a steady stream of fresh, targeted content:

Increase levels of traffic to a website
Increase amount of enquiries/ leads received via website
Build up followers on social media
Enhance brand awareness
Become trusted within your industry by writing content to showcase abilities and knowledge

Sounds great! But how do you create content?

Content creation doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Every business has something to talk about, whether it’s a new product or service, an upcoming event, or an opinion on a recent industry related story. Not forgetting the most important (and easiest!) source of unique content; customers!

Creating stories around customers and the services/products they have received is the easiest form of content to write. Start by asking the customers for their feedback. The comments that they provide can be used to as the focus point of your content, and this can be shared throughout all of your marketing activities. After all, word of mouth and referrals are the greatest sales tool!

Our top tip for new content creation is to include as many targeted keywords and phrases as possible. This will help towards search engine rankings and help sites such as Google to understand what the content is about. But remember to keep it natural and don’t stuff keywords in randomly. This could be seen negatively by Google and other search bots.

Once you’ve got some content and keep going! Set yourself a target and allocate some time for putting together more. Try to keep to a regular schedule, even if it’s just a blog post every month. It all helps!

Leave a commentBlog, Marketing, Websitescontent creation, content marketing, email marketing, marketing, small business, social media, website content

How To Be Creative: A Designer’s Guide

Local Pages` creative designer explores the issue

Are we born with a creative mind, as opposed to a mathematical mind? Some say we are, and that we can’t be both. We are either governed by the right side (the creative side), or left side (the logical side). This is only a theory – that our characteristics come through according to which side is more dominant. But new research says otherwise.

Creativity can be nurtured in someone who perhaps thinks they are not creative. We all have to be creative to solve problems in life in one way or another. Obviously creativity is very subjective. If you asked 10 different people for feedback on your creative ideas, you’d get 10 different answers! Do not let criticism strangle your creative process. It’s good to listen to others and their constructive criticism, and by taking the positive out of this, you can use some of what they say to play around with other ideas.

Nothing is perfect, so don’t feel you have to come up with the perfect solution. Don’t rule out working on ideas that perhaps you are not so keen on because following these paths may make you come up with another solution that fits. Of course someone who is trained in creativeness will be able to initiate ideas quicker than someone with no experience.

Some creative designers prefer to work on their own but for ideas to flow, it’s always good to share. This is called “brainstorming”, where a few creative minds get together and thrash out an idea or concept by drawing on bits of paper with doodles or writing them down or sharing them verbally. People can bounce ideas off of each other then and perhaps take their ideas one step further in a way they hadn’t thought of. The initial brief needs to be clear and concise though. You cannot say everything in one design, so good communication is the key.

Inspiration is always a good starting point. Collect pictures, patterns or colours that you like in the form of magazine articles, photos or illustrations and make a book of them. Anything that catches your eye. Some small thing, like a colour, may spark off a flurry of creativeness and lead you in all sorts of directions. The internet is obviously a good place to explore for ideas too. Save the pages and images you like into a file on your Mac or PC and use them to get the creative juices flowing.

Think of children and how unselfconcious they generally are. Try and think like a child and your imagination may take you on a very creative journey. Try not to be too analytical. Perhaps useÂ a list of single words to describe the possible answers to your brief. Each word may spark an idea which may encapsulate the personality or essence of the message you want to put across. Look up key words in a thesaurus or dictionary, which in turn may spark a visual metaphor.

Let’s make up an example: Let’s say we need to design a poster for a dog’s home – they want something positive to advertise what they do. Write down key words when you think of dogs or animal sanctuaries. My thoughts are: unconditional / beautiful / refuge / safety / cuddles / furÂ – the list could go on and on. Look up some of these words in a dictionary or thesaurus. I looked up “refuge”. The dictionary says “a place or situation providing safety or shelter”. Or “safety” – “the condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injury”.

Working on the word “safety”, I came up with an idea. “Safety” sparked a visual of cotton wool – you probably know the phrase – “wrap someone up in cotton wool” which suggests keeping that person safe from harm as cotton wool is so soft and inviting. This was my very first thought (write down all thoughts) and it came to me in a matter of seconds: So how about a picture of a dog surrounded by cotton wool or bouncing around a field of cotton wool?! So in a few minutes I already have one positive idea. I have roughly illustrated my idea itÂ below.

So, now you have seen a brief outline of the creative process, go and play away! Do you have any tips of how to be creative? We’d love it if you share your own creative process below.

Leave a commentBlog, Branding, Design, Printcreative, creative process, design, graphic design

25 Years of World Wide Web

Who remembers 1989? Hands up. Yep – most of us here at Local Pages too! Whilst we were busy perming our hair and rocking out to Rick Astley, a very clever guy called Sir Tim Berners-Lee was creating the World Wide Web in Switzerland. It was a new way to distribute information on the Internet. We’re not sure about you but how often do you stop and think about how the World Wide Web actually works? It just does, right? Well here’s the science behind it.

The Web is based on hypertext which allows the user to connect from one document to another at different sites on the Internet via hyperlinks. And for the first time in 1989, the Web was accessible to use through graphical icons. Some of the early adopters of this new technology were Apple, Yahoo, The Telegraph and The White House to name but a few. Those first sites seem so basic to us now.

At Local Pages life continued without www. until the millennium when our first site was designed. As you can imagine, it was a simple site that allowed us to show information about who we are, what we do and how to contact us. Since then, we’ve had two major re-designs. And our website is a lot more involved. You can access price lists, online copies of directories, our search site, as well as this blog!

It’s not just our appearance, but the way we think about websites has changed too. For any size of business, your website is your “shop window” – your chance to invite people in, stay a while, and invite them to (hopefully) buy something. And businesses spend time and money making sure that people see that shop-window through social media, SEO and blogs. A website that isn’t attractive, or doesn’t rotate it’s “window-stock” regularly can quickly become a redundant or even negative attribute for a business. It’s the age-old saying of “first impressions count” and a customer with plenty of distractions can easily have their heads turned in a different direction.

We would love to hear from you – leave us a comment below telling us about how your website has changed over the years. Did you know we can help with all aspects of website design? We offer anything from a free review, to a re-design or brand new site development.

Leave a commentBlog, Websiteshistory, internet, websites, world wide web