AKIN members collaborate on new website for local business

“We’d been thinking about creating a new website for Brooklands Barn for quite a long time,” says Claire. “We needed improved site security, greater SEO compatibility, and we needed it to properly reflect the look of our business.”

Meeting local web designer and SEO expert Karl Salter from Simplified Ideas at an AKIN meeting persuaded Claire, and her husband and business partner Simon Gray, that they had found the man for the job.

“Karl is so friendly and easy to work with. He also asked a lot of questions about our business to understand exactly what we wanted the website to achieve – not just how we wanted it to look.”

Claire and Simon always try to employ locally whenever they can but they also want the best talent available.

So, they were delighted when two other AKIN members, Jane Mote and Josh Kershaw from beechtobeach agreed to film a promotional video for the new website and marketing.

“Josh filmed incredible drone footage of the Barn, and both Jane and Josh spent a lot of time making the video look great,” says Claire. “Now, when prospective clients look at our website they can take a video tour of the Barn and can instantly imagine what it would be like to be a guest.”

Claire, who has lived in Arundel for 12 years, thinks AKIN will massively benefit local businesses. “I have always known there are lots of incredibly talented creatives in town. Now they have somewhere to go to meet each other – a hub. Which means it will be easier for local businesses to find the people they need to help them with creative projects.”