IT’S been a triumphant end to 2011 for Torquay’s web design studio Createanet as two of their clients’ websites scooped prestigious awards within a week.
Createanet, based on the harbourside, beat off a huge international field to win the Innovation Award in conjunction with their client Nebrak, in a glittering ceremony organised by Auto Vending magazine at Old Trafford.
And in the same week, another Createanet website was in the news, this time helping their client Trade Counter Direct clinch top honours in the 2010 digital Entrepreneur Awards.
“It’s fantastic news and believe me, we have been celebrating,” said Kevin King, who founded Createanet 13 years ago. “To win one award is fortunate, but to win two in a week is just incredible. My team have all been joking that it’s like buses – nothing for ages and then they all arrive at once.”
The Nebrak site won the award for their fantastic online Vending Surround Builder, where clients can log on and design their own vending surrounds around their existing machines. The idea came from company owner Paul Howard who wanted to have a site that could create a complete visualisation for a client together with a costing. Thanks to the site, clients can now choose the size, the finish and then see how the end result would look, together with a budget.
“We built it from scratch,” said Kevin. “It also had to be easy for a client to use as well so it’s all drag and drop.”
Createanet senior designer Mart Dingley spent about two months developing the software and building the site.
Meanwhile Trade Direct is celebrating record business yet again, thanks to their online tool shop. Group managing director Alan Archer reported trade increasing annually by 75 per cent year on year. The company has now become a major player in the online tool market.
“We’re particularly pleased and proud for Trade Direct,” said Kevin. “I think their success demonstrates the perfect combination of a company that absolutely knows its business inside out and a website that is easy to use for both client and customer. We listened long and hard to what they needed and came up with the right solutions.”