Member Article

Lack of web knowledge costs Yorkshire businesses £5,000 a year

A lack of understanding about web development and online marketing is costing Yorkshire businesses an average of £5,000 every year, according to a recent study.

A survey of 350 Yorkshire SMEs and start-ups found that 73% had no in-house knowledge about web development. In addition.

41% admitted that they had outsourced a project involving digital marketing or website design to an agency or specialist in the previous 12 months.

As part of the survey, entrepreneurs were asked about the digital needs of their business, as well as the level of knowledge about email marketing, coding, web design and app development among their current staff.

Ian Surry is co-founder of Lovecode, a provider of accessible coding education, which conducted the research to determine what impact a ‘skills gap’ would have on business growth and innovation.

He said: “Yorkshire has become a centre of innovation for both start-ups and established companies looking to achieve growth.

“With local companies losing an average of £5,000 a year on missed business opportunities and outsourced website design, email marketing and app development projects, developing in-house coding skills has become a priority for these growing businesses.”

The research showed that outdated websites or an insufficient online presence costs Yorkshire SMEs roughly £1,000 a year in lost business opportunities.

A lack of understanding about the basics of web design, digital marketing or coding languages, such as HTML5, CSS, JavaScript and PHP, contributed to the remaining cost as small businesses were forced to outsource these projects to specialists, ranging from £750 to £8,000 each.

Surry added: “It is essential that we support Yorkshire businesses by providing an affordable way to help them develop coding knowledge in-house. By increasing an SMEs digital literacy, we improve its ability to compete effectively with larger organisations in the marketplace.”

Lovecode will hold a three-day course on June 25-27 for small businesses and individuals looking to improve their knowledge of coding and other digital skills.

The programme will be held at the Round Foundry Media Centre in Leeds and focuses on helping entrepreneurs and key staff members establish a strong understanding of web development and design, equipping them with the knowledge to start building websites and web apps.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .