First of all I would like to wish a Happy New Year to everyone in Bridgwater. The Christmas period madness is over and we now brace ourselves for the year ahead. The Town Web has had a very successful Winter period with the site receiving 178,604 visitors between 1 October and 30 January. We could be on for almost a Million visitors to the site over the next 12 months. I am looking at new ways to improve the site and its usefulness to the community over the next 12 months and would appreciate any comments or suggestions from visitors and advertisers alike.

Some ideas so far have been:-

• Having a ‘banner ad’ on the main page for advertisers with the site so that each and every advertiser gets a mention on the front page.
• Having special occasion information with local advertisers to help with local trade, eg Valentines Day could show flower and gift shops, Fathers Day could show Model and Hobby shops etc.
• Having a chat-room or bulletin board for people to discuss Bridgwater topics.
• Having a childrens section with on-line games and information on things to do and places to go.

I shall consider and attempt to implement as many of these and any further ideas as are viable and acceptable to the general populous. The most commonly accessed areas of the Town Web over the past few months have been the Business Search area, Town Maps, Places to stay and the section on Carnival and the Events Diary.

I would like to remind Businesses in Bridgwater that if you are not listed in the On-line database, you can be, free of charge. Single line entries into the searchable database (over 1700 businesses are listed at the moment) are free of charge, all that is required is your business name, address, phone number and the category you wish to be listed in. You can also submit your details via the website in the business search area. If you wish to have a full page advert on the site then please contact me for further details. Registered Charities, Schools, Churches, Carnival and Childrens’ Clubs are reminded that they can have a free page of information about their charity/club with or without photos on the Town Web just by letting me have all the relevant details and two or three paragraphs of information. Some schools have already taken advantage of this service, thank you.

There have been a lot of requests via email and in the website guestbook for more information on the Family Histories of Bridgwater. Is there anyone out there that knows about this subject and would like to contribute to the website? You would of course be mentioned as Author and retain all rights.

Once again a big thank you to anyone that has helped with content or constructive criticism. Keep visiting the site.

Pip Martin - webmaster@bridgwater.net
Telephone 01278 458862