Investment in websites set to increase

18/11/2008

Companies are looking to focus their attention on websites over the next year, a study has suggested.

According to Shape the Future, 58.9 per cent of UK businesses will be increasing the amount of money spent on their websites - improving features such as the web design and search engine optimisation - during 2009, reports NetImperitive.com.

The online portal noted that this trend is the reversal of the usual tactic adopted by businesses during "hard times".

Peter Martin, managing director of Shape the Future and author of the report, said: "There is a clear message here that companies have really got to grips with the influencing power of the internet."

He added that the growth in internet use means that businesses with their "finger on the pulse of social media" campaigns could benefit in the future.

Experts at Business Strata suggested that the projected increase in internet users from 36.8 million to 43 million in the next four years shows how important web design is for search marketers.