Friday 4 January 2013

Welcome

My name is Shane Byrne and I set up ClearSoft in 2006 as a web design / development company. Over the years we built up a steady client base ranging from small / medium size business to larger national organisations. My own background is in software development & database management and I could see these skills being a huge advantage to ClearSoft as the web moved into a new direction. 

What I saw in 2006 was the internet working well for large business. These businesses had well structured, clear & functioning web sites. Many sold products and services online and overall were using the web to its full potential. 

The same could not be said of smaller business however. For the majority of these companies the web either didn't exist or just wasn't working. Up until the mid 2000's if you had a website at all, you were probably one step ahead of the game. This gave way to many poorly devised and structured sites with stale designs & content. 

My research at the time told me that web design / development was expensive - too expensive in my opinion. My research also indicated that most small business didn't embrace technology as they were intimidated by it. Many small businesses felt that a website wouldn't add value to their business and would end up as another expense with no benefit. 

I could clearly see at the time that the web was about to move in a whole new direction and that small business could no longer afford to put their heads in the sand and ignore the web. I also understood that small business needed help to embrace the web and I identified 3 main packages to help small business (Budget, Content Management & Bespoke) get online.
Of course times change and over the years we have adapted and developed our own skillsets to cater for the needs of our clients and keep up with technological advances. The explosion of social media and the emergence of smartphones have changed everything on the web and yet again have underscored the importance of using the internet as a business tool.