Website grants for small or start-up businesses in Chichester

To drive new and increased business, and to create growth, Chichester District Council’s Economic Development Service is offering focussed grants of up to £1,000 to help establish high quality websites, e-commerce and mobile sites for start-ups and small businesses.

Web development has moved extremely fast in recent years, and customer use of the internet has developed significantly. Many websites are now slow and poorly laid-out by current customer expectations. This includes a significant number built as recently as 3 or 4 years ago which are now in need of updating. Additionally, older websites are often incapable of being used effectively on mobile platforms such as smart phones & tablets, as they were not designed with such platforms in mind.

For the majority of businesses their website is an essential customer-facing tool. Many, such as restaurants, visitor attractions, local accommodation, events, retailers and business-to-business suppliers, have customers who expect to be able to access products online.

Objectives of the scheme

• To enable recently launched businesses to establish a high-quality and engaging web presence quickly and affordably
• To enable small businesses needing to make the move into online sales and bookings to add an e-commerce module quickly and affordably
• To enable small businesses with existing websites to improve and upgrade their sites to meet current customer expectations, and to ensure their sites are ‘mobile’ ‘friendly’
• The grant made will be up to 50% of eligible costs (excluding VAT) and a maximum contribution of £1000. Payment will be made to the organisation that has made the application and no work should be undertaken until written approval from the Council is received.

Are you eligible?

• Businesses must be based in the Chichester District.
• Grant approval must be given prior to the work commencing.
• You can have up to 10 paid staff.
• You can apply for an upgrade to an existing website, but it must be at least one year old.
• You are encouraged to use a website designer in the district.
• The deadline for receipt of applications is 20 February 2014.
• All grant monies must be spent by 31 March 2014

Need a local website designer?
TM Design are Chichester-based website designers specialising in getting your business online with a stunning new website. We will design and build you a fully device responsive and user-editable website, built on the latest technology. We’re also experts in e-commerce websites for online shops. Call 01243 771930 today or get in touch here.