Mission statement! Who shops locally anymore? With broadband and the internet becoming a household standard, more and more people are logging in rather than nipping out! It’s true – who wants to leave the house looking for that new property, new car or generally visit a shop in the off chance they have that product they’re looking for? It’s too easy to jump on the net and get what you want from a larger selection at competitive prices. But are you that much different to the internet businesses that are taking your business? The answer is no. Accessibility is a powerful thing… The problem with small towns and small businesses is they're use of the internet! If you were looking for a specific product and had access to the internet in your own home how, likely are you to go out travelling from Abertillery to Brynmawr, to Ebbw Vale, to Tredegar to find it? That 3 hour shopping trip could be done in less than 20 minutes over the internet and through a large retail site that is more likely to be found before you! And it’s this factor that’s not only damaging small towns and they’re businesses, but stopping you from understanding that there’s room for everyone on the net. It’s a case of bad accessibility. How many people have you heard say: “You can’t get anything locally” “Our town is dead” If you were to combine all the businesses from Abertillery, Blaina, Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale, Tredegar etc in to one place how much better would that be! The concept behind Abertillery Online Business Directory is to do just that – virtually. Size matters, especially on the internet. Getting your site to compete with larger internet sites is impossible from a searchable content point of view. Why would your 10 page site appear before a 10’000 page site? It wouldn’t! and therefore you’re out of the picture! Another bittersweet factor is that many people want to support local businesses and keep they’re town prosperous, but how can they do this digitally when they can’t find you online? Accessibility is a powerful thing… The purpose and ambition of Abertillery online business directory is to create a local place. A place where web users can visit and find almost anything they want from Abertillery and its surrounding towns. One big business directory geared towards bringing business in to the areas. Size matters, especially on the internet. If you become part of a growing directory, a business community that aims purely to serve your area, you are helping to increase the sites online content. If 10 businesses all do the same then the sites content grows again, taking it further and further up the search engines and more and more easy to find online. Imagine an online directory that has this content; an online directory that is locally established and known; an online directory that is accessible and a first port of call to local web users; a directory that is fully manageable by you and best of all a directory that is free. Suddenly this changes the whole perspective of what the internet could be doing for you!   How many people have you heard say: “You can’t get anything locally” “Our town is dead” But simply need help looking, informing, and a place to go to find out? Abertillery Online - It’s a case of good accessibility.   Accessibility is a powerful thing… So you like the concept but hate technology, your new to the web or have very little computer skills… this has all been considered. Abertillery online couldn’t be easier to use and aims to getting you online in a number of simple ways. You hate the thought of online banking; taking payments online; making mistakes; losing money; setting up your online business; The good thing is Abertillery Online Business Directory doesn’t ask any of these from you, which is not to say these optional features are not scheduled for future inclusion in the site. All it asks is one thing! Add your business to the business directory and help the site grow. This is enough of a start to opening your doors to a wider target audience, even providing the name of your business, selecting the type of business you run and adding contact information can be a positive step in the right direction to providing your valued customers with the option of finding you online. And, if you find any of the other online service and coming soon services could be beneficial to you while adding your business, why not take a look at those too. Thank you for your time Site administrator