Why choose us?

The advantages of working with CommunitySites

By Jack Latimer

Tried and tested

Our software and services have been developed over eight years of working with volunteers, contributors and communities.  We know how to attract quality, interesting content to your website.

Proven track record of sustainability

Our flagship site at www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk has been running for 8 years. Wholly run by volunteers, it's gone from strength to strength on minimal running costs, and has just won two international web awards in competition with major museums like the Tate and the Science Museum.  Building on our experience, our new sites, such as Living Here in Exeter, are going like a train!

Quality and range of content

With our software, your website can contain all the range of media you could possibly need:  video, audio, maps, text, photos, animations.  Users can add comments, complete questionnaires, upload content, collect their favourite pages...lots of proven interactions that we know to work.  You can embed content that is hosted elsewhere, which cuts down your hosting costs.

Easy and fun to use - even for the unconfident!

Because our software has evolved through years of working with volunteers, it's strikingly easy to use - even for the unconfident!  Many people who want to contribute to heritage and community sites have no interest in computers at all, but through our software they can follow an easy progression from casual users of the site right up to editors!

Specialist software

This is not just another content management system. Our software was designed specifically for use with contributory heritage sites. Open source content management systems are great, but they often have to be tailored, cut down and made user-friendly. Our software integrates with archiving and metadata standards used by museums and archives.

Knowledge of the field and the users

We have unrivalled experience of working with community heritage projects.  We know the success factors, the volunteers, the web users, and the issues.

Personal service

CommunitySites is a small company, so you know who you're dealing with. Jack Latimer, our Creative Director, is a leading figure in the UK's community heritage movement and is frequently invited to speak at conferences. Ian Grant, our Technical Director, is famous for making for making the vision into nuts and bolts with no fuss!'  Look at our testimonials to see how often the word 'partnership' is used by our clients when they talk about dealing with us.