As we reach the end of the year, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on 2025, say a big thanks to everyone we’ve worked with, and share what’s coming next for dot create…
2025: a year of growth
2025 has been a busy and rewarding year for dot create, with an exciting mix of new projects and ongoing work for long-standing customers.
We’ve continued the steady momentum of recent years, with the number of new websites we worked on during 2025 increasing by over two-thirds compared to the year before. From smaller projects through to complete website rebuilds, it’s been great to work closely with so many organisations throughout the year.
One particularly exciting area of growth has been our work in the biotech sector, where we launched three new websites supporting organisations operating at the cutting edge of science – both within the UK and internationally. We also delivered a wide range of new websites in other sectors, including the automotive, space, and social care sectors, reflecting the variety of businesses we’re fortunate to work with.
Alongside client work, we’ve continued to invest time in improving our internal processes and workflows. Over the past year we’ve embraced a range of AI-powered tools to help us work more efficiently behind the scenes – from development and testing through to content and administration. This has allowed us to improve turnaround times and, in some cases, reduce costs for customers too.
Website maintenance has also remained a key focus. Over the past year, we’ve reviewed and installed over 7,000 individual software modules across the WordPress websites we support, keeping websites up-to-date, secure, and running smoothly. This is often unseen work that’s an essential part of maintaining a healthy website.
Away from project work, it was also great to meet people face-to-face — from exhibiting at the Leigh-on-Sea Business Expo, organised by Southend-on-Sea City Council, to attending several WordPress community events, as well as two key rail-industry events in the Midlands – Rail Live 2025 and The Greatest Gathering – where we had the chance to catch up with a number of our customers in person.
Highlights this year, including exhibiting at the Leigh-on-Sea Business Expo; and the launch of the new Rail Forum website.
Looking ahead to 2026: stability and investment
As we look ahead to 2026, we’re very conscious of the pressures many businesses continue to face. With that in mind, I’m really pleased to confirm the following:
- No price increases on our Small Business and Business hosting and maintenance plans
- Below-inflation adjustments for some Enterprise plans
- No increases to domain name renewal fees
- And no increases to our task / hourly rates
This means our task and hourly rates will remain exactly the same as they were in January 2024 — effectively a three-year price freeze, benefiting all customers.
Alongside this price stability, we’ll also be continuing to invest in improvements, including:
- Introduction of new state-of-the-art web servers, starting with our Enterprise customers.
- A full rollout of dot create branding (finally!), and a fond farewell to the Primary Image branding.
- For customers who come and visit us on Leigh Broadway, we’ll be refurbishing our office in the New Year (do feel free to pop in for a coffee!).
- A much stronger and more regular social media presence.
Christmas opening hours & ongoing monitoring
Our last working day before Christmas will be Friday 19th December, and we’ll be reopening on Monday 5th January.
We’ll still be available for any urgent issues over the holiday period, and as always, websites will continue to be monitored throughout. The technicians at our data centre work 24/7 – even on Christmas Day – so you can be reassured a close eye is being kept on your website throughout the holiday period to ensure everything is running smoothly.
Giving back this Christmas
Instead of sending Christmas cards this year, we’ve chosen to support Southend Hospital Children’s Ward by donating nearly 100 Christmas colouring sets, helping bring a little joy to children who will be spending the holidays in hospital. It felt like a small but meaningful way to give something back to the local community.
Thank you – and Merry Christmas
Finally, I want to say a huge thank you for your support throughout 2025. Whether you’ve worked with dot create for many years or joined us more recently, I genuinely appreciate the trust you place in us.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a happy and successful 2026 – and we look forward to continuing to work with you in the year ahead.
Mike
dot create / Primary Image