Firms to increase 'website design' spending

11:59 26th November 2008

UK firms intend to spend far more on website design in the coming year than on direct marketing, new research shows.

A study by Shape The Future found that 58.9 per cent of companies intend to increase website development spending during the next 12 months.

This compares to less than one fifth (18.2 per cent) that are planning to invest further in direct marketing, while only 23.9 per cent intend to invest more funds into print marketing.

However, Peter Martin, managing director of Shape The Future, suggests that businesses are finding a "balance" between offline and online marketing, rather than a preference for one or the other.

He said: "The data we have collected also shows an increase in print spend alongside SEO (search engine optimisation) and PR.

"The key is knowing where your customers are and what they are likely to respond to the most."

The survey also indicated that more than one third (36.4 per cent) of companies polled intend to increase their overall marketing budget in the next year.

Businesses in the south-east of England were most likely to reduce their marketing spend, which may give the advantage to small business in the north west and Manchester.