The challenge
When COVID-19 hit, I realised many local businesses and communities struggled to connect. I noticed a lot of Facebook groups turned into promotional opportunities for small businesses desperately trying to get trade. I spoke with a local community support group in North Berwick and realised there was an opportunity to help both local businesses and local people connect. I saw a large number of people ask if any restaurants were open.
The solution
In an afternoon, I quickly created weelocals.com on a free Google site and hooked up Google analytics. I wanted to try and give back where I could. It’s mostly a directory site helping communities connect with local businesses. I use Google forms to sign-up new businesses and speak with Facebook group admins to help spread the word.
Results
✅ The website got featured in the local press which drove over a 1,000 new users. See the East Lothian courier article here
✅ Over 100 businesses have signed up
✅ Over 10,000 visitors, 25% are returning visitors. At it’s the height, the site had around 200 daily active users
✅ I helped a local community support group set-up a Google site so they could support volunteering and news
Key learnings
Using feedback forms helped improve the site - I added a Google feedback form which got 50+ responses in the first month. 30% of responses were from businesses asking if the site could show that they deliver goods to multiple locations. I created a quick page showing businesses delivering to multiple locations. In the first few months after launching, this page had 25% of all website traffic.
Collaborate with the community - A community member reached out and asked if I could update the site to show areas where people could go out and start walking near North Berwick. It was difficult for the community to find which places were open. I helped them set-up and manage Google forms so they could run this. The page fell within the top 10 most viewed pages in the months of October and November. Most website traffic goes to the North Berwick pages. It became clear the site was becoming a resource for the North Berwick community. As a result, I’m handing over the site so the local community members can keep it running.
