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TAXATIONWEB HISTORY
- 2000
- www.mark-mclaughlin.co.uk becomes www.taxationweb.co.uk
- 2001
- online and offline marketing activities see TaxationWeb rise from 10 to 1,000 unique visitors a month
- 2002
- business partnerships established with various tax goods/services providers; visitor levels rise to 10,000 unique users a month; TaxationWeb Limited was formed; server problems caused site shutdown
- 2003
- site redeveloped; specialist sections and Newsletter introduced; visitor numbers reached 15,000 - 20,000 unique users a month
TaxationWeb was founded in November 2000, when Mark McLaughlin, a Chartered Tax Adviser, writer and lecturer, decided he wanted a more professional online presence for his tax consultancy, Mark McLaughlin Associates, at the time existing as www.mark-mclaughlin.co.uk. (see Figure 1)
Figure 1: www.mark-mclaughlin.co.uk, August 2000
With the help of Dorifor Internet Consultants (www.dorifor.com), the site was given a more professional look and feel and given a new identity, emphasising its area of business, by renaming it to www.taxationweb.co.uk. (see Figure 2)
Figure 2: www.taxationweb.co.uk, December 2000
Through search-engine optimisation, PR, word-of-mouth referrals and a combination of online and offline promotions, TaxationWeb grew from 10 visitors a month to 1,000 unique users a month within the first few months of operating.
The site's success meant that a year later, Mark McLaughlin Associates was getting a constantly increasing number of tax enquiries and decided to concentrate on consultancy services to professional organisations and refer all questions from the general tax-paying public to other tax professionals through developing a Tax Tips Forum, a free and open forum where taxpayers can ask tax questions for discussion with other Forum members. (see Figure 3)
Figure 3: www.taxationweb.co.uk, December 2001
2002 was an exciting year for TaxationWeb. As Mark first joined one accountancy firm as Tax Associate, before being offered a post as a Tax Partner with a Manchester-based firm of Chartered Accountants, TaxationWeb became independent from Mark McLaughlin Associates and a limited company was formed. New partnerships were established with tax software developers, book publishers, training providers, a Directory of Tax Professionals was added, etc. (see Figure 4)
Figure 4: www.taxationweb.co.uk, September 2002
Through the reputation for containing a wealth of tax information, mainly through constantly updated articles and a hugely popular Tax Tips Forum, visitor numbers in 2002 reached 10,000 unique visitors a month. TaxationWeb's independence meant that no particular company's products were being favoured. It also meant that other tax professionals did not see the site as a competition (unlike some tax sites run by large accountancy firms) and were happy contributing to it. Indeed, many have become regular contributors to the Forum, as a selection of enquiries turned into chargeable work.
Unfortunately, the site's success also brought its temporary downfall, as the server provider at the time complained about too many visitors interrogating the information-rich tax database. After a long battle, they have removed the site from their servers and, due to circumstances, TaxationWeb has been offline between October 2002 and February 2003.
Redeveloped in February 2003 (see Figure 5) and following the same strategy of remaining independent and focusing on providing information and help for the general public, accountants and tax professionals, TaxationWeb not only reached its prior success, but in November it attracted over 15,000 unique visitors. In addition to continuing establishing business partnerships with tax goods/services providers, site developments included the introduction of the monthly Newsletter and the development of specialist sections, to cope with the increasing amount of information constantly being added to the database. TaxationWeb is today UK's leading independent tax website and will continue to grow in content, visitor numbers and business partnerships. In addition to the UK market, the company is also considering international expansion.
Figure 5: www.taxationweb.co.uk, September 2003