Rochdale Online celebrates 15th anniversary

Photo: Journeaux

Pauline Journeaux - Rochdale Online Managing Director

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This week marks 15 years since Rochdale Online was first launched - a period which has seen it grow from humble beginnings to today’s hugely popular site.

Founded in the back bedroom of Malcolm and Pauline Journeaux’s home on 28 June 1998, the site began life as a small community portal consisting of just a few pages.

Today Rochdale Online, which operates from Castleton’s former NatWest bank premises in Manchester Road, contains around 130,000 pages across six main sections, and has become a vital resource at the heart of the borough.

Rochdale Online Managing Director Pauline Journeaux commented: "When Malcolm first developed the site 15 years ago he saw the internet as a resource which would revolutionise local communication and access to news and information.

"Back in the late nineties he was mocked by many who did not share his vision, however, the huge popularity of the Rochdale Online website today is testimony to that foresight.

"Rochdale Online's development since those early days has been dedicated to keeping Rochdale at the forefront of that 'revolution'."

Incorporating news and features; business listings; events; community listings; jobs; properties and advertising services, Rochdale Online is viewed by over 100,000 people every month.

Rochdale Online was the first site to contain a comprehensive directory of the borough’s businesses and now lists almost 7,000, while offering tailored packages for any business within Rochdale to promote their services. The site still provides the borough's most comprehensive and up-to-date directory of local businesses.

Community groups are also featured, with 769 currently listed and many taking up the option of a free website.

Events, originally contained within the community section, is now a very popular standalone section, featuring its well-used free events submission form and a calendar of forthcoming local activity.

As the site developed in popularity, demand for classified advertisements materialised and these were added to the ever-growing web portal. Now Rochdale Online offers thousands of property listings and hundreds of job listings, with several new adverts placed every day, and the option for home and job seekers to sign up for email alerts.

Today’s news and features section brings you up to the minute happenings from across the borough of Rochdale every day, plus a searchable archive spanning a decade with over 27,000 news articles. 

January 2005 saw a significant step in Rochdale Online's commercial development as John Kay, then Senior Partner of Rochdale's largest firm of solicitors, Molesworth Bright Clegg, took an equity stake in the business and, bringing invaluable commercial expertise, joined the board as a non-executive director. Mr Kay says: "I practice as a commercial lawyer and have a special interest in computers and computer law.

"I was therefore delighted and privileged in early 2005 when I was invited to join the Board as a non-executive director in what was then, and to a large extent still is, a family company.

"I saw Rochdale Online as a news and information outlet which was ahead of its time. I guess that 15 years ago it was but its time has now come and it is recognised as a powerful influence for the good of Rochdale."

The Rochdale Online website has always been developed and maintained 'in-house' and the expertise needed to continually develop, maintain and expand such a large, complex site has been put to good use by the companies' web development arm, 'RO Web Solutions', producing and maintaining websites for businesses and organisations of all sizes, from small local companies to large blue chip organisations. Technical Director Ian Kimber heads up the team, having joined the company in 2006.

In May 2008, Hirst, Kidd & Rennie, owners of the independent newspaper the Oldham Evening Chronicle became co-owner of Rochdale Online, and HKR Chairman Philip Hirst and Financial Director Bernard Stone joined the Rochdale Online board of directors.

The Oldham Chronicle website was re-developed by Rochdale Online and launched in August 2008 - Rochdale Online's in-house web development team continues to maintain the Oldham Chronicle website.

Rochdale Online's important place in the community is acknowledged by the wide-ranging testimonials received and its popularity among residents.

Sue Sutton, a regular user from very early in Rochdale Online’s life, said: “I can remember the early beginnings and would like to say what a brilliant site and resource for Rochdale it has become.”

The site is also highly rated by local advertisers, not only due to the huge audience it commands but also the return on investment provided.

Richard Stansfield of the Deckers Group said: "The Crimble Restaurant Complex and The Royal Toby Hotel are proud to be associated with Rochdale Online, and have worked with their team continuously since 2001. We continue to use Rochdale Online simply because we receive a return on our investment. Being able to accurately track traffic directly from Rochdale Online through to our own websites allows us to make fiscal calculations regarding how many potential guests have viewed our adverts, and also how many have acted upon that information. Very few other marketing communication channels provide this level of reporting.

"We would like to offer our congratulations to Rochdale Online for their first 15 years trading and wish them the best of luck for the future."

Commenting on Rochdale Online’s 15th anniversary, Simon Danczuk MP said: “The role of community media in the new media landscape is absolutely critical and Rochdale Online occupies an important role in our town, voicing local concerns, reporting breaking news and championing Rochdale’s achievers.

"I’d like to congratulate them on their 15th anniversary and wish them all the best for the future.”

Jim Dobbin MP said: “Over the last 15 years, Rochdale Online has grown into an invaluable community resource of use to all local residents. I’m pleased to see the website reach its 15th anniversary and look forward to seeing how it develops over the next 15.

"Congratulations to all those who’ve worked on it, past and present.”

Fifteen years on from its humble start, the site has fought off much competition to retain its place at the heart of Rochdale’s web presence. Determined to maintain that place, the site is continually developed and updated and the last few months has seen small but significant changes to the design infrastructure in order to lay the foundations for a completely 'responsive' layout and two major new sections that will launch in the coming months.