Really good scottish websites

[KidsBeeHappy]

HI

I am looking for some really good scottish websites (for design inspiration). As in websites that are targeted at a scottish business customer (as opposed to websites run by scottish businesses etc).

What I need is that subliminal thing that says "I'm Scottish, I'm local" but without the naffness that seems to go with a lot of the "shortbread tin" scottish. No Rennie Macintosh, No Celtic lettering, No tartan.
(along the lines of the SBF logo. http://www.scottishbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif )

Clean lines, modern looking, b2b market (Small co. to PLC)

The website is for a specific product that is specifically for businesses in Scotland (partic mainland highlands).

Does anyone have any websites that they've either designed or seen that fits this kind of profile?

(The Scottish thing is very important becausae the user will already have found that the UK national industry leaders can't solve their problem for them)

Kind regards & Many thanks
Sandra

[Burden]

Glad you arent looking for the biscuit tin website.

Im glad i've not come across so many of the Geocities scottish shop sites with the tartan background and the naff headers which have all the above in.

I saw a great one for a place in Edinburgh (food place!) trying to find it for you now

[naturalbeautyscotland]

Hi Sandra,
We (my husband Gilbert Summers - Scottish travel writer) and I (tourism PR and Scottish skincare online boutique owner) have two websites:

extramilescotland dot co dot uk & naturalbeautyscotland dot com

Scottish but not haggis n' Nessie - in our humble opinion - designed by our great team in Cromarty - Plexus Media.

Maybe this of interest?
Johanna :)

[bdw]

No Rennie Macintosh, No Celtic lettering, No tartan.

In other words nothing obviously Scottish? It is difficult to create a website with a visual Scottish identity without using Scottish visual prompts. The visual imagery you mention is what brands websites as being Scottish. It is difficult to do this otherwise as you can see from the SBF forum, which uses a thistle. This is hardly original but it has been done "quietly" so it looks OK in this case.

What I am saying is that you should not discount the use of Scottish icons on your website for branding. There is nothing wrong with this as long as it is done tastefully.

Johanna, one of your websites uses the tartan that Burden does not want and the other is only obviously Scottish because it uses the word Scotland prominently to broadcast this.

One of the things that always surprises me about Scotland is the continual rejection of the "Haggis and Shortbread" imagery by the Scots. There is nothing naff or wrong with this. It's what people expect to see when they visit Scotland. It happens throughout the world. Go to to Germany and you get lederhosen and sausages, in Spain you get flamenco and Sangria, in Barbados you get green monkeys and rum, in Turkey you get Ralph Lauren, Lacoste and Hilfiger. http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/images/icons/icon12.gif

That's just the way it is and what people expect to see. There is nothing particularly wrong with it.

If you really don't want to use the imagery just concentrate on making your Scottish identity obvious with your text heading.

[naturalbeautyscotland]

Yes, bdw is right - use Scotland the Brand - I have worked in Scottish tourism for 22 years and castles, mountains, tartan, shortbread, lochs and whisky are what overseas (and other parts of the UK) visitors love.
Johanna

[Zeno]

Yes, bdw is right - use Scotland the Brand - I have worked in Scottish tourism for 22 years and castles, mountains, tartan, shortbread, lochs and whisky are what overseas (and other parts of the UK) visitors love.
Johanna

They would also love it if we painted our faces and arses blue and spoke like the love child of a Dundee farmer and an Australian surfer but that has as much to do with our cultural identity as the rest.

[naturalbeautyscotland]

Woah - who rattled your cage? - A huge dose of the Scottish cringe coming across!!

[bdw]

They would also love it ...

Aren't we in marketing? Is it not the customers' feelings and emotions we should be targeting?

Most of us are trying to sell products and services - we are not exactly selling our souls to the devil by doing so using Scottish iconry are we? :p

[Dawg]

Wasn't the OP about making a site that was seen as Scottish by Scottish businesses? Do these businesses really need the cod-scottish icons that work for non-scottish punters?
Would not these businesses be more impressed by technology than shortbread, by modern architecture than Rennie Mac? OK, maybe use a single icon, tartan (?), as a visual anchor but there is a lot more happening now that could be reflected, no?
So yes, use Scottish icons, and yes target them to your market. But get your market right.

[naturalbeautyscotland]

2 websites I think are smart, modern and Scottish are: foodieboxes dot co dot uk and
berryscrumptious dot co dot uk (yum!)
Johanna

[stellarbytes]

I've never understood why people create sites and limit the audience - there's very little point limiting a Scottish site to the Scottish market - with courier costs often cheaper to ship south of the Border (some couriers even cheaper to ship to Europe than the Scottish Highlands) - in this day and age, going national is almost mandatory.

Here's a Scottish-based company with an online store which serves the entire UK and Europe, as well as having a 'bricks and mortar' shop to serve both local and nearby communities.

cupargardencentre dot co dot uk

[scotmum]

I beg to differ - I run a website that aims to help mums in Scotland as there is little specific provision for us on line. The audience I am targeting is limited intentionally, although I have members who aren't Scottish logging on on a regular basis.

When my website first went live I was advised by a UKBF member that it didn't say 'Scottish'. I added a few more images (one of a beautifully tropical looking Lewis beach and some kilts) to give it more of a Scottish flavour and the feedback has been good, and not at all twee.

These images associated with Scotland are to be celebrated as they unify us in a manner that is not easily replicated elsewhere in the UK.

[stugster]

www.EasyPCScotland.co.uk ;)

[Saarah]

hi

foodieboxes.co.uk is really good

[virtuallysorted]

We started a Scottish resource for virtual assistants and it mushroomed into a nationwide resource. We just got over-run with UK VAs who needed help and it seemed really odd to have them all claiming to be "ScottishVirtualAssistants" when they were based in Barnet/Wales/Essex/Birmingham/Manchester etc.

What I do miss about the smaller organisation, is the community feel and being able to meet up or talk about specific regional issues.

I think it depends on what it is though - some people will want to deal with a local firm and therefore seek location-specific websites and other people won't consider that a factor at all.

E.g. if I'm buying Scottish smoked salmon, I'm going to want to see a Scottish address on the website. I'm not expecting it to me shipped from Japan, even if it's 1/3 of the price!