The Whitby Anchor

The Whitby Anchor is a brand new independent online newspaper serving Whitby and the surrounding coast. Launching a local news title from scratch is no small undertaking, and The Anchor needed a website that could do far more than publish articles — it had to support subscriptions, business listings, events information and advertising from day one, all while being a genuine pleasure to read.

A dramatic contrast with local press websites. Anyone who has visited a typical local news site knows the experience: cluttered layouts, intrusive advertising, pop-ups and click-bait competing for attention. From the outset, we wanted The Anchor to be the opposite. The design is purposefully clean and simple, with an uncluttered layout that puts the journalism front and centre. The result looks great and loads quickly across all devices — something readers notice immediately.

A bespoke WordPress build. I developed a custom WordPress theme for The Anchor, alongside a series of bespoke plugins built specifically for the needs of a local newspaper. These power the Business Directory, the Announcements page, the Events calendar and the advert placements that appear on different pages across the site. Building these features as dedicated plugins, rather than relying on off-the-shelf solutions, means everything works exactly as the team needs it to — and stays fast and easy to manage.

Subscriptions and email, handled properly. Reader revenue is central to The Anchor's future, so I integrated Stripe to handle subscriptions smoothly and securely. Brevo manages the email side, with one free and one paid-for subscriber mailing list, plus Welcome and Cancellation automations that keep communication with readers professional and consistent without adding to the team's workload.

Privacy-friendly by design. Analytics are handled by Fathom, a GDPR-friendly alternative to the usual tracking-heavy options — a natural fit for a site built around respecting its readers.

The results speak for themselves. The Anchor has already built a strong following on social media, with over 3,000 followers across all platforms, and the website has immediately proven popular with locals and visitors alike — averaging well over 3,000 visitors per week since launch. For a brand new publication, that's a remarkable start.

Hello Technology continues to work with The Whitby Anchor, providing website hosting and ongoing marketing support as the paper grows — another example of the long-term partnerships I aim to build with every client.