When Caterer.com was launched in November 1999, those involved had little idea what they were getting into. Like most magazine Web sites, it was designed and built largely as a spinoff from the print copy of Caterer & Hotelkeeper. The trouble was that no one had anticipated just how popular it would be.
"When we launched Caterer.com, it was primarily designed as an online version of the magazine," says Web site editor David Shrimpton. "It gave readers another way of accessing the suppliers directory and job vacancies, as well as making the huge archive of back issues available for the first time.
"But we realised very quickly that Web users expect to see more than that, especially as they become more and more sophisticated and knowledgeable about the Internet."
On the first version of Caterer.com the news section became a unique selling point. It had become clear, just months before the launch, that lifting the news from Caterer & Hotelkeeper on a weekly basis just wouldn't work. News updates had to appear daily. Shrimpton says: "We needed news to be updated as it happened throughout the day. That's what Web users are used to."
With dedicated news at the forefront, the site expanded quickly, growing to meet the demands of the readers, whose numbers soon exceeded 8,000 a week. By the beginning of 2001, as its popularity rose, the site began to bulge at the seams. It not only needed to be redesigned but re-engineered - built again from scratch - to allow much more information to be included.
Shrimpton says: "We had enough experience by that point to know that the reasons why people look at the Web site are different from why they read the magazine. Web users are looking for specific information, rather than browsing, so the redesign was focused around that."
Six months and £1m later, the new Caterer.com was launched yesterday. The site now includes new modules on legislation and advice for hospitality professionals. It also offers facts and figures on the industry as a whole, plus profiles of the top companies. For chefs, there's a searchable archive of more than 500 recipes from the biggest names in the restaurant world.
All the sections of the new Caterer.com are detailed here, but the best way to find out more is to simply log on and click around.
Facts & Figures
Key information on the hospitality industry in this section includes profiles of the top companies, trends and statistics, plus a comprehensive listing of industry bodies and useful Web sites.
Products & Services
This offers a comprehensive directory of companies providing goods and services to the hospitality industry in the UK, with news of the latest products and advice on what to look for when buying catering equipment.
Chef
Click here for information and inspiration for the chef community. It includes a searchable database of more than 500 recipes from the pages of Caterer, step-by-step guides to key skills and techniques, a dictionary of culinary terms, and reviews of the latest books.
News
This offers all the latest stories from the hospitality industry in the UK and overseas, written by our team of journalists. New stories are added at least six times each weekday and twice a day at weekends. Stories remain in this section for two weeks before being stored in the archive.
Archive
This makes available thousands of articles from Caterer.com, Caterer & Hotelkeeper and sister magazine Catering Update, dating back to 1994, all searchable by keyword.
Manager's Office
An essential reference tool for managers in the hospitality industry, this section provides practical guides on food hygiene, health and safety, employment law, guest law, licensing, finance, people management, marketing and technology. Articles are written by experts in the field (or with their help).
Events
Find essential dates in the hospitality calendar, including exhibitions, conferences and competitions. This section also features detailed information about Caterer & Hotelkeeper Group events such as the Catey Awards, Chef Conference, Acorn Awards and International Recruitment Conference.
Jobs
Thousands of job vacancies from across the hospitality industry in the UK and overseas are listed here, plus practical advice on job hunting and careers.
Property
Hundreds of hotels, restaurants and licensed properties are advertised for sale here, and there are practical guides to property-related matters, plus in-depth articles and news of all the latest deals.