Blog

This is our space for sharing the things we are working on, thinking about and learning along the way as we try to build a better digital world.

It’s all our insights, annotated.

Reading time 6 Minutes

Everything You Should Ask Your Web Developer (Before They Start Building Your Site)

All too often, we come across websites that have been poorly built using page builders like Elementor, Visual Composer, or WPBakery. They might look fine on the surface, but underneath they’re often bloated, slow, and difficult to maintain. We’ve put together a list of questions to help you get it right from the very start. […]
Read more
Reading time 3 Minutes

Why your website must be secure and up to date in 2026 

When a cyber attack halts production at the UK’s biggest car manufacturer for weeks, now almost months, it’s a huge wake up call to digital risks. Jaguar Land Rover’s ongoing production outage has disrupted factories, retailers and suppliers proving that just one breach can ripple through an entire supply chain and stop real-world operations in […]

Jess Davey

Digital Marketing Executive

Reading time 4 Minutes

Summer Highlights & Digital Lessons from Phonetic Digital

Here’s a sneak peek at our summer at Phonetic Digital and everything we’ve learnt from it. We’ve been hard at work delivering for our clients, from web projects to managing socials, but we’ve also made sure to soak up the season and actually take time to enjoy everything summer in Sunderland has had to offer. […]

Jess Davey

Digital Marketing Executive

Reading time 7 Minutes

The latest version of Consent Mode, everything you need to know about Consent Mode version 2

When a user lands on your site, before they’ve even chosen a consent preference, google analytics sends data, but it does not process this data at this stage. Let’s make this simple, if the user accepts your sites cookie agreement and gives consent, their pageview is then sent, processed, stored, meaning it then shows in […]

Jess Davey

Digital Marketing Executive

Reading time 6 Minutes

Pedalling as a Princess: Matthew’s 300 Mile Charity Challenge 

Over the past month, Matthew has been putting in some serious miles on his mountain bike, 300 of them to be exact. What started as a personal fitness goal quickly turned into something bigger, as Matthew decided to raise money for Cancer Research UK along the way.  With the charity close to home and cycling […]

Jess Davey

Digital Marketing Executive

Reading time 3 Minutes

What Happens When a Student Runs the Strategy? Here’s Our Placement With An ESPA College Student.

Our recent partnership with ESPA College really showed us just how powerful a student placement can be. Elliott, who is currently studying at ESPA College, joined us earlier this year on a weekly basis to gain hands-on, real life experience in the digital marketing world. What started as a placement quickly became a purposeful project, […]

Jess Davey

Digital Marketing Executive

Reading time 3 Minutes

Let’s Talk Page Load Speed – Because Every Second Counts

Page load speed might not be the flashiest part of your website, but it definitely still needs your attention! Page load speed refers to the time it takes for your page to fully load in a browser after someone clicks on a link or types in your URL.  We recently spoke at an interactive website […]

Jess Davey

Digital Marketing Executive

Reading time 4 Minutes

Do you actually need digital training? Or can you just keep guessing your way through boring data? 

Let’s be honest. The idea of booking a training session for GA4 or Tag Manager doesn’t exactly scream excitement. Here at Phonetic Digital, we believe digital training doesn’t have to be dull. Our workshops are designed to actually be useful, with hands-on sessions that will leave you feeling confident in the subject, not confused. We […]

Jess Davey

Digital Marketing Executive

Reading time 2 Minutes

Who are you excluding? Make your website work for everyone!

Accessibility isn’t just a box to tick, it’s a responsibility and opportunity to make your digital space more welcoming, and effective for all.  All the websites we develop are accessible as standard and we’ve now partnered with Recite Me to take this even further using their customisable toolbar. By designing with accessibility in mind, you’re opening […]

Jess Davey

Digital Marketing Executive

Reading time 2 Minutes

Why Digital Sustainability Deserves Your Attention

When people think about carbon emissions, their minds usually jump to the obvious, private planes or long car journeys.  But the internet? Not so much. It’s easy to forget that the digital world has an actual physical footprint. Every image you upload, every email you send, every time someone loads a page on your website, […]

Jess Davey

Digital Marketing Executive

Reading time 3 Minutes

Showcasing Sustainability: Our Expo Stand and Carbon Calculator in Action

Our First Expo Experience  Last week at the North East Expo we launched our website carbon calculator, a tool we built in-house to help people quickly test the CO₂ emissions of their website. Visitors scanned a QR code or popped in a URL, and within seconds they were presented with their carbon score. We scored […]

Jess Davey

Digital Marketing Executive

Reading time 4 Minutes

Digital Work That Actually Works (And Is Accredited Too)

Any agency can say they’re clear, approachable, and well-informed, but saying it and demonstrating it are two very different things.  Our values are important to us, and living out these values daily matters to us. Over the last year, we’ve worked hard to achieve several accreditations that align with our company’s voice, to show we […]

Jess Davey

Digital Marketing Executive

Reading time 4 Minutes

North East At Heart: Phonetic Digital’s Commitment To Community

The sense of community has always been a cornerstone of the North East. Phonetic Digital recognises this, actively supporting their local community working alongside over thirty businesses across the region. Whether it’s collaborating with other organisations or getting involved in North East events, they are committed to championing the region we all call home. What […]

Jess Davey

Digital Marketing Executive

Certified B corp Logo - White
Living Wage Employer Logo - Phonetic Digital
Phonetic Digital Google Partner Logo
Disability Confident Committed Employer Logo - Phonetic Digital
Cyber Essentials Certified Logo - Phonetic Digital
Fair Payment Code Gold - Phonetic Digital

Are you ready for change?

Honestly Approachable

Let us be the architects of your digital transformation. Discover the Phonetic Difference. Shy bairns get nowt…