Company History
Forward Multimedia: A premier website design company in Trinidad & Tobago
The www.forwardmultimedia.com domain was registered in March 2010, and started out as a New York based website business with a project portfolio of one (1), and a free one at that, done as a favor. It was built in the year before in 2009. using Adobe Dreamweaver, the go-to website design software at the time, and when sites were static pages, similar to how one can view a PDF online.
Also at that time, even in modern New York City, companies had to be convinced that they needed a website, as it was now catching on and not viewed as the critical tool it is today; it was just a neat thing to have and business owners paid little mind to it. This meant that the phone wasn’t ringing off the hook or inbox flooding with email— no, website business had to be sought the old fashioned way— pounding the pavement with flyers in hand.
The start of web design in T&T
The company started in 2011 in a market already dominated by larger and more experienced web design firms. A quick Google search at the time would not see any appearance of ‘www.forwardmultimedia.com’ in the first ten pages. In a hint of irony, this website company had to advertise in the newspaper. A tiny classified ad under Website Services in the Trinidad Express newspaper marked the beginning of this local journey.
In a hint of irony, this website company had to advertise in the newspaper.
With no portfolio to lean on, it was strange that the first few clients never asked to see past work. There was also no general pricing guidelines as other web designers never advertised their prices, so the initial pricing structure was somewhat arbitrarily set at $1,799 TTD with no packages to choose from.
Mission to conquer search
Realizing that no website company worth it’s salt should have to advertise in the newspaper, Forward Multimedia began a mission to improve its search ranking while simultaneously building its client base and portfolio. It was also for that reason, that services for online marketing and SEO (search engine optimization) were not offered until it was proven it could be done first on the company’s own website.
Unbeknownst to early clients, the company was actually still learning WordPress (the content management system websites are built upon) and the website business in general. But that didn’t disadvantage them in any way as the website market was now beginning to develop.
By the end of the first year Forward Multimedia was on the first page of Google next to established local web companies around for more than ten years, and has since remained consistently at the top, often at the number one spot, and also owning many other major industry keywords.
By the end of the first year Forward Multimedia was on the first page of Google next to established local web companies around for more than ten years
After a consistent appearance on the first page of Google was maintained, newspaper advertising ceased completely and the company chose to rely exclusively on search to gain new business with absolutely no paid advertising, which is still the case today.
Blog articles boosts SEO, becomes popular
The deliberate use of articles via blog posts to boost SEO also caught the attention of First Atlantic Commerce (FAC), the Bermuda based provider of our TT Dollar payment gateway, because E-Commerce was a frequent topic. FAC offered the opportunity of a strategic partnership which Forward Multimedia gladly accepted. This marked the beginning of a concerted E-Commerce push in Trinidad & Tobago as all the major obstacles for local online shopping had been overcome.
The same articles also caught the attention of the Trinidad Guardian newspaper in 2013 for a piece about local E-Commerce in their business section and asked for Founder Zaf Rahaman’s insights which were used in the article. See article here.
National Recognition for E-Commerce Expertise
In 2018 Mr. Rahaman was an invited panelist in the annual Trinidad and Tobago Internet Governance Forum. Also in 2018 he was an invited speaker for the launch of the Virtual Caribbean DNS Entrepreneurship Center (VDECC) an initiative of ICANN- the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the international body that that coordinates the Domain Name System (DNS) worldwide.
Mr. Rahaman was also a consultant for the Ministry of Trade & Industry’s National E-Commerce Policy which was passed in December 2018 and many recommendations made it to the final policy.
Forward Multimedia keeps moving forward!
Today, Forward Multimedia is a known authority on the workings of local E-Commerce having established and solidified networks with key players and developers and has a solid, growing portfolio of projects. The company is committed to being instrumental in the development of online shopping in Trinidad & Tobago, and continues to be on every shortlist of possible web designers for companies and individuals looking for a business website or online store.
The final choice is still theirs but the work and website of Forward Multimedia is unmatched by any other web design company in Trinidad & Tobago. ♦♦♦
Key Milestones
Learning that blogs help improve search rankings, focus began on writing quality blog articles mainly about web design. From no place in the first ten pages of Google the year before, the company started to rise in rankings, appearing on the first page for the first time in 2012. Meanwhile portfolio continued to grow.
Freshly minted, brand new company with no portfolio, Forward Multimedia launches in Trinidad & Tobago, advertising via a small classified ad in the Trinidad Express under Website Services.