Having moved into the heart of Swindon’s Old Town in 2024, there are loads of exciting things happening at O’Brien Media 2025 and we still share the same passion that we did all those years ago having never lost that startup mentality!
O’Brien Media was founded back in 2006 by our Managing Director, Chris, to work around a disability that made working a normal 9 to 5 job difficult. Chris had dabbled in website design since 1997 while still at School, back when dial-up ruled in Purton, where Chris’ family lived at the time.
Our first customer enquiry, from a local owner of a Bed & Breakfast, quickly followed and Chris’ professional career as a web designer began.
O’Brien Media grew slowly for the first 12 years of its life, with three part-time team members joining in 2019 and a commitment being made to be a Living Wage Employer, paying above the minimum wage.
We then made a move into an office on Swindon’s Cheney Manor Industrial Estate came in July 2021 to create a working environment that could enable team members who couldn’t work from home as the business grew to join the team.
We became a Disability Confident Leader in mid-2021 ensuring that we would be able to commit to both team members and potential team members that disability wouldn’t be a barrier to working for the business.
We saw rapid growth throughout the second part of 2021 and added additional full-time team members came on board fueling additional growth and resulting in additional team members coming on board with a mix of skills, bringing Chris’ desire to provide not only a fantastic service to our customers but also to provide an inclusive working environment for the team.
In February 2024 O’Brien Media became part of Pembroke Digital Limited and began also focusing on Wiltshire website design services and website support.
As of 2025, we are a core team of two based in the newly renovated and modernised Marlborough House on the High Street in Swindon’s Old Town and champion inclusive approaches to working to anyone who will listen.
We have several previous team members who, while now working for big brands, join and consult on projects on a freelance basis.
So, enough about us, tell us about you and your project! Get in touch online or give us a call on 01793 239239.
CyberSmart confirmed that we are fully Cyber Essentials compliant and rewarded certification for 2026.
We officially launched our Give £50, Get £50, referral programme.
Shirley Ludford, DL, from Swindon 105.5 radio, officially opened our Marlborough House office with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
We still have the same passion for excellence and creative drive that we did 18 years ago on day one of O’Brien Media, back when it was Christian O’Brien Public Relations.
November brought the successful renewal of our Disability Confident Leader status through to 2027.
CyberSmart confirmed that we are fully Cyber Essentials compliant and rewarded certification for 2025.
September 2024 saw us made the move into newly refurbished and modernised offices on the High Street in Swindon’s Old Town to help our team feel more in control of our workspace.
February 2024 saw us re-embracing our web design roots, returning to use O’Brien Media Website Design across social media channels.
In February 2024 O’Brien Media became a Pembroke Digital Limited brand. All services provided by O’Brien Media transferred to Pembroke Digital who will continue to operate the O’Brien Media brand.
CyberSmart confirmed that we are fully Cyber Essentials compliant and rewarded certification for 2024.
O’Brien Media Winners in the SME News IT Awards, picking up Best Website Design & Support Company – Wiltshire
O’Brien Media has now been trading for 16 years – through highs and lows we’ve proved we’re here to stay!
The Digital Trading division of Oxford Power was acquired and integrated in the O’Brien Media business and some technology assets were acquired as part of an asset sale by Oxford Power Limited.
November 2022 saw O’Brien Media acquire the website design and website support clients of Swindon-based Manor Solutions following their new owner placing the business into Administration.
Renewed Cyber Essentials certification through CyberSmart
O’Brien Media Among Winners of the 2022 SME News IT Awards, picking up Web Design Agency of the Year in Wiltshire
CyberSmart confirmed that we are fully Cyber Essentials compliant and rewarded certification for a further year.
We’ve won Best Mobile Friendly Web Design Firm (Wiltshire) at the 2019 Southern Enterprise Awards
We picked up Creative Design Agency of the Year 2019 & Award for Excellence in Web Design Services 2019 – (SW England)
We were awarded “Most Innovative Creative Design Agency – Southwest England” by LUX!
O’Brien Media acquires the assets of Workwise Portal Ltd, the enlarged business becomes O’Brien Media Limited
O’Brien Media acquires the assets of London based SEO specialists Bright Web Solutions.
O’Brien Media is created following the success of the web design division of Christian O’Brien Public Relations
The Internet Archive Wayback Machine Link Fixer is a WordPress plugin designed to tackle that problem head-on. It works quietly in the background to combat “link rot” – the gradual decay of links as pages are moved, changed, or taken down – while also building a long-term archive of your content in the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.
If your website runs on WordPress, upgrading to version 6.9 should definitely be on your to-do list – but, just like upgrading your computer from Windows 10 to Windows 11, it’s something you’ll want to plan and check carefully first.
If you visit the O’Brien Media office, you’ll usually find at least one Polaroid camera lurking on a shelf or desk – and a little stack of instant prints tucked somewhere nearby.
Almost every website you visit these days throws a cookie pop‑up in your face before you can even start browsing. They’re everywhere – and most of us just click “Accept” to get on with it. But that might be about to change.
At the start of 2025, we published a blog post looking at how much a web designer should cost. Now, as we prepare for a new year (and new possibilities), we’re revisiting that discussion with an eye on what’s next.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are fast approaching – and while they started as American shopping events, they’ve become major milestones in the UK retail calendar too. For small businesses, especially online retailers, this is a prime opportunity to boost sales and grow your customer base.
