A Suffolk-based website development company is celebrating being in business as long as Google. 

Infotex, based in Melton, near Woodbridge, was established in 1998 and is now marking its 25th anniversary.

The company, which started life building website packages for under £500 and helped more than 1,000 micro businesses establish themselves online when the internet was in its infancy, now creates high-end websites for a range of clients.

Among its many early innovations was “Mozcart”, created by Infotex’s longest-serving employee John “Moz” Harman. 

“Mozcart” is an early invention of a content management system with e-commerce, still used by a handful of Infotex’s clients today. 

Infotex’s managing director Ant Agar joined the team in 2008 after his own business, Shelton Internet, bought the company, officially merging the two in 2012. 

East Anglian Daily Times: Melton-based Infotex celebrates 25 years in business, Infotex Melton-based Infotex celebrates 25 years in business, Infotex (Image: Infotex)

Mr Agar said that he has always been excited by computers in the workplace. 

He added: “The internet caught my imagination as it exploded onto the world stage in the 90s, and like so many others, I could not resist being involved in it somehow.

"I especially liked database systems; hence I was attracted to working with developers who had the skills to make these work online. 

“These days, most businesses have an online presence of some description, but it was the feverish level of investment and activity in the first decade, culminating in the arrival of broadband, then wireless, then the smartphone, that drove the Internet to become a space available to all.  

“When we first started out, there were a couple of million websites, and Google was just getting started. Today, there are 200 million or so active websites, out of more than a billion in existence. It is all too easy to get lost, and we have certainly had our share of uncertainties over the years.” 

Mr Agar said that creative satisfaction is the key that has driven the Infotex team more than commercial ambition.

To cement the future of the company after the pandemic, Infotex was acquired in part by Suffolk-based CSF Ventures.