Today marks a significant day in Tech Advisor’s history as we move our brand to a global .com domain. Welcome to our housewarming party!
On the surface, this change might seem so small as to be insignificant – just a few missing characters and an extra ‘m’ in your browser’s address bar. But, to us, the move means so much more.
Those of you who have been following Tech Advisor throughout its 25-year legacy will already know that back in summer 2017 we changed our name from PC Advisor to Tech Advisor. PC Advisor had a well-established reputation, for its monthly print magazine and several million-strong forum community (RIP), so it was regarded as something of a daring move at the time.
But these times are constantly changing, and never more so than in the consumer technology space. We recognised that demand for the traditional desktop PC was waning, while smartphones, tablets and laptops were fast becoming the new personal computer. We shifted our focus to match, prioritising our coverage of mobile devices, but continuing to deliver expert commentary on subjects as diverse as wearable technology, computing, smart home and appliances, entertainment and gaming, audio, accessories, security, software and services.
Today, as we move from .co.uk (a country-specific domain) to a global .com address, we recognise that our audience is also changing – changed, actually… I think someone forgot to send us the memo.
We hope you’ll have noticed all the improvements we’ve been making to the site over the past 18 months, taking onboard your feedback to reduce the number of adverts, speed up the site, enhance the overall user experience and write more about the things you care about. We’re putting you, the reader, first in everything we do. It’s a no-brainer, right?
The next step in this ongoing process is recognising that Tech Advisor no longer speaks solely to a UK audience. Our readers are from all around the globe, and moving to TechAdvisor.com should make it easier for us to reach you all.
The tech products we cover, and the buying advice, tips and tricks we offer, are not exclusive to those in the UK. You may have noticed that we’ve been adding US pricing to our reviews and group tests for a while, but we’re committed to doing a better job of catering to our readers in Australia, Canada, India, Europe and everywhere else – and not just in pricing, but also in the content itself.
This move comes during a period of great change within Tech Advisor’s parent company, IDG Communications. For the past 50 years, IDG has been operating independent businesses in some 97 countries, but in 2021 our consumer editorial team now works as one slick machine, with expert tech journalists in the UK, US, Australia, France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Sweden and beyond. We have never been better equipped to produce high-quality content for a truly global audience.
As such, Tech Advisor now joins its sister sites as one of IDG’s four premier global consumer technology brands. The other three are PCWorld, which remains 100% committed to the most versatile tech gadget in human history (the PC), Macworld, the essential source for passionate Apple users, and TechHive, our dedicated smart home and home entertainment brand.
I hope you’ll appreciate that the tech required to make all this possible is more complicated than a few tweaks in the address bar, and we are working as fast as we can to smooth out any little problems that might occur.
Please do feel free to drop me a line (or contact one of the team) if you spot anything awry – it will help us to work out any kinks much faster.
But, for now, welcome to TechAdvisor.com!
Author: Marie Black, Editorial Director
Marie is Editorial Director at Foundry. A Journalism graduate from the London College of Printing, she's worked in tech media for more than 17 years, managing our EMEA and LatAm editorial teams and leading on content strategy through Foundry's transition from print, to digital, to online - and beyond.