Is Townbase a single product or a platform?

Townbase is a platform — a suite of products built on shared infrastructure. You can use a single component like a widget or API, or deploy a full white-label city guide. Most customers start with one product and expand over time.

Do I need a developer to get started?

Not necessarily. A full branded city guide can be up and running in around two days with no development work. If you want to build custom experiences using our API or embed widgets into an existing site, a developer will be useful — but the barrier is low.

Is this only for cities and municipalities?

No. Cities and municipalities are a core customer segment, but Townbase powers event discovery for media organisations, tourism boards, destination marketing organisations, regional portals, and businesses of all sizes. If your audience needs to find out what's happening locally, Townbase is built for you.

How is Townbase different from Eventbrite or Facebook Events?

Eventbrite and Facebook Events are tools for individual event organisers. Townbase is infrastructure for the organisations that aggregate, curate and publish local content at scale — cities, media houses, and platforms. We don't sell tickets and we don't compete with your existing ticketing provider. We make your entire local event ecosystem discoverable in one place, under your brand.

Can I use just the API, or do I have to take the full platform?

You can use just the API. Or just a widget. Or just a branded guide. Townbase is modular by design — you take what fits your use case and can add more as your needs grow.

Is Townbase GDPR-compliant and EU-hosted?

Yes. Townbase is built and operated in Northern Europe, data is stored within the EU, and the platform is designed to be GDPR-compliant by default. For public sector and municipal customers, this is a core requirement — not an afterthought.

How quickly can we get started?

A branded event guide can be live in approximately two days. Widget integrations can be done in under an hour. API access is available immediately upon request. There are no lengthy procurement cycles or heavy implementation projects.

Give your local and regional businesses one trusted homebase online

Launch a branded hub where local businesses find funding, training, events and direct support in one place, while your team cuts admin and strengthens economic recovery and support for local businesses

Start to build your local business hub

Three business professionals discussing on a laptop during a meeting in a modern office setting.

Local businesses feel disconnected and left behind

1
Support information lives in scattered emails, PDFs and web pages so business owners miss funding, training and recovery schemes.
2
Council teams repeat the same updates across lists, newsletters and ad‑hoc groups, wasting time and still not reaching everyone.
3
There is no single trusted, up‑to‑date hub so contact details drift, engagement drops and the local business community feels fragmented.

Connect businesses to funding and support in one hub

Run a your own branded business hub where every local enterprise finds support, funding and recovery updates in one place, under your council brand.

Put all business support in one place

Use a central directory, news feed and alerts so every business can find funding, grants and training updates without hunting through emails and PDFs.

Update everyone with one simple publish

Post funding calls, training and recovery news once, then reach every registered business through the hub, emails and notifications instead of repeating the same message everywhere.

Keep profiles current and community connected

Let businesses manage their own pages while you approve listings, share events and send messages, so details stay accurate and your business community feels active and supported.

Six practical ways to support local business growth

Six practical ways Townbase turns your council website into a living Local Business Hub that supports recovery, renewal and long term growth.

Central business hub directory

List every local business in one searchable place so owners, residents and partners finally know where to look.

Self-managed business profiles

Let businesses update their own pages so contact details, services and opening hours stay accurate without chasing.

Funding news and alerts

Post grants, loans and support schemes once then notify every subscribed business before deadlines hit.

Training and apprenticeship updates

Promote workshops, courses and apprenticeships so more local people gain skills and businesses fill key roles.

Business events calendar

Showcase meetups, clinics and networking sessions to bring your business community together more often.

Direct council to business channel

Send targeted messages, advice and crisis updates straight to verified local businesses from one central dashboard.

Testimonials

We selected Townbase to run 'Waverley for Business" website back in the 2018 and have found them to be a reliable and effective partner. The platform is quick to deploy and easy to maintain and offers great way to stay in touch with the business community across the borough council.
Anonymous
City Government Client
Waverley Borough Council

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Local Business Hub & Economic Growth portal with Townbase?

It is your own online space where every local business can find support, news and opportunities in one place. Townbase runs the platform in the background, but it sits on your domain with your branding, so it feels like part of your council website.

Who is the hub for?

It is for local businesses of all sizes, business groups, and your own economic development team. Owners can sign up, claim or create their page, and stay up to date with funding, training and events that matter to them.

What can local businesses actually do on the hub?

They can create and manage their own profile, share what they offer, add events, and subscribe to news and alerts. They get updates about grants, training, apprenticeships and council support without digging through long emails or PDFs. It also includes local business directory in which all local organisations get their own business pages free of charge and can update on their products and services.

How does this help your council or economic development team?

You use one place to share news, funding calls, training and events with every local enterprise. Instead of chasing scattered lists and sending the same update many times, you publish once and reach everyone who has joined the hub.

How is this better than a simple directory page or a social media group?

A static page soon goes out of date and a social group quickly gets noisy. With Townbase, businesses keep their own details current, you share structured updates, and people can filter by topic, sector or location so they see what applies to them. Local goverment can lend their brand and digital real estate to local organisations which helps to improve local businesses SEO and Agentic AI search performance and thus discoverability.

How do we get started with Townbase for our local business hub?

You talk to us about your area, branding and goals, then we set up your white‑label portal and help you invite your first businesses. From there, you publish your first news and events, and local enterprises sign up and build out the hub with you.

Build your local business hub

Offer businesses a single place for support, funding news and events so they never miss an opportunity and your economic recovery plans stay on track.

Launch your hub today - book a meeting with us