A new website to help promote Bury St Edmunds businesses has more than 1,200 firms listed and more than 3,000 photographs.

East Anglian Daily Times: James Sheen, the founder of the We Love Bury St Edmunds Facebook group Picture: ANDY ABBOTTJames Sheen, the founder of the We Love Bury St Edmunds Facebook group Picture: ANDY ABBOTT (Image: Archant)

The directory called eXplore Bury St Edmunds, which is also available on a free app, has been created by James Sheen, founder of the We Love Bury St Edmunds Facebook group.

Mr Sheen said the website had been designed to be all-inclusive for the town and west Suffolk, and to enable businesses to promote themselves, their deals, events, jobs, menus, and more.

Categories include arts and entertainment, beauty and spa, food and restaurants, hotels, shopping and market traders.

Mr Sheen said: “Our focus is on the businesses which make the town buzz and who people see when they come to town, but the directory really does aim to include all businesses - even accountants and solicitors!

“The businesses are able to claim their listings and update it themselves, applying the premise that the ‘hive mind’ is stronger than the single one.

“Of course, this is the 21st century so it is not just a fully responsive website; it is also available as a free app on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. We can even send out the occasional notification to highlight important information as well.”

The photos are from the 21,600-strong We Love Bury St Edmunds Facebook group and villages from the district.

To explore the website see here.

There is also a YouTube video about the website.