Farewell to All Malta Online

After 15 years of proudly providing information about Maltese businesses and helping them establish a strong online presence, we have officially decided to retire All Malta Online.

When we launched All Malta Online in 2009, websites were still very expensive and out of reach for small businesses. We initially considered creating a directory site like Yellow Pages but realized that wouldn’t sufficiently cover the needs of these small enterprises. Instead, we chose to create a hybrid between a directory, a magazine, and a collection of single-page websites. This approach allowed us to offer direct-to-page domains, email services, forms, small e-commerce modules, and other features that were innovative at the time.

Over the years, the website evolved steadily. We focused on micro-optimizations rather than large-scale changes, consistently adding new features such as image galleries, special offers modules, and e-commerce add-ons. Our customer base grew aggressively from a handful to thousands, with a remarkable average retention rate of 78% year on year.

The proudest moments of All Malta Online were rooted in our team and our clients. Many of our team members had no previous experience in the industry; some joined us in their first job, while others were in their late fifties. Watching them grow, with some now serving as CMOs, CTOs, and business owners, fills me with immense pride. I’m also proud of our clients, many of whom started small and have since grown substantially, continuing to serve their communities. We feel privileged to have been part of their journey. While we never chased industry awards, focusing instead on the work and our customers, we were recognized for many years as Malta’s Largest Business Magazine.

All Malta Online was not industry-specific, and the most significant impact on me was seeing how interconnected businesses are. No business, no matter how small, is an island. The success of one can uplift others, as we saw with competing woodworkers raising the bar for custom woodwork or restaurants turning a street into a culinary destination. The whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts.

While I am sad to see All Malta Online come to an end, the landscape has changed. When we began, even Facebook Pages and Google Business Listings were either unavailable or complicated to set up. Today, websites are easy to build and maintain with many one-click, five-step solutions. All Malta Online has served its purpose, and I am incredibly excited to focus my passion on GTK, a site intended to help people get to know one another through the assistance of our ever-curious interviewers and biographers.

To the millions of visitors and thousands of businesses we have had the pleasure of serving, we thank you for being part of our journey. While our initial focus with GTK is U.S.-based, we plan to expand into the European market in 2025 and look forward to reconnecting with you at that time.

There is a time and a place for everything with purpose. I look forward to our new purpose and the new journey ahead.

Charles J. DeGuara