November 2025: What We’ve Been Up To

Wayne

Looking forward to 2026

End-of-Year Appraisals

The end of another year is upon us. I really like this time of year because Christmas raises spirits as we trundle our way through the cold weather and short days. It’s a time where I reflect on what we’ve achieved so far and look forward to what’s to come in the new year. A big part of that are the end-of-year appraisals and I’ve been looking forward to sharing information with the team about the 2026 roadmap we signed off last month.

Appraisals are a chance to review our progress and set new objectives to ensure we remain committed to personal development. This also brings plenty of one‑to‑one time and the opportunity to explain to each person where they fit into next year’s plans. I’m genuinely excited by how the team has been working together recently and I’ve found myself increasingly stepping back from the day-to-day as they drive projects forward.

Our 2026 roadmap is ambitious without being unrealistic. It’s totally achievable if we all do our bit, and I’m looking forward to getting it moving. The goal is to see growth across all areas of the business, supported by a team that is continually progressing and moving forward together.

We have an office move to look forward to as we aim to go from east Leeds into Leeds city centre in the second half of the year, and I’m sure it won’t be long before we’re discussing different ideas to put our own stamp on it.

Remembrance Sunday

Outside the office, we paid our respects on Remembrance Sunday, then took a steady walk around the village before some excellent food. A straightforward day, but a meaningful one, and a reminder that slowing down occasionally is no bad thing.

The Christmas Tree (Yes, Already)

As soon as Remembrance Sunday has passed, the Christmas season officially begins in our house. The tree is up. Earlier than some would approve of, but who cares what they think. It’s our house, and if we want to watch Home Alone in November, we will!

We also visited the Sandringham Christmas Fair which had plenty going on: great bands, plenty of street food to choose from, local traders selling some really unique gifts, and enough stalls to make you consider a second mortgage. It was nice to visit a Christmas market which was more spaced out and focused on local traders.

A Soul & Motown Finish

We ended the month in Norfolk at a Soul and Motown weekend. A well‑organised event with different rooms and music styles, including a ten‑piece brass band playing Motown classics. Plenty of drinks, plenty of dancing, and a welcome change of pace before the run‑up to Christmas properly begins.

Fast approaching is the Twilo Christmas do which is always a great night out, as well as a few other pre-Christmas traditions with friends before we finish on 23^rd December for twelve days of Christmas.

Andrew

New integrations and home improvements

During November, I got to work on some exciting projects. One of which required integrating our custom e-commerce plugin for WordPress with third-party shipping software. In between working on this, I also worked on upgrading our server software and started with our next project that will involve producing a mobile application. I’ve not done much during my free time this month, but I have had some time to go shopping for new curtains and to catch up with some friends whilst making a visit to the cinema.

E-commerce APIs

We originally decided to build our own e-commerce platform within WordPress so that we could have full control over its features. This gives us the power to make it look and behave exactly how we want it. It ensures that the performance and security match our standards and that we can add custom functionality to it as required. I worked on an API this month that bridges our e-commerce platform to third-party shipping software. We built this connection so the client could continue with the workflow they are used to whilst also working with a brand new shop. I always enjoy working with APIs such as this as it unlocks a lot of potential for great features. I’m also really excited to get this project live.

New Curtains and Making Trips To The Cinema

My parents decided to treat me to some new curtains recently to replace the old fraying ones we currently have in the living room. We shopped around in both Wakefield and Leeds to find the right ones. These will be hung up very soon and it will be great to have a fresh change to the room.

Other than the slight decoration upgrade, I have some time to catch up with a couple of friends to go to the cinema followed by drinks afterwards. It was a chill evening and it’s always good to get some time away from the house.

Matt

Comedy, cinema, concerts

Positive Results & Feedback

November at Twilo has been another great month and a month where results for clients have been very positive.

In our monthly meetings with clients, we were proudly able to share with clients how the results of their Marketing campaigns were performing and how we’ve seen these accounts grow over the past few months.

This positive news garnered positive feedback, and it gives us such a buzz to hear back from our clients that we’ve been doing an excellent job in helping them hit their goals.

A Night At The Comedy Store

Early in November, my sister and I headed to the lovely Kings Hall in Ilkley to watch a night of comedy hosted by the Comedy Store.

Every act gave us many laughs, and it was really cool to see different types of comedy throughout the night. I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a different type of Saturday night entertainment.

LIFF 2025

This month saw the last few weeks of the Leeds International Film Festival with loads of new and old films being played across the city at many locations. I was lucky enough to grab tickets to see the 1953, Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck starring, classic ‘Roman Holiday’ as well as the premiere of ‘100 Nights of Hero’.

Each film that you see, you receive a little card where you mark each film from one to five stars, which made you feel a part of the festival instead of your average cinema-going experience.

I’m already looking forward to next year’s LIFF and hopefully I’ll be able to get to more films, new and old.

Praise The Lorde

I headed over to Manchester to watch Kiwi star, Lorde on her new tour. It’s the second time I’ve seen her this year after her surprise set appearance at Glastonbury, and it was just as incredible as the first time.

As a big fan of hers it was such a thrill to see her for a second time and in a concert setting this time. Also, hearing hits like ‘Royals’, ‘Team’ and ‘Supercut’ for the first time was special. The encore of ‘Ribs’ had the full crowd jumping and was performed within the crowd, so it was the perfect way to end the night.

Looking Ahead

As November draws to a close, on Sunday 30^th I will be participating in the Leeds 10k Abbey Dash. I can’t wait to do it and I’m aiming to better or equal my time from last year of 45 minutes, so fingers crossed for a good run and time.

I’ve also come to the realisation that this year has flown by! There’s only one month left of 2025 and it’s the busiest time of the year. Let’s go!

Reece

Spooky season and family reunions

A Big Push Before Christmas

November has been a full-on month with a big push to get everything moving in the right direction. A lot of my time has been spent keeping projects maintained, improving bits that needed tightening up, and making sure the work already out there continues to run smoothly. It’s been one of those months where the to-do list keeps shifting, but progress has stayed steady throughout.

One of the biggest milestones this month was putting the new energy website live. After rebuilding it, it was satisfying seeing everything come together and finally go live. The aim was to keep things fast, clear, and straightforward, and early feedback has already shown the improvements. It’s always a good feeling seeing a project move from development into the real world.

Alongside this, I’ve been preparing for the next round of work. There are some larger builds in the pipeline, including a new website for us, and a lot of the focus over the past few weeks has been on laying the groundwork so everything is in a good place to push forward.

Halloween and A Wedding

Outside of work, the month was just as packed. The Halloween party my mates throw every year was brilliant again. They always go all-in, turning the place into a haunted house with full decoration, lighting, and themed rooms. It gets more intense every year, and it’s become a good tradition.

I also went to my auntie’s wedding, which was a great day from start to finish. It was good catching up with family I haven’t seen for a while, and the whole day had a lively, upbeat feeling. the atmosphere was strong, and it ended up being one of those events where the evening flowed from one moment to the next.

I’ve also been kind of training for the Abbey Dash, which takes place next Sunday. I’ve managed a few shorter runs during the week and the odd longer one at the weekend, so I’m calling it “training” even if it’s been a bit on-and-off. Either way, it’s been good having something to aim for, and I’m looking forward to giving it a proper go on the day.

Looking Ahead

December won’t be slowing down. I’ve got app work, several new website builds, and a good amount of planning to work through before the end of the year. One of the projects I’m looking forward to is a new app that should be really fun to work on. It’s still early days, but the idea behind it is something a bit different.

There’s plenty to get stuck into, and it’s shaping up to be a busy but productive month with a solid push of momentum heading into the new year.

Liam

Christmas already?!

November has flown by and before we know it it’s almost Christmas again. This month really has felt like a blink and you’ll miss it kind of thing. We’re almost there with the new Twilo site and the Christmas decs came down from the attic.

Twilo Site Finishing Touches

The development of the new Twilo site really started to come together this month and a good chunk of my time has been spent helping populate the new site with shiny new case studies and fresh content. Part of this work was to create a whole new icon set to accompany some impressive statistics provided by Wayne from our case studies. These stats were a key part of our new case studies pages as we really wanted to highlight a focus on performance with all the work we produce here. Everything we make needs to drive real change for our clients – we should be able to look back on the old website’s statistics and say our new site is head and shoulders above. A few stats that I found really impressive were:

– 320% increase in time spent on one of our client’s websites after a full redesign and rebuild
– £9.84 returned for every £1 spent on one of our clients pay-per-click campaigns
– 11% conversion rate on enquiries on one of our client’s websites

My First Mobile App

The back half of this month saw a really exciting new project kick off for a company who inspect fire doors. What makes this so exciting for me is that it’s my first opportunity to design an android mobile app. The company currently use a series of spreadsheets (and a lot of manual labour) to complete inspections on fire doors for companies of all sizes. Our new app aims to streamline this process by integrating all the spreadsheet information into a custom application. The contents of the app will be controlled by a central admin team through a bespoke web application that we’re also building to accompany the mobile app. The inspectors will then be able to head to a job and use the mobile app to quickly take and upload photos of the doors, fill out all the information on each door, generate automatic certificates and reports, and then submit all the information to the web app where admins can review and approve their reports.

The app will help eliminate a lot of issues the company are facing with their current process, and will automate a huge chunk of their process, ultimately saving them valuable time on every job they attend, and time spent fixing mistakes or errors they currently encounter.

Personal Highlights From November

My favourite part of this month was unboxing all of the Christmas decorations. We spent one Sunday getting all festive, visiting a few garden centres and making a mini ‘Christmas’ dinner. Our cat did her annual ritual of attacking the tree as I’m trying to assemble it, chasing baubles across the wooden floor, then shooting up to her favourite spot in the tree and chewing on the lights. (Photo taken immediately after telling her off for chewing tree lights).

Looking Ahead

I’ve really enjoyed working on the new mobile app and I’m really excited to see development on this get started to see it all come to life. I also head off to Lisbon at the end of November where it’s around 14 degrees so practically boiling compared to here.

Laura

Christmas content and home reshuffling

What I’ve Been Working On

This month has had a really creative feel to it. I’ve spent time behind the camera again, with some photography training that’s already proving useful across our content. It’s been great to sharpen those skills and bring more variety into the visuals we produce.

I’ve also been working on Christmas content for us and our clients. It’s always a fun time to add a bit of warmth and personality into the work.

Alongside that, I’ve continued digging into our social insights, looking at what’s resonating and using that to guide where we take our content next. Lots of refining and planning as we get ready for the new year.

Life Outside Twilo

At home, we’ve been tackling some room reshuffles and small renovations, which has meant plenty of trips to Home Sense and a lot of Pinterest scrolling.

We’ve also been in peak birthday party season — which unfortunately came with a round of household bugs too. So far we’ve had a cough, a cold, and a sickness bug make their way through the family. Wish us luck for the new year!!