Web design in Durham
Durham is small enough that the difference between term-time and vacation is dramatic. The customers change, the volume changes and what they want changes with them.
Businesses that plan for both get considerably more from the same website than those written for one and left to cope with the other.
- Education and research
- Heritage tourism
- Hospitality
- Professional services
- Trades
Selling to Durham
Worth knowing hereTerm-time and vacation trade differ sharply in a city this size, and businesses that plan for both get far more from the same site.
Two economies in one calendar
In term time the city is full of students and university staff, buying quickly, on a budget and heavily by phone. In vacation it is visitors and residents, deciding differently and at a different pace.
Content aimed at students during a quiet August is wasted, and the reverse is worse. Planning what the site emphasises across the academic year costs nothing and changes results.
The dates are fixed years in advance, which makes this the most predictable seasonality any business could ask for.
Students arrive knowing nothing
Each autumn brings a fresh population with no local knowledge, which is an opportunity for whoever is easiest to find and clearest about price.
Being explicit about student pricing, locations and how to book captures trade at the moment habits are being formed.
Heritage tourism in a small city
The cathedral and castle bring visitors who need orientation and practical detail rather than atmosphere.
Questions people here ask
- How should the academic year be planned for?
- Decide in advance what the site emphasises in term and in vacation. The dates are fixed years ahead, so nothing needs improvising.
- Why target new students specifically?
- Because every autumn brings a population with no local knowledge and no habits yet. Being findable then sets the year.
- Does the visitor trade need its own content?
- Yes. Visitors want orientation and practicalities, which is quite different from what students or residents are looking for.
Sites we have built
Live, working businesses. Visit them and judge the standard yourself.
Tell me about your business.
One message is enough to start. I’ll read it and reply myself, usually with a couple of questions and a clear price.
Liam Tapp, Website Builds