Web design in Okehampton
Okehampton is the one town on this list where something genuinely changed recently. The rail link returned, and with it a different pattern of who lives here, who commutes, and where they spend.
Most local businesses have not adjusted their websites to reflect that, which leaves an opening for the ones that do.
- Agriculture
- Light industry
- Trades
- Tourism
- Logistics
Selling to Okehampton
Worth knowing hereThe restored rail connection has changed commuting patterns here, and businesses have generally not caught up with the change.
A commuter population buys at different times
Someone who travels to Exeter for work is not available at the times a traditional market-town business is set up for. They are looking at their phone in the evening, booking for a Saturday, and deciding before they get home.
That has practical consequences: online booking or an enquiry form matters more than it used to, opening hours need to be unambiguous, and anything that can only be arranged by ringing during the working day loses this customer entirely.
It is the single biggest change to the local market in years and almost nobody's website mentions it.
Still the gateway to the north moor
The A30 and the northern edge of Dartmoor define the rest of the trade. Agriculture and the businesses supporting it remain central, and those customers behave nothing like the commuters.
If you serve both, they want different things from the same site: one wants to book without speaking to anyone, the other wants to know you understand their kind of work and will come out to it.
Passing trade on a road nobody stops on
A great many people pass Okehampton every day without entering it. Capturing any of that traffic depends entirely on appearing in a search made from the road, and on making it obvious how long the detour takes.
Businesses that state the detour plainly convert far better than those that assume somebody will work it out.
Questions people here ask
- Has the railway really changed the local market?
- It has changed who lives here and when they are available, which changes how people buy. Whether it has changed your trade depends on whether you sell to residents or to farms, and it is worth deciding which.
- Do I need online booking?
- If you want the commuter customer, something that works outside office hours matters. That can be a simple enquiry form; it does not have to be a booking system you then have to maintain.
- Is it worth targeting traffic from the A30?
- For food, fuel, retail and anything convenience-led, yes. The deciding factor is whether your site makes the detour sound short and certain.
Sites we have built
Live, working businesses. Visit them and judge the standard yourself.
Also across the South West
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