“Where can I find out what’s on?”, “Where should we go for dinner?”, “Where’s the best place to stay?”, “Can I take my dog on the beach?”, “When is bin day and what can I recycle?” These are just a few of the common questions from both visitors and locals of Southwold, which posed just one more: Could there be somewhere that simply and beautifully provides all the answers? And so Visit Southwold was born. 

This initiative, pioneered by Southwold Town Council with encouragement and support from the town’s thriving business community, exists to promote everything this magical town has to offer, starting with a “best-in-class” website.

We began by creating a brand identity reflective of our colourful seaside town and then focused on designing and building the new website. Prioritising a mobile-first approach was essential for our on-the-go users, as was ensuring accessibility for all. To make navigation simple and intuitive, we divided the site into four sections, covering everything to see, do, and know, ensuring people could quickly find the information they needed with just one click.

One of the biggest challenges was gathering content efficiently and consistently from hundreds of stakeholders. By implementing carefully designed forms, businesses could easily upload their content and events for moderation before publication. This approach proved highly successful, with over 200 pieces of content uploaded before the site’s launch.

Since launching, website traffic has grown daily, more businesses are joining, and events are being added at an impressive rate. Southwold now has the website it deserves, and we are immensely proud to have brought this project to life for the magical place we call home.