Website design, build & marketing – Glasgow’s Merchant Square
Merchant Square is one of Glasgow’s most iconic destinations for drinks, dining and entertainment. The former fruit market oozes character and sits at the heat of the city’s cultural quarter. It’s home to an eclectic mix of nine bars, restaurants and experiences, and its cobbled courtyard hosts popular events such as the Hogmanay Party, live sport and music, markets, and private events.
The challenge
Whitewall was engaged to execute a strategic marketing review, including a website and SEO audit for Merchant Square. We identified opportunities to bring their presence to life through a website refresh and a new CMS that would enable the Merchant Square team to keep their website up to date without the need for an external agency to make simple edits.
The new website had to be a showcase of the Square’s unique history, and its restaurants, bars and entertainment venues. The website’s layout had to be accessible and clean, with the look and feel reflecting Merchant Square’s iconic cultural status. And SEO had to be front of mind to allow visitors to find the website easily.
The solution
We worked in partnership with key stakeholders to agree on initial wireframes, design concepts and a look and feel that represented the Square’s unique surroundings. We also created a vibrant hero video to showcase everything Merchant Square has to offer, bringing movement and colour to the homepage and packing a punch when visitors land on the site.
The bespoke website was built with a back- and front-end editor via Squarespace, a CMS that’s cost effective and easy to use, giving the Merchant Square team control over their website. We integrated SEO into each page, researching what search terms brought visitors to the website, implementing SEO best practices, and identifying opportunities to help Merchant Square rank higher on search engines.
Throughout the project, we collaborated with internal stakeholders to bring their ideas and content to life. Through regular check-ins and project updates, we were able to incorporate feedback, ideas and inspiration from the Merchant Square team to achieve a website that’s fresh, vibrant and easy to use.
The results
The new Merchant Square website reflects the venue’s unique history with a splash of the contemporary, welcoming in a new digital presence for the Square. It also gives the client an easy-to-maintain platform that looks great and helps visitors get the information they need.
