There are two Tramores. The July one is the promenade, the amusements, the surf schools on the sand, the caravan parks full, the queue at the chipper and the racecourse week in August. The January one is a town of people who live here and drive to Waterford city for work, and who need the same things any town needs: a creche, a plumber, a hairdresser, a physio, somewhere decent for Sunday breakfast. Main Street climbs the hill between the two, with the seafront trade at the bottom and the year-round trade further up.
Website design in Tramore is about serving whichever of those towns you belong to, and a few businesses belong to both. We are Dublin based and we do not have an office in Tramore or anywhere else in Waterford. Businesses here work with us over a video call and WhatsApp, and the site is built from the photos and details they send. It is the same arrangement whether you are a chipper on the prom or an electrician in Riverstown.
The summer visitor searches from the car
Families coming to Tramore for the day or the week decide on the road or the night before: “Tramore chipper”, “Tramore surf lesson”, “cafe near Tramore beach”, “things to do Tramore rain”. They have no local knowledge and they trust Google Maps. The things that win are correct opening hours for a bank holiday Monday, photos of the real place, a price list, and for lessons and rentals a way to book a slot without ringing. The week the sun comes out is the week your hours and your booking page have to be right, because nobody has time to fix them then.
For B&Bs, guesthouses and holiday lets, the visitor who books direct through your own page is worth more than the one who books through a listing site that keeps a share. A plain page with real photos, the dates, and a card payment is what makes that possible. We have written a guide on how to take online bookings that covers the options.
The winter resident searches at seven in the evening
The commuter back from the city at six, discovering the heating is off, searches “plumber Tramore” at seven and rings the first one with a real page and a mobile number. The parent on the school run searches “creche Tramore” or “swimming lessons Tramore” from the car park. These searches happen all year and they are the steadier trade. They reward a site and a Google Business Profile that say Tramore clearly, with the X91 Eircode you share with the city, and that name the places around you: Dunmore East, Fenor, Annestown, Kilmeaden and the city itself.
Shared Eircode, separate town
Because Tramore and Waterford city share X91, a search made from Tramore can easily be shown a Waterford city business. The way to stay in the picture is to be specific. Say Tramore in the title of the page, in the address, in the structured data and in the sentences, and say which city areas you also cover if you cover them. A trade based in Tramore that also works the Dunmore Road and the east side of the city should say exactly that.
Seasonal businesses on Facebook alone
Tramore has surf schools, ice cream places, seasonal cafes, kayak rentals and food trucks that open a Facebook page in May and go quiet in October. That works for the regulars. It does nothing for the family in the car. A proper page can carry seasonal hours, a notice that you are closed for the winter and a date for reopening, and it keeps your Google listing honest in both seasons.
Plans
Essentials is €499 to set up and €50 a month, and suits most seasonal and one-person businesses. Complete at €1,499 and €100 a month is for a business that wants bookings, deposits and the Google work done monthly. Both are on the pricing page, and the chippers page shows what a seafront takeaway’s site looks like.