Protected: Elizabeth City Tourism Website

Evok was selected to redevelop VisitElizabethCity.com, transforming an outdated, content-heavy tourism website into a modern, visitor-focused destination platform. Built originally in 2017, the existing site suffered from poor navigation, excessive content, and limited flexibility for staff updates — challenges common among mid-sized coastal destinations competing against larger, better-funded markets.

Our role was to reposition Elizabeth City as a true destination, simplify the planning experience, and deliver a scalable, accessible website that could support long-term tourism growth, partner participation, and evolving marketing goals. This engagement closely parallels the objectives of Palm Coast and the Flagler Beaches: creating a clean, high-performing destination website that balances inspiration, usability, and operational practicality.

Engagement, Events & Community Integration
Community participation and content freshness were central to the platform strategy. Evok implemented tools that allow the destination team to keep the site current while maintaining editorial control.
Key engagement features included:

• Events calendar integration with flexible display options
• Gravity Forms for visitor inquiries and submissions, integrated with Mailchimp for email marketing
• Social content integration using Smash Balloon and CrowdRiff to surface authentic, user-generated content
• Retention of important real-time tools such as the Harbor Cam, supporting both visitors and local boating activity

These features ensure the site remains active, relevant, and community-connected — supporting repeat visitation and ongoing engagement.

Technical Foundation, Accessibility & Performance
The Visit Elizabeth City website was built on a secure, scalable technical foundation designed to meet modern tourism website standards while remaining easy for internal staff to manage.
Technical highlights include:

• Custom WordPress development with a flexible, editor-friendly CMS
• WCAG 2.1 Level AA–compliant design and accessibility tooling
• ADA-compliant templates and plugin functionality to support inclusive access
• Optimized performance through clean code, responsive images, and efficient page structures
• Hosting managed by evok to ensure reliability, security, and ongoing support

This approach ensures the site meets current accessibility and performance expectations while remaining adaptable as tourism priorities evolve.