Growing the Common Room’s website

2021 feels like a time of restoration and renewal after the disruption of the previous year. The world is once again righting itself and previous plans are being remade in new and creative ways.

A great example of this is The Common Room of The Great North, a heritage and learning centre which was due to re-open in 2020. But, like many things last year, the pandemic ensured that this was delayed. However, we’re delighted to announce that The Common Room has opened its doors. Moreover we have supported their opening plans by launching some exciting new developments to their website.

What’s on

To support the Common Room’s events programme, we’ve put in place a ‘What’s On’ section. Using our existing modular content approach, this section promotes current and future events. These are handled using the Events Calendar plugin, which provides a clear and well-defined experience for users. The Common Room are using What’s On to advertise their Opening Festival, a celebration of their grand re-opening.

5|Quarter – cafe bar

The Common Room’s building provides the stunning backdrop for their new cafe bar, 5|Quarter. A stylish addition to Newcastle’s bustling nighttime scene, the bar serves cocktails, artisan beers and a menu of locally sourced foods. Using a specially designed brand identity, this section provides a sumptuous introduction to the offer. Employing a strong visual approach, the 5|Quarter page enables users to explore menus and general opening information.

Online shop

Common Room’s commercial aspirations are rounded off by a retail offer that enables them to sell a range of engineering themed books and gifts. Using a Shopify integration, the shop provides an elegant and intuitive shopping experience.

Future developments

It’s exciting to see the Common Room flourish both digitally and physically. These developments add a further dimension to their online offer and enable them to engage with new and wider audiences.

In tandem we’ve also been busy developing an integration between the site and Nymbol, our bespoke CMS developed specifically for the Galleries, Libraries, Museums and Archives sector. For the first time The Common Room will be able to share their world-famous archive collection online. This phase of the project is in its final stages and we look forward to launching it soon.

Take a look at the website here.

If you are interested in finding out how we can help your organisation then do get in touch.