How Visit Dallas Built a Hyper-Local Website Experience for a Global City
By combining a flexible multisite platform, thoughtful content strategy, and neighborhood-first storytelling, Visit Dallas created a modern digital experience that helps visitors and locals alike understand where to go, what to explore, and why Dallas stands out.
2.8M
Organic Visits to VisitDallas.com
15%
YOY Organic Traffic Increase
5
Domains Managed in One CMS
A Big Destination With Many Stories to Tell
For Visit Dallas, the challenge was not a lack of things to do. It was helping visitors, meeting professionals, and locals quickly understand where to go and why each part of Dallas matters to them.
Users often arrived without clear awareness of Dallas’ neighborhoods or how they differ, while locals regularly used the site to host friends and family in the places they already know and love. At the same time, the organization needed a consistent experience across desktop and mobile, a polished and sophisticated interface, and thoughtful content treatment for partners that extend beyond city limits. Sports tourism added another layer of complexity, supported by iconic venues connected to the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas’ role as a finalist host city for the FIFA World Cup.
Behind the scenes, Visit Dallas also supported several affiliated organizations, each with its own audience and goals, while working toward stronger brand alignment and operational efficiency.
One Platform, Many Voices, One Clear Experience
Tempest partnered with Visit Dallas to launch a new website in 2023, followed by a refined brand and experience update in 2024. Together, we focused on creating a confident, modern digital foundation designed to evolve with the destination.
A multisite CMS architecture — powered by Craft CMS — became central to the solution. One platform now powers Visit Dallas as well as Dallas TPID, the Dallas Film Commission, and the Dallas Sports Commission. Each site maintains its own domain and audience focus while sharing technology, brand systems, and streamlined content workflows.
Visit Dallas’ website content functioned as a complex ecosystem built over time, requiring a nuanced, data-driven approach heading into a new website launch. Tempest conducted a comprehensive audit across more than 150 core pages and over 700 blog posts, analyzing performance, search behavior, and user intent to bring clarity to how content worked together. Overlapping topics were consolidated to reduce internal competition, while content gaps around major events, attractions, and experiences were identified to strengthen Visit Dallas’ authority across search and broader digital channels.
Design and UX decisions emphasized mobile-first responsiveness, consistent content treatment, and elevated visual presentation. Neighborhood storytelling and hyper-local discovery were woven throughout the experience, reflecting how visitors explore Dallas and how locals connect to the places they know and love.
Measurable Growth, Built for What’s Next
In the first year following launch, VisitDallas.com welcomed more than 6.1 million site visits, an 18% year-over-year increase. Organic search drove more than 2.8 million sessions, accounting for 46% of total website traffic and representing a 15% year-over-year gain. Engagement also improved significantly, with a 74% organic engagement rate, up 12% year over year.
Beyond performance gains, Visit Dallas now benefits from a future-ready website ecosystem that supports multiple brands, clarifies neighborhood-driven exploration, and serves visitors, locals, meeting planners, and sports audiences alike. The platform is built to support major events, evolving content needs, and long-term destination storytelling.
Explore Our Solutions
At Tempest, we define growth as a broad, data-driven approach focused on ensuring visitors connect with your destination at every stage of the travel planning process.
The Tempest web development team are digital craftspeople building destination websites that set the benchmark for the industry.
