Web design in Histon and Impington

From orchards to jam to the busway

The modern character of Histon was shaped by one family business. The Chivers family were fruit growers in Histon, and in 1873 they began making jam in a barn on their estate. Around 1875 they built a dedicated factory, the Victoria Works, beside Histon railway station, and the range grew to include jellies, marmalade and other preserves. The business was sold in 1959-60, and the factory has changed hands since; in 2012 the Histon site was sold along with the Hartley's brand to Hain Celestial. Food manufacturing is still part of the village's economy today.

The railway that served the factory closed to passengers long ago, but its route now carries the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, which opened in 2011. The old station building was saved during busway construction and the guided buses run in front of it, as trains once did. The busway links the villages directly to Cambridge, including the Science Park and Cambridge North, in one direction and to St Ives and Huntingdon in the other.

What the villages' economy looks like now

Histon and Impington today have three overlapping business communities:

• The village centre: independent cafés, food shops, hairdressers, pubs and personal services around the village green and the main streets, serving a large population of residents.
• Food and light industry: the long tradition of food production, plus small workshops and units.
• Knowledge workers: consultants, contractors, software developers, designers and scientists who live here because the busway puts the north Cambridge science and tech cluster a few minutes away.

How customers here search

Village businesses here compete with Cambridge city centre, the shops at Cambridge North and nearby retail parks. Residents search for convenience: "coffee Histon", "hairdresser Impington", "vet near Histon", often on a phone and often wanting to know if somewhere is open right now. Correct opening hours, a clear map and a menu or price list that loads quickly decide a lot of these visits.

The specialist firms are different. A regulatory consultant or a freelance software team based in Histon is rarely found by a search containing "Histon". Clients look for expertise, then check credibility. For these businesses the website needs strong service pages, clear explanations of what they do and for whom, and evidence of experience written honestly.

Small tech and science firms

Many small companies and sole traders in the villages work for clients on the Science Park, at Cambridge North and across the wider cluster. Their websites often lag behind their expertise: a single page set up years ago, or a LinkedIn profile doing all the work. A compact, well-written site with a few strong service pages makes it much easier for a potential client to say yes after a referral. It also gives you somewhere to point people when you speak at events or publish work.

Community organisations

The villages have an active community life, with sports clubs, societies, churches and village groups. These organisations need websites that volunteers can update without training courses, that list events clearly and that are accessible to older residents. We build those to be low-maintenance and cheap to run, often as a static site that needs no software updates.

Working with us from Histon and Impington

The villages are next door to Cambridge, so meeting in person is easy. We plan each site around who actually uses your business, whether that is people walking past the green or a procurement manager on the Science Park, and set up local search where it will help.

Working with us from Histon and Impington

Most of our work with businesses outside the city runs over video calls and email, with meetings in person when they are useful. Your website is planned around your customers in Histon and Impington and the surrounding area, not around a template used for every town.