Tallahatchie Flats: A Delta Blues Legend Gets a Website That Works
Website redesign, domain recovery, and staff-friendly rebuild on Squarespace
At a Glance
Client: Tallahatchie Flats / Three Forks LLC
Industry: Hospitality — Vacation Rentals
Location: Greenwood, Mississippi
Platform: Squarespace (Core Plan)
Services: Website redesign, domain recovery, content strategy, booking engine integration, SEO, staff training
Timeline: ~6 weeks from contract to launch
The Client
Tallahatchie Flats is a collection of seven authentic 1940s tenant houses on the banks of the Tallahatchie River in Greenwood, Mississippi. The property sits on a working Delta cotton plantation just three miles north of town—less than a mile from Robert Johnson's grave at Little Zion Church.
It isn't a chain motel. It's a living museum and a working motor court, preserved by three partners: music historian and Grammy-winning producer Steve LaVere, and Billy and Aubrey Whittington, on whose land the flats now sit.
The property had been featured in The Help and Women of the Movement, drawn musicians from around the world, and inspired songs by artists from Mississippi to Germany.
But you'd never know it from the website.
The Challenge
When I first reviewed the old Tallahatchie Flats website, it was clear it had been neglected for years. Here's what I found:
Broken functionality. The gallery still required Adobe Flash—a technology browsers stopped supporting in 2020.
Outdated content. The copyright notice read ©2018. The entertainment page was empty. Reservation information had incomplete sentences and missing phone numbers.
No mobile experience. The site wasn't responsive. On a phone—where most travelers search—it was nearly unusable.
A content bottleneck. The original site was built in the early 2000s by Steve LaVere's stepson on a desktop computer that no longer existed. No one on staff could update a single word without hiring a developer.
Domain access issues. The domain was registered through a provider that had since been acquired and rebranded. The original account holder had passed away. Billy was paying the renewal by automatic draft with no way to log in.
Billy's goal was simple: he wanted a website his staff could update themselves. He also wanted more bookings.
The Approach
1. Recovering the Domain
Before any design work could begin, we needed access to the domain. The account was originally set up under a name no longer with us, using an email address no one could reach. After several failed attempts to contact the original provider, I worked with the family to trace the account to Network Solutions—where Steve's son was still connected to the account and able to grant access.
With the domain secured, I updated the contact information, payment method, and account credentials so Billy and his team would never be locked out again.
2. Building on Squarespace
I recommended Squarespace's Core Plan—the sweet spot for a hospitality business. It offered everything Tallahatchie Flats needed:
Unlimited staff contributors, so Billy, Kim, and Wanda could each have their own login
Advanced code blocks
Zero transaction fees if they ever sold gift certificates
Free professional email through Google Workspace
Built-in SEO tools and analytics
3. Coordinating the Booking Pages
Tallahatchie Flats had been using AvailabilityOnline for years, and it was working well for them. I saw no reason to change that. What needed to change was how the booking pages looked.
I worked directly with Julie Niles at AvailabilityOnline to bring the booking experience in line with the new site design. Julie was fantastic to work with. She updated the booking pages and the individual cabin listings so that when a guest clicks "Check Availability" from the new website, the experience feels continuous: same colors, same photos, same tone.
4. Designing Around Real Content
Rather than building empty templates and migrating content later, I designed each page with the actual content in place: text, photos, and historical narratives. This eliminated a separate migration phase and caught missing content early.
5. Telling the Story
Tallahatchie Flats has stories most businesses would envy. My job was to get it out there.
The Our Story page honors Steve LaVere's vision, features South Bound documentary footage, and traces the origin of every single cabin—from Miss Aubrey's, saved from Billy's own farm, to Nellie's, donated in memory of a beloved family cook.
The Tavern page tells the story of a building that began as a plantation commissary on Senator Jim Eastland's Doddsville property, before it became a venue for weddings, reunions, and blues jams.
The Things to Do page connects guests to Robert Johnson's grave, Sylvester Hoover's civil rights tours, the Mississippi John Hurt Homecoming Festival, and the nature trail along the river.
The Events page keeps guests current on Bikes, Blues & Bayous, Que on the Yazoo, the Rhythm & Heritage Stroll, and the Viking Half Marathon.
6. Making It Easy to Maintain
The most important deliverable was the handoff.
I built a comprehensive training guide for Kim, the staff member who manages bookings and events. The guide walks through every task she'll handle regularly—editing text, uploading photos, adding events, updating SEO—with step-by-step instructions.
I also delivered a one-hour hands-on training session, during which Kim created a real event listing from start to finish.
The Result
The new Tallahatchie Flats website launched roughly five weeks after our kickoff meeting.
What the site now includes:
Seven individual flat pages, each with its own history, bed configuration, amenities, and gallery
A dedicated Tavern page with an event inquiry form
An events calendar staff can update in minutes
Embedded booking engine integration with AvailabilityOnline
SEO titles and meta descriptions optimized for every page
Custom social sharing images for each page
A custom 404 page that stays on-brand ("Looks Like You Took a Wrong Turn Down Money Road")
Spotify playlists for each flat, built around the music that inspired them
A cookie policy page and branded cookie banner
What the client gained:
A website they can update themselves—no developer required
A mobile-friendly experience for travelers who find them on their phones
A booking path that's clear, simple, and connected to their existing system
A digital home that finally matches the character of the place
Services Provided
Let's Talk About Your Project
Do you have a business that deserves a better website—one you can actually update yourself?
Whether you're running a hospitality property, a small business, or a nonprofit, I'd love to hear about what you're building.