Project

The Historic Dockyard Chatham UX & Website Design

Project

The Historic Dockyard Chatham UX & Website Design

Client

The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Industry

Travel & Tourism

Services

Your voyage to discovery

Services

We’ve worked with Chatham Historic Dockyard, an important maritime heritage attraction in Kent, for a number of years. After the success of the previous website we’d designed and created, the business had evolved across a number of areas and it was time to refresh the user experience.

We were asked to redesign the website to enhance its online presence and visitor experience beyond ticket sales. The primary goals were to clearly communicate its status as an independent charity, showcase diverse services and attractions, and implement a modernised UI/UX design.

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The heartbeat

Highlighting independence

To emphasize the Dockyard’s status as an independent charity, the homepage now prominently features a dedicated section explaining its charitable mission, from preservation and ways to get involved in supporting the Dockyard, to community outreach and educational endeavours. This not only fosters transparency but also encourages visitor support and donations.

This message is delivered throughout the website, supporting each user path, with its own dedicated charity section, focussing on making the message clearer and the ask more prominent. This is then in turn supported by visitor value, showing the amazing benefits of the Dockyard and all the great things to see and do.

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Attractions and services

The new website seamlessly organises the array of services and attractions offered by Chatham Historic Dockyard. An interactive map allows visitors to explore the dockyard’s diverse offerings, including historic ships, museums, and event spaces. Clear and concise descriptions accompany each attraction, providing visitors with a comprehensive understanding of what the dockyard has to offer as well as a story-filled information about each.

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New UI kit

A refreshed UI kit was implemented to create a cohesive and visually appealing design across the website. The colour palette was updated to reflect the maritime heritage, and intuitive navigation elements were incorporated to enhance user engagement. The responsive design ensures a seamless experience across various devices, catering to the needs of modern users. Most importantly focus was given to accessibility through the website to ensure the website is available to all.

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Enhanced UX

Incorporating user feedback and industry best practices, the UX was revamped to improve overall navigation and accessibility. Intuitive pathways guide users through the site, through a wide host of offerings, ensuring a smooth journey from discovery to engagement. Emphasis was placed on creating an immersive experience, utilising multimedia elements to showcase the historical significance of the dockyard.

To ensure a collaborative and informed approach, workshops were conducted with Chatham Historic Dockyard’s internal teams. These sessions facilitated knowledge transfer, allowing the team to actively contribute to the redesign process. Insights gained from these workshops played a crucial role in shaping the website’s content and functionality, aligning it more closely with the organisation’s goals.

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Technology insights

Overview

Chatham Historic Dockyard’s existing website used K3 Merac / MStore for all it’s ticketing and events sales through an externally hosted portal. As part of the evolution of the website we were briefed to look at ways to best integrate the booking experience further and also incorporate an onsite retail e-commerce solution. The shop also needed to incorporate a multi vendor system as the business side wanted to build out both a retail gift shop and a whole side for a sister business Master ropemakers. Woocommerce was used to build out a multi channel e-commerce system fully integrated into the website which could filter orders to separate sides of the business.

Key integrations

Online and onsite tickets and events sold through a custom designed booking experience for K3 Merac / MStore using a multi-step and multi-entry point user journey.
Cross-site e-commerce solution using Woocommerce

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Results

The Chatham Historic Dockyard website redesign successfully achieves its objectives of highlighting the charity’s independence, showcasing services and attractions, and providing an enhanced user experience throughout the website. The collaborative efforts with the internal teams have resulted in a website that not only reflects the rich maritime history of the dockyard but also effectively engages and informs its diverse audience, and empowers the internal teams to allow the website to branch out, without technical restriction.