Project

Hever Castle Website Design

Project

Hever Castle Website Design

Client

Hever Castle

Industry

Travel & Tourism

Services

An online experience to remember

Services

Nestled amidst the picturesque Kent countryside, Hever Castle stands as a captivating testament to history and heritage. Once the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, the intriguing castle invites visitors to step back in time and immerse themselves in its rich past. Surrounded by splendid gardens, this medieval marvel showcases a harmonious blend of architectural splendor and natural beauty. From its historic chambers and antique artifacts to its enchanting mazes and serene lakes, Hever Castle offers a delightful journey through centuries of English history. A visit to Hever Castle promises an unforgettable experience – an experience to remember.

After launching a successful rebrand for Hever Castle one of the biggest tasks was to not only redesign the website look-and-feel, but to rethink the strategy. A big part of the new website design brief was focussing on UX through a variety of different stakeholders journeys. Each journey mapped to the different facets and business divisions at Hever Castle. Ultimately the new brief was not only to offer relevant paths for each stakeholder, but to cross-sell and promote the amazing experiences at Hever Castle and unify those experiences into one.

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The heartbeat

Hever Castle is King

The Hever Castle website redesign project began with a comprehensive strategic approach aimed at elevating its online presence. The overarching objectives included improving the user experience, fostering inclusivity, and preserving the castle’s historical and cultural integrity within modern web design standards.

However, the key focus, as we had with the brand hierarchy, was to house all experiences and digital property under one roof. All the divisions of the Castle would be unified under one website going forward rather than being offered as sub-brands.

This strategic, though technically challenging approach, was around protecting the heritage of the brand and its new proposition ‘an experience to remember’, whereby each customer may enjoy one or several services on offer, from visits to golfing, from overnight stays to venue hire, or all of the above. The new proposition and foundation for the website, although the primary revenue driver, goes beyond simply ‘visit’ and ties together a string of available services, heightening user engagement, excitement and offering a unique experience.

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Applying UX thinking for diverse audiences

A user-centric approach steered the development process, understanding the needs and preferences of various audience segments, including families, history enthusiasts, and event planners.

The website’s information architecture was revamped, enhancing navigation and content discovery by organising it into clear categories, with available cross-sell throughout. This made information easily accessible.

The UX concept was to allow users to book, hire and buy from anywhere. Whilst the hierarchy is tailored for the simplicity of the user journey, behind it lies a comprehensively interwoven sitemap that balances user need focus with further and relevant onward journeys.

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New design look and feel

The design was inspired by Hever Castle’s rich history and stunning gardens. Moving on from a previously more family oriented approach to a more consistent premium brand that considers all divisions. An earthy colour palette with deep greens connected the design to the natural surroundings. Elegant fonts evoked historical yet contemporary charm.

When we rebranded Hever Castle, the website was a key feature. And so to was accessibility throughout the brand’s colour hierarchy, font sizes and accessible feature to meet new standards.

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Technology insights

Overview

The new brief brought with it with a string of challenges including bringing together multiple systems into a streamlined booking experience. Deep integrations were used incorporate e-commerce throughout the website creating omnichannel integration for tickets, stays and restaurant bookings. The website was built on top of a custom framework, using the rich content block editing experience with WordPress CMS.

Key integrations

Online and onsite tickets and events sold through a custom designed booking experience for LIVE IT using a multi-step and multi-entry point user journey.
Cross-site e-commerce solution using Woocommerce
Hospitality booking integrations through Guestline and Open table.

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Results

The launch of Hever Castle’s new website represents a significant milestone in its mission to provide an enhanced digital experience to a diverse audience. By adopting a strategic approach that prioritises user experience, inclusivity, and accessibility, the website now offers an improved user-friendly, welcoming, and engaging platform for visitors from all walks of life.

The new design, inspired by Hever Castle’s royally historic significance and natural beauty, has created a visually appealing and immersive experience. The website serves as a digital gateway to the castle, offering visitors a glimpse into its rich heritage and captivating surroundings as well as the huge array of experiences, services and events on offer.

The success of this project underscores the importance of considering user needs, accessibility, and heritage preservation when redesigning a historical institution’s website. Hever Castle’s new website not only meets modern web design standards but also continues to tell the story of Anne Boleyn’s childhood home in an engaging and inclusive way, ensuring its place as a top destination and an experience to remember for history enthusiasts, families, golfers, tourists and nature lovers (etc) alike.