Harbourfront Theatre's previous website design and development had been in existence since 2014 and suffered from many shortcomings. The site provided a poor user experience and also failed to comply with WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards. It was outdated, unengaging, not responsive, and utilized a generic template with no custom branding.
The greatest deficiency was its lack of strategic alignment with the organization's goals and objectives, which ultimately resulted in a failure to reflect the organization’s unique identity.
The ticket purchasing process was lengthy and not intuitive for its target audience. The checkout experience required an overhaul, though it was constrained by the client's use of the Box Office and theatre ticketing system, Spektrix.
They needed a new website that better reflected the theatre’s position as one of the leading arts organizations on the island.
I was responsible for the entire design process, execution, and implementation of the new site. Additionally, I managed the programming team throughout the project, from start to finish.
The site structure and information hierarchy were optimized to reflect the business goals of Harbourfront Theatre. The primary objective of the new site was to make purchasing tickets as easy as possible for users—this also meant fewer click-throughs for their users.
The waterfront location of the theatre, alongside the boardwalk, was one differentiator from their competition. The design highlighted this feature through colour choices and supporting visual elements. The site design was customized to align with their established brand identity, creating a cohesive experience for their audience both online and offline while attending shows and events.
Key Effectiveness Indicators (KEIs) were derived from the business goals and were used as to evaluate the effectiveness of the website.
A 7% conversion rate for tickets sales was measured in the analytics after the new site redesign and development.
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Harbourfront Theatre in Summerside is Prince Edward Island’s second largest theatre, with just over 500 seats, located in the island’s second largest city.
- Website design & development
