A new name, brand and website to bring it all together
Formerly intu Watford, Atria Watford marked the start of an exciting new period of ownership. A digital platform was required to reflect the new start and to support the centre’s evolution.
The Problem
The previous website was used by two types of visitor: those visiting the centre as a ‘destination’ to explore the stores, restaurants and potentially making use of the leisure facilities. These people may visit the centre once a month. The second type was more local customers using the centre on a ‘convenience’ level, visiting the outlets such as banks, opticians, and tailors. These people may visit the centre once or twice a week. Therefore, a website was needed to still resonate with destination and convenience visitors, but also to attract more affluent users from further afield (such as St Albans and Amersham) who have a choice of where to shop and spend.
The Solution
Our key UX objectives included making key information easier to find and better surfacing of related content to increase time on site. The information hierarchy also needed to be tailored to the device viewing the website e.g., more emphasis on events/opening times/offers on a mobile. Finally, the website needed to offer personalisation based on the length of planned visit and target audience.
We used our off-the-shelf digital place marketing solution, DestinationCore Pro platform to showcase the wide variety on offer at the centre – from retail to food & drink to leisure and entertainment. In-centre events are also displayed using comprehensive events listing functionality (which comes as standard with DC Pro), and email subscriptions are now encouraged through compelling site content and in-context sign up banners.
Predominantly, the previous website attracted middle aged consumers, whereas the social channels attracted a younger population. Our remit was to design a site that would appeal to both generations – clear, simple designs that look modern but also offer straightforward navigation and appealing imagery which resonates with all audiences.
Thanks to the holy trinity of the new brand, name and DC Pro site, Atria Watford will continue to be the heartbeat of Watford’s local community.
If you're looking to design and develop a new website, contact us today. Let's do something brilliant together.
