Chateau du Baffy website design & development

Project brief

I was engaged to design and develop a new website for Chateau du Baffy, a French hotel whose existing website did not use a CMS (Content Management System). They desired an updated online presence to drive traffic, provide factual customer information and direct customers to their Booking.com page to drive sales.

Additionally, the website needed to be built into a user-friendly CMS (Content Management System) called Joomla! to allow for easy updates by the team moving forward, consistent with other websites that existed under the brand umbrella (ETG).

Planning the Project

To ensure the project met the client needs and business objectives, I began by establishing the scope of the project. Identifying the key stakeholders involved in the project was crucial for communication and project alignment.

Project scope included designing and developing a new website from scratch across both French and English, updating the existing website copy to enhance SEO performance, and the roadmap planning required flexibility to accommodate adjustments based on client feedback throughout the process.

The ultimate aims were to create a responsive website that would increase bookings, promote brand awareness, and provide a user-friendly experience for potential guests.

Design Process

The design process began with understanding the target market and the unique selling points of Chateau du Baffy. Through initial discovery I learned that the target market consisted of individuals and families seeking a good value stay in a historic, rural chateau.

The hotel, located in Normandy, offered easy access to local attractions, making it appealing to history enthusiasts, families, couples, and outdoor activity enthusiasts.

Since there was no budget allocated for usability testing, I relied on website analytics data, heuristic design analysis and competitor benchmarking to inform design decisions.

Keeping the user at the forefront of the design process, I focused on creating a website that was not only visually appealing but also prioritized user experience. This involved creating wireframes to map out the website structure, followed by high-fidelity mockups for client approval.

High-quality images of the hotel and surrounding area were incorporated throughout the website to showcase the chateau's unique location and amenities, and parallax scrolling was used to enhance user enjoyment of the site.

To ensure a clear booking process that maintained user trust and aligned to user expectations, the website design incorporated Booking.com styling into prominent calls to action so that users were visually guided to purchase, and made aware of the required redirect to the Booking.com website.

Finally, I prioritized search engine optimization (SEO) throughout the design process to ensure the website would be easily discoverable by potential guests searching online across both French and English languages.

Results

The final product was a responsive website design seamlessly integrated with Joomla! CMS. The new website offered a user-friendly experience with a clear booking process that directed users to booking.com.

By showcasing the hotel's unique location and amenities through high-quality visuals, the website aimed to attract new visitors and convert them into paying guests.

While the ultimate results of increased website traffic and bookings were anticipated outcomes, the project successfully delivered a website that met the client's business needs.

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