Marwell is ready for 2022 with an awesome new website

Semantic helped with a redesign of the Marwell Zoo site and optimisation of the online booking process.

Marwell Zoo is one of the largest attractions in Hampshire, and we are pleased to have been helping as their website partners since 2006.

In 2021 Marwell undertook a complete overhaul of their website, in part as a reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic and the acceleration towards advanced online booking.

It is an absolute given that the Marwell site must be hugely appealing to visitors of all ages, and the image based content must render perfectly on all devices, particularly mobile phones.

The visual nature of the site gives a challenge to designers who must balance between fantastic imagery and performance. 

The redesigned site has been built in WordPress giving the team at Marwell complete control over the site’s administration as well as the ability to scale in periods of high site traffic.

A key challenge has been the presentation of pricing, Gift Aid, and seamless handover to Merac for the online booking journey.  Although not as seamless as an API based approach to ticketing integration, the end result has been positive with Marwell seeing an increase in conversions. Significantly, they are seeing an increase in advanced bookings, particularly for “off peak” periods which we suspect are due to changes in working patterns since the outbreak of Covid-19. 

Advanced online bookings has allowed Marwell to promote midweek bookings and balance demand with their staffing levels, improving the customer experience.