Ventnor Botanic Garden

Turned a 160-page content archive into a conversion system - online ticket purchases increased ~50%

Website

Website

Problem

The website evolved without product ownership


160+ pages, duplicated content, no clear information architecture, and no visibility into conversion

Core issue:
Users couldn’t easily complete the primary action - buying tickets

No mobile version at all

Solution

I reframed the website from a content archive into a conversion system

Key solutions:

  1. Prioritise ticket purchase over exploration

  2. Reduce cognitive load through simplified structure and clean layout

  3. Introduce measurement to validate decisions


Actions

  • Reduced total pages from 160 → 38 based on Google Analytics

  • Archived 465 outdated articles

  • Rebuilt the Informational Atchitecture around user intent and key actions

  • Reduced plugin dependency

  • Hard-coded custom components where needed

  • Implemented structured UTM tracking for campaign attribution

  • Standardised typography, colour palette, and layout logic

  • Unified digital and offline brand presence

Impact

+~50% increase in online ticket purchases

+24% active users
+20% sessions

Pages reduced by 67%

465 outdated articles archived

Shift toward digital-first ticket sales

Mobile version is easy to use and allow you to do all core functionality

Problem

I started by aligning with the business on goals and success metrics.

Then combined quantitative data and qualitative feedback to understand where the experience was breaking down.

Quantitative

  • Analysed Google Analytics to identify high-traffic but low-conversion pages

  • Mapped user journeys toward ticket purchase

  • Identified drop-offs and navigation confusion points

  • Benchmarked against similar garden websites

Qualitative

  • Reviewed TripAdvisor and Google reviews for usability issues

  • Collected direct user feedback on clarity and booking flow

  • Evaluated backend structure and plugin dependency

Key insight

Users came with clear intent:

  • Purchase tickets

  • Understand what’s available (disabled paths, cafe, open and closing times, etc.)

  • Check events

  • Overview about garden

The product did not support these goals clearly.
Navigation and structure created friction at critical moments.

Action plan

I reframed the website from an information archive into a conversion system

Key bets

  • Prioritise ticket purchase as the primary action

  • Surface “What’s on” to capture local intent and drive repeat visits

  • Reduce cognitive load through simplified structure and clear hierarchy

  • Introduce measurement to understand what drives conversions

  • Improve backend sustainability to support faster iteration

Rather than starting with a visual redesign, I focused on structural clarity and measurable outcomes.

Visual improvements were made progressively where they supported usability, but the primary goal was to reduce friction and make key actions obvious.

Focused on high-impact changes first to validate direction before investing in deeper polish.

Execution & Constraints

  • Worked within strict visual direction from stakeholders (Colors, typography) and technical restrictions from wordpress

  • Built custom components with vibecodings to avoid plugin dependency and reduce costs

  • Implemented solutions directly instead of design-dev handoff as I didn't have a developer

I was testing various things on a way, like this:

Hypothesis

Mobile users struggled to access and navigate the event schedule efficiently.

Experiment

Introduced a downloadable full schedule (PDF) as a quick-access alternative

Outcome

They haven't struggle, but people liked that they can save schedule on their phone

Learning

In some cases outcome can be what you haven't even thought about

Or other example - I've asked our older ladies' crew and run a quick usability test to check that all is clear and they can do core actions through the phone

Results

  • +~50% increase in online ticket purchases

  • +24% active users

  • +20% sessions

  • −33% engagement time (users completed tasks faster due to reduced cognitive load)

Behavioural impact

  • Workshops and wellbeing classes reached full capacity (previously under-attended)

  • Shift toward online ticket and membership purchases

  • Improved clarity in user journeys and decision-making

Interpretation

Reducing friction had a greater impact than adding new features.
Users didn’t need more content - they needed clearer paths to action and layout.

Additional hats

Visual branding

Owned brand and communication across digital and physical touchpoints
(website, campaigns, signage, cafe, printed materials, murals, billboards etc)

Lifecycle & CRM system

Problem

No structured communication system. Users received inconsistent messaging.

Solution

  • Unified database

  • Created segmentation based on membership

  • Introduced opt-in flow

  • Standardised newsletter system

Impact

  • Clear communication structure

  • Foundation for automation

  • Improved user inclusion in community




What I'd do differently

I'd push for usability testing earlier in the process - particularly with older and less digitally confident visitors.

I'd also have pushed harder to get proper A/B testing infrastructure in place from the start. The ~50% increase in ticket purchases is a strong signal, but I'd have more confidence in the attribution if we'd had cleaner measurement from day one rather than relying on year-on-year comparison.

🪩

Intro

🧠

Define

🎨

Design

🧪

Iteration

✨

Results

🧞‍♀️

Additional

🤓

Learnings

All of these actions helped create space for people to be part of the VBG community - to feel involved, engaged, and connected with nature.
I see it as one large ecosystem that also drives business revenue.


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