Kingcombe Environmental Centre

The Requirement

Set in 500 acres in the idyllic Dorset countryside, Kingcombe Environmental Studies Centre offers courses in natural history and conservation, guided walks as well as holiday accommodation.

Having seen a significant growth in the popularity of its courses, the Centre's website was the key to sustaining this growth and raising its profile further. But first, the existing website would need to be replaced.

Kingcombe's existing website was used to promote the Centre's courses, but with no content management facilities, course information and availability could not be easily managed by Kingcombe staff. Without online booking facilities, users had to reserve courses by phone to ensure availability prior to booking. This disjointed and time consuming process meant that unavailable courses could still be advertised on the website.

The Solution

With a short timescale to meet, Amatica created a completely new and engaging website, with improved design and navigation, content management facilities to manage course information and crucially, an online reservations system. All of which has raised significantly the level of user experience.

At the heart of the website is the online reservations facility. Prior to its launch, visitors could only book a course by phone or online enquiry form; availability was not guaranteed. Now, visitors can see at a glance which courses are available, reserve a place and submit payment online.

The Outcome

Following the launch of the new site, the centre began receiving bookings via the online reservation system almost immediately.

The new website has had a significant impact, generating new bookings and raising the Centre's profile. The site effectively showcases the Centre's facilities, history and range of courses, while the online reservation facility makes the process of booking a course faster and simpler for the user.