East Ayrshire Leisure Trust

We delivered a complete re-design and build of the East Ayrshire Leisure Trust (EALT) website that makes it easy for customers to find out about events and classes across the region.

EALT is responsible for a wide range of cultural, countryside, sports and community facilities and services across East Ayrshire. We were selected following a competitive tender process to improve their communication with members, partners, tourists and the wider community.

Working with SevenFive Creative, the project had to deliver an inclusive and accessible web browsing experience. Conforming to WCAG 2.1 AA standards, the site enables users with a range of impairments to easily access the website's information.

Accessible web design
Venue Finder
Booking system integration
Events calendar
Staff intranet

Make booking simple

As a primary revenue stream, we had to make it super-simple for customers to find events and book online.

We achieved this by building a full searchable and filterable events homepage with a dynamic calendar, integrated seamlessly with EALT's venue management and ticketing systems.

Raise awareness

To increase awareness and reach new audiences for EALT's tourist attractions, key venues, facilities and services with a particular focus on 'destination marketing'.

From analysis of usage statistics we found that a significant amount of existing traffic was coming from further afield. This informed the decision to create specific content and target visitors located out-with East Ayrshire.

Save staff time

Put bluntly, the existing CMS was "a nightmare" to use. Updates and changes took too long and staff found it to be a soul-destroying experience.

The introduction of Umbraco CMS changed all of this. Content could be created and edited quickly which freed up more time for staff to spend marketing their events, rather than wrestling with the CMS.

Accessibility

An inclusive experience

We're proud to call ourselves experts in digital accessibility. The EALT site is a fine example of what is now required from a public sector website, as it meets the key WCAG AA requirements.

To achieve this we have to consider many things in design and build, including colour contrast, text and button sizing, and all the technical implementations required by assistive browsers. In addition, simplicity of language is needed throughout to ensure the site is useable and understood by all.

EALT Style Three Two Tablets (Upright) Template V2

CMS

Simple and intuitive editing

We've made updating content, events, and classes effortless.

The way we configure the Umbraco CMS ensures it is a delight to work with. Changes and updates can be made in seconds.

With only minimal training, EALT staff can now get on with their jobs without frustration and delay. They have more time to focus on marketing and promotion and drive the organisation forward.

EALT Style Four Multiple Phones Template

Events

Managing the calendar

EALT offer a wide range of events and activities for all ages and interests throughout the year.

We built a dynamic events calendar that lets users see at-a-glance the activities they are interested in. Following the colour-coding used throughout the site, users can quickly search by date, venue or activity type.

With booking integrated with their in-house system, and by making this area easy to navigate and fully accessible, we have helped significantly reduce the number of enquiries the EALT team receives relating to events and class availability.

The CMS is a delight to work with – changes and updates to the website can be done in minutes.

Working with Factory73 to develop our new website has been a real pleasure. They took the time to understand the needs of our business and our customers and developed a website that looks great and functions really well. The team helped with our hosting requirements too and continue to be on hand to offer support and development ideas as we grow our website…. I can’t recommend them enough.

Louise Kyle
East Ayrshire Leisure

Clean design, easy-to-use and fully accessible

Truly a website for all

East Ayrshire Leisure Trust