Where will you go next?
Services
Transforming the Waterways Ireland online experience so more people can enjoy all it offers. Waterways Ireland wanted to rebuild its website as part of a larger digital transformation strategy — delivering an exceptional customer experience, with a clean, accessible, mobile-optimised site.
Challenge
Reaching a diverse audience
Waterways Ireland manages and promotes 1,100 km of inland waters, 600 km of greenways and blueways, and multiple heritage assets. Its audiences range from the general public to expert boaters.
It was time to give this diverse audience a better user experience, centralise resources, and unify the customer journey — building a new site that better aligns with visitor requirements and the organisation's growth strategies.
- Fragmented content spread across a dated information architecture
- No unified experience across desktop and mobile
- Complex booking and permit processes creating friction for users
- Accessibility gaps limiting reach for a wide public audience
Approach
Human-centred design, built for everyone
We took a research-led approach — understanding the many different types of people who use Waterways Ireland's services before a single pixel was drawn.
Brand & Visual Identity
Drawing inspiration from the kingfisher — synonymous with fresh, clean rivers — we created a new look and feel for Waterways Ireland. Clear content segmentation and labelling ensures each audience cohort finds exactly what they need.
Simplified Forms & Bookings
Customers need to complete multiple forms when applying for permits or booking dry docks. We simplified these complex processes with step-by-step directions, enhanced feedback, and a new accessible calendar and date picker.
Accessibility by Design
Digital accessibility was a cornerstone of the new site. Designed and developed to meet WCAG 2.2 AA standards — including enhanced colour contrast, screen reader compatibility, and seamless keyboard-only navigation.
Key Work
What we delivered
- Automated the permit purchase process, removing manual steps and reducing friction
- Built a fully responsive site optimised across all screen sizes — desktop to mobile
- Designed intuitive navigation with clear, consistent visuals to reduce cognitive load
- Delivered a new content management system using Kentico Xperience
- Implemented a React front-end with full accessibility feature support
- Achieved a 100% Lighthouse accessibility score at launch
Results / Impact
Measurable outcomes
Since launch, the new site has delivered strong results across engagement, performance, and accessibility — and has been recognised at a national level.
+69%
Page views
+49%
Average engagement time
100%
Accessibility score*
*Lighthouse
“The site achieved the ‘visitor-first’ brief, and all requirements, supplemented by demonstrable performance metrics and outstanding UX/UI framework expertly crafted, managed and launched throughout.”
Download the case study
Get the full Waterways Ireland case study as a PDF.
Related Projects
More of our work
Want the same results for your business?
Get in touch