Case Study

Explore Alexandria

The Challenge

Explore Alexandria tourism already had a well-known website, but as the area grew into a true four-season destination, the site’s structure stopped keeping up. Visitors who came looking for specific experiences—like ice fishing, fat tire biking, or snowmobiling—had to dig through scattered information instead of finding clear, helpful hubs for each activity. The journey from “I’m interested” to “I know where to go and what to book” wasn’t as simple or intuitive as it needed to be.

Behind the scenes, the Explore Alexandria team also needed a more scalable way to manage content. Adding new activities, partners, and seasonal experiences meant more complexity, not more clarity. The challenge for the redesign was to transform a good, established site into a structured, search-friendly, easy-to-update system that would highlight Alexandria’s year-round offerings—without tearing down the work that had come before it.

A person uses a laptop displaying a travel website featuring winter activities in Alexandria, with an image of two children playing in the snow and a headline that reads "Exploration Awaits.

Our Solution

To solve these challenges, our team focused on making the site easier to use for both visitors and the Explore Alexandria staff.

We started behind the scenes. Our team built a new content management system that makes it simple for their staff to add or edit profiles for attractions, restaurants, shops, and more. No matter who adds the content, it now shows up in a clean, consistent way across all layouts. This helps the team move faster and keeps the site looking polished.

Next, we tackled navigation. We designed a new mega-menu that gives visitors a clear, organized view of everything Alexandria has to offer. Instead of guessing where to click, visitors can now quickly scan categories and jump straight to what they need—whether that’s things to do, places to stay, or where to eat and drink.

We also made sure the most important actions stand out. Key items like “Find Lodging” and newsletter signup are now easy to spot throughout the site. These calls-to-action guide visitors toward planning their trip and staying connected, which helps Explore Alexandria turn casual browsers into engaged visitors.

To decide what to highlight, we dug into the existing analytics. We saw which pages people were visiting most—like the Events Calendar, seasonal guides, and the three most popular listing types: attractions, food & drink, and shopping. We brought this content forward in the design so visitors can get to these high-interest areas with fewer clicks and less frustration.

Visually, we refreshed the entire site to match Alexandria’s personality. The new design leans into strong imagery and a clear message: “Outdoor Adventure Meets Timeless Charm.” Photos, layouts, and copy all work together to show what it actually feels like to be there—on the lake, downtown, or out on the trails.

Finally, we helped Explore Alexandria tap into the voices of the people who know the area best. We introduced “Alexandria Experiences,” a feature that lets residents and visitors share what they love about the area. People can pick their favorite activities, places to eat and drink, and places to shop—and even upload their own photos. Each submission becomes its own story page on the site. These stories act like rich, real-world reviews and give new visitors a more personal, trustworthy view of the destination.

Together, these changes turned the website into a stronger tool for both visitors and staff—making it easier to explore, easier to manage, and better at showing what makes Alexandria special.