family entertainment website redesign

Problem: Poorly Performing Website

How do you attract more college-aged students to your entertainment venue? The Huskies Den Games Room recently incorporated XBOX gaming stations into their entertainment facility for bowling and billiards. They were seeking a resourceful way to inform appropriate target markets about their latest services and entertainment.

Since college students tend to utilize the Internet more routinely than other demographics, the Huskies Den sought to take advantage of this outlet, and entice the college market into their newly modernized establishment.

Our client's existing online presence was stagnant and outdated, and required a complete redesign for visual appeal and increased functionality. In addition to a comprehensive upgrade, the new site needed to double as a timesaving device for Huskies Den staff, with the ability to allow users to self-register for league bowling and quickly sign up for group activities. Another functional component of the new site required a way for staff to easily post relevant information such as leagues, scores and standings in a single, central location.

Brand Identity Design

Direct Response Web Solutions began the redesign process by creating a logo for the Huskies Den Games Room, an initial step that would provide an excellent foundation for the website's new design and extend a fresh, new identity for the venue. We tied the existing NIU Athletics insignia into the logo, and incorporated other graphic elements to establish a swift visual reference to the services the Huskies Den offers.

Direct Marketing Website Design

After successfully establishing a brand for the business, the primary objective became rejuvenating the website. The new site needed to be more alluring to the college segment, but in such a way that simultaneously enhanced performance and improved usability. When employing online marketing strategies many websites fail in achieving competing goals like these.

So with nearly 250 website projects behind us, Direct Response Web Solutions kick-started the design process. After an initial meeting to pinpoint our client's goals, audiences, requirements, and preconditions for the site, we coalesced several design schemes for review by the Huskies Den team. DRWS typically generates an excess of layouts to present to our clients, which allows for the selection of an aesthetic that best suits the personality of the business, as well as individual client preferences.

Following a thorough review of the various design ideas, we arrived at an effective online strategy with a slick interface that effectively captured the essence and spirit of the facility. (Pictured at left.)

Added Functionality and Website Content Management

Not only does the new website perform better and look better than its outdated counterpart, but it is more functional and much simpler to update. Some of the enhanced website's capabilities include:

Mailing list registration for specials and upcoming events
League bowling sign-up for individuals and teams
Various methods of contacting the Huskies Den Games Room
An easily editable calendar of events, intuitive for non-technical staff
Content management tools for updating video games through Macromedia Contribute
Integrated HTML e-newsletter tools for sending promotional mailers of events and special information
League standing information that is easily updated, allowing bowlers to view their progress online

Website Success

The new site developed by Direct Response Web Solutions has achieved higher organic listing on search engines like Google and Yahoo. The Huskies Den Games Room website is performing positively for the business, yielding higher customer traffic and an increase in sales.

All the advantages of a successful visual, emotional and direct response design, coupled with increased search engine traffic, provides the Huskies Den with a winning combination that will maintain their business and keep it moving forward.

For more information about affordable web design and how a marketing website can positively effective your business credibility contact Direct Response Web Solutions today.