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Website of the Buzuluksky Bor National Park

We have updated and relaunched the website for the national park which is engaged in the protection and reclamation of the natural relic forest area in the steppes of Eurasia.

The Buzuluksky Bor National Park is out of ordinary large island forest expanse in the entire steppe of Eurasia. The most significant domestic scientists with world names worked here with original types of forests and geobiocoenosis. So today this national park is not only engaged in the preservation of natural complexes, but is also a catching place for refreshment for residents, travelers and tourists.

Goal of the project

Project objectives

To create a modern and user-friendly website for tourists, local residents, media, partners and employees of the Buzuluksky Bor National Park.

We identified the objectives of the website during the process of marketing research in a series of interviews with employees and visitors of the national park.
The website’s "must's":

To create a positive image of the national park including revealing its rich historical heritage and reflection of the unicity of natural objects.

Contain the most accurate information about the national park like vacation spots on its territory, excursions and eco-trails, code of behavior and information about the level of fire danger.

Provide an opportunity to get a permit to visit the national park and pay for other services online that are associated with the park.

Attract new visitors and improve the quality of communication with local residents.

Content

The website provides information about the history and nature of the Buzuluksky Bor National Park, narrates about security and scholarly endeavors, forest management and eco-tourism, resting spots, excursions and ecopaths and also allows you to quickly issue a permit to visit the territory.

All scripts went through all stages from raw material through editing and came to approval.

The photos were prepared by the specialists of the Buzuluksky Bor National Park in accordance with the prepared recommendations — the brightest and most successful ones were selected by our designers and used in the process of working on the website.

Navigation

To help users find information that they need pretty quickly, we used a dropdown navigation menu. It provides quick access to all important sections like "About the National Park", "Activities", "Visitors", "Multimedia", "News", "Contacts". It also contains a search bar and a "Get Permission" button.

We created the navigation bar structure and main items for it on the basis of our market research, Yandex. Metrica's analytics data and also, our experience in building websites for specially protected natural areas.

Website design and illustrations

Based on the signature identity of the national park we created a design concept for the website. Using our design system we tried to convey a sense of being in a sunny forest with the sun breaking through the crowns of trees and the rich aroma of phytoncides. Our aim for this website included: feeling of the brightness and warmth, causing a desire to be in the national park, to see the beauty of the forest and understand its value.

In addition our designers enhanced the corporate identity with illustrations on the theme of nature and ecotourism. The main theme of all the illustrations was the rare and particularly impressive species of animals and plants of the Buzuluksky Bor National Park. Images of a white-tailed eagle and a black stork, an open lumbago and, of course, a pine cone helped diversify the design of the website’s pages.

Especially for the design of the checklist we added an illustration of a tourist.

Permit system

The system for filing permits for visitors of the national park makes it possible to get the required type of permit in a couple of clicks: tourist, for local residents, for privileged categories, for transit travel.

For visitors

It was especially important for the national park to assign a separate category of entry pass for transit travel. For example, during the flood period, its territory becomes the only way for travelers and local residents to get from point A to point B. It was also important to provide for the possibility of excluding this category of permits from possible registration for a period when the need for transit travel disappears.

To make the application process more convenient for groups of visitors, we made it possible to fill in the full details only by the group’s leader. To add other members of the group to the order — you need to click the "plus".

Also, when issuing a tourist permit for visitors under the age of 18 who belong to the preferential category, you can specify them as part of a group and not issue a pass for them separately. The algorithm will not add the cost of permission for these visitors to the final amount, but it will generate a single form for all family members, class students or members of the tourist group, regardless of their age.

Going through all the stages of registration consistently and after providing the necessary information and / or payment, the user receives permission. A detailed instruction letter and a checklist for visiting the national park will be provided by e-mail.

A considered administrative part helps employees keep track of all orders and statistics. For example, to find out how many people visited the national park on a selected day or a time period or even filter the visitors by category: children, adults, concessions, permits issued for transit travel.

For employees

Pre-designed solutions make it easier for the park’s employees to create and update the work schedule, keep records and bookkeeping of visits in a systematic way.

Outcome

The new website proved to be a convenient tool for users and potential visitors to the national park. So, within the first month since the launching, 70% of permits were filled out using its mobile version. Conversion rates confirmed that the chosen mechanisms for#nbsp(issuing permissions and presenting information are logical, user-friendly and understandable for users.

The new website is also designed to draw attention to the unique natural heritage and provides an opportunity to build trusting relationships with local residents, travelers, current and future business partners of the national park.