The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians governing entity came to Americaneagle.com for help with updating their website and brand--to modernize and expand what people may think about Cherokee, NC. The goal was to put more emphasis on what you can do in Cherokee and how it is both family friendly and meant for adventure seekers. In collaboration with several teams at Americaneagle.com, I lead the creative on the website redesign, digital and print marketing design. The new site launched on May 6, 2024.

The old Visitcherokee.com website was extremely dated. The homepage was difficult to navigate, and content was hidden within an auto scroll slide show. Users didn't get a good sense of who the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are, and what you can do in Cherokee, NC. 

The internal pages were unorganized. Users would find minimal content about the activities or experiences, and at the bottom of each page, suggested activities and upcoming events would rotate and change, making it difficult to navigate back to a page that peaked interest. This caused user frustration and potential site abandonment.

The site overall lacked photography that would excite and entice users to investigate the different activities and events they could participate in, and there was an overall lack of what Cherokee, NC looks like.

The new homepage showcases a montage video right at the top to show users a broad spectrum of activities in Cherokee NC. Users are able to easily access top activities, learn who EBCI is, find upcoming events and book their stay.

These new features increase user engagement with activities that were previously hidden or too difficult to find. New sections on the homepage, like "Featured Places" and "Featured Events" allow for increased conversion rates for activities that require purchasing tickets or making reservations.

One of the main conversions the website was looking to increase was booking accommodations. To increase these interactions, the homepage also features a section to browse the different types of accomodations on and off site, as well as a final push at the footer to plan a booking.

The new design also features more photography so users get the breath and depth of Cherokee, NC and the activities and events on the grounds.

Another highlight of the new design is an upgraded navigation. The old navigation design was dated, the tertiary pages were difficult to find, and overall failed ADA compliancy. The updated navigation features a mega menu design. As the user clicks into each top level page, the menu reveals nested pages to the right and expands to a full view. The menu also allows for promotional items to appear for increased user interaction for activities and events that require reservations or the purchase of tickets.

One of the first projects for Visit Cherokee was to improve their organic social feed, as well as paid social ads. The goal was to showcase Cherokee as a getaway destination that was more than just traditional grounds, but a very active destination. Through the use of client provided imagery, we introduced various patterns and illustrations to help tie the modern and traditional experiences you can have at Cherokee.