Hamilton Island launches award winning new website 31 October 2014 Great Barrier Reef island paradise has been brought a few clicks closer with the launch of Hamilton Island’s new-look website, recently awarded ‘Best New Website’ at the TRAVELtech 2014 Web Awards. Developed in partnership with brand communications and innovation agency Deepend, the revamped Hamiltonisland.com.au site provides a clean and engaging user experience across multiple devices. Aida Merdovic, Hamilton Island’s Director of Online said putting the customer first at every stage of development was a key priority. “We wanted to make the online path to purchase as streamlined as possible; from exploring, to planning, to ultimately booking flights, accommodation and experiences. We also know our customers are visiting our site at various stages of this journey and require different information depending on their travel intent. To address this need for tailored content, we have introduced three separate homepage tabs – Explore, Plan, Book – to allow customers to quickly access the information they are looking for. “Given approximately half the visitors to Hamiltonisland.com.au access our site from a device other than desktop, mobile optimisation needed to remain the key priority. Together with Deepend, we effectively created an aesthetically pleasing, responsive web design which provides a consistent user experience across all devices.” Ms Merdovic explained a key component of this revamped user experience is the integration of a live, curated social media stream. “Not only is this user generated content reinforcing our brand messages through guest endorsement, it’s also strengthening the destination’s social following, a community made up of over 150,300 dedicated fans across both our Hamilton Island and qualia accounts. “Since the launch of the site, we have seen the growth rate of guest engagement and follower numbers on social media almost double week on week across all platforms. “The sharing of and commenting on inspiring images is a great way to harness the power of storytelling. Through our new website and social media activity, we want to continue empowering people to showcase the beauty of Hamilton Island’s Great Barrier Reef destination and in return, inspire others to come and experience it for themselves,” said Ms Merdovic. To view the new website or for more information on your next Hamilton Island getaway, visit HamiltonIsland.com.au.