The Old Deanery

Challenge:
Our biggest challenge that we faced with The Old Deanery was to combine the two main functions of the new platform.

1. To build an aesthetically pleasing CMS driven website that will effectively market the cottage complex and it surroundings marketing and
2. To define and build a front end web booking engine and admin management and reporting interface and transform The Old Deanery booking management system online. The website was to be both dynamic and aesthetically pleasing to potential guests.
We worked closely with management at The Old Deanery to create a vibrant and functional website using Drupal and built the booking engine and reporting dashboard in PHP Zend. Here are some of the site’s features:

¬    A powerful Content Management System based on the Drupal platform
¬    An integrated booking system powered by PHP Zend
¬    Holiday packages & special offers
¬    Social Media Platform including links to Reviews from TripAdvisor.com
¬    Unique dashboards for both manager & customer


Project Process

Stage 1:

The first stage involved meeting up with our client to discuss their requirements in detail and to finalise the functional specifications document.  We also took a design brief based on the new Old Deanery identity. The project comms were managed on basecamp, we used balsamiq as our wireframe tool and we wireframed the website and full booking engine and documented the requirements from a booking management perspective.

Stage 2:

The development phase included creating the CSS Mark-ups, Drupal Template Development Development and the Custom coding phase of the bespoke PHP Zend booking engine Simultaneously, the development  of the Drupal Content Management System Admin platform. We built the booking engine using an agile methodology to ensure an iterative process was followed and the client had an opportunity to engage and provide feedback.

Stage 3:

The final stage of this exciting project comprised of testing and implementation of the two systems. We wanted to ensure that the end user’s experience was a positive one. Therefore, an extensive amount of testing was carried out prior to the website going live and any bugs/glitches were rectified during this stage. 

Result

Our extensive experience in the development of Drupal Content Management Systems allied to a robust development methodology, resulted in the successful delivery of the new website that met all of our client’s requirements. The new website provides us with many features including an easy to use Drupal CMS, a fully integrated booking engine, embedded videos and an excellent Social Media Platform.


Technology

Drupal, PHP Zend