MovieTickets.com Website Redesign

BACKGROUND

For a decade, MovieTickets.com had not updated its platform, causing stagnation and limiting its competitive edge against major players like Fandango and Atom Tickets. Recognizing the need for a significant overhaul, the company initiated a comprehensive redesign to rebrand and rejuvenate its online presence.

GOAL

The primary goal was to transform the website from the ground up, leveraging the latest technology to create a seamless and magical experience for moviegoers, thereby increasing ticket sales and strengthening theater partnerships.

TIMELINE

My involvement spanned from September 2015 to May 2018, culminating in the successful launch of a completely redesigned site equipped with a new content management system (CMS), application programming interface (API), and a modern technology stack.

STRATEGY & EXECUTION

BACKEND TECHNOLOGY

To support robust scalability and integrate seamlessly with theater partners' point-of-sale (POS) systems, we upgraded the backend to use .NET technologies, implemented a new CMS for dynamic content management, and built a custom API from scratch. This foundational overhaul aimed to enhance system responsiveness and facilitate future expansions, including mobile adaptations and new technology integrations.

FRONTEND TECHNOLOGY

As the leader of the newly formed frontend development team, I spearheaded the adoption of modern development practices to streamline code efficiency and ensure design consistency across platforms. This involved setting up the Foundation framework to standardize design elements, using Gulp for task automation, and employing Sass for advanced CSS functionalities. Bower was integral for managing dependencies, ensuring that our frameworks and libraries were up-to-date.

IDEATION AND DESIGN

The design process began with extensive stakeholder interviews across all company departments to gather a comprehensive set of requirements and expectations for the new website. Our in-house customer service call center was invaluable, providing qualitative data from emails, chats, and calls that highlighted the customers' most frequent pain points and desires.

Competitive analysis was another crucial step. We meticulously studied leading competitors like Fandango and Atom Tickets, identifying their strengths such as effective use of movie stills and theater amenities to drive ticket sales. We also noted areas where they fell short, as evidenced by customer reviews, to avoid similar pitfalls in our redesign.

USER PERSONAS AND JOURNEY MAPPING

From the insights gathered, we crafted detailed personas representing our diverse user base: Regular Moviegoers, Occasional Date Night Couples, Group Moviegoers, and Fanatics. This allowed us to tailor the user journey more precisely, categorizing users into those who knew exactly what movie they wanted to see or which theater they preferred.

We brainstormed innovative features such as QuickTix—an express service for swift ticket purchases—and Plan with Friends, a collaborative tool for group planning and booking, which addressed gaps we identified in the market.

PROTOTYPING AND TESTING

The prototyping phase involved creating multiple iterations, starting with low-fidelity mockups in Balsamiq for the homepage, theater, and movie landing pages. Special attention was paid to accommodating homepage takeovers without disrupting user navigation—a significant revenue stream during major film releases.

Usability testing was an iterative process, initially conducted internally and later with external users to ensure unbiased feedback. We adjusted our prototypes based on real user interactions, refining our designs continually.

HIGH-FIDELITY PROTOTYPING AND FINALIZATION

Transitioning to high-fidelity prototypes, we utilized Photoshop and InVision to bring our designs closer to the final product. Continuous usability testing guided these refinements, ensuring that each element of the user interface met our usability standards and aesthetic expectations.

CHALLENGES AND ADAPTIONS

Introducing UX principles to a company unfamiliar with user-centered design posed significant challenges. We navigated limited budgets and resource constraints by leveraging free tool versions and conducting cost-effective user testing.

The biggest takeaway was the critical importance of prioritizing essential site features, particularly the checkout process. Our oversight in thoroughly testing this component led to a noticeable decline in user membership and potential sales, underscoring the need for meticulous attention to every detail in the user's journey.