A user-centric new website for an award winning ferry company.

Wightlink's 4.5 million annual passengers now book ferry crossings through a redesigned website built around how they actually plan and travel. The new platform handles 140+ daily sailings across three routes, turning complex timetabling and fare structures into clear, considered decisions.Passengers searching for the best crossing time now see real-time availability, instant fare comparisons, and flexible booking options without having to navigate multiple pages or wrestle with unclear pricing. The site's journey planner anticipates common questions, like vehicle sizes, passenger numbers, travel dates, and presents the right information at the right time.Since launch, we've continued expanding the platform's capabilities. The Best Fare Finder automatically compares ticket options across dates and times to give the user genuine savings. The Wightlink Explorer helps passengers discover Isle of Wight destinations and plan their visit alongside their crossing, turning a transactional booking into trip inspiration.

Wightlink

To get a true understanding of Wightlink’s requirements and pain points, we held regular workshops to discuss key phases of the design and build.

Customers booking ferry crossings often don't know which route suits them best or whether their vehicle qualifies for standard pricing. Staff knew this. They fielded the same questions hundreds of times daily. Traditional user testing revealed the problems; workshop sessions conducted onboard actual ferry crossings uncovered why they persisted.Passengers planning trips while travelling showed us they juggle multiple variables simultaneously: outbound and return times, vehicle sizes, passenger counts, and flexible dates all compete for attention. The existing booking flow forced linear decisions, making customers backtrack repeatedly or abandon bookings to double-check details.This shaped three core design principles: present all variables immediately, eliminate unnecessary steps, and remember context for returning visitors. The booking widget now displays route options, live availability, and vehicle requirements on a single screen. The site architecture puts timetables, fares, and booking within one click of each other, regardless of entry point.

UX Research

The website pulls live operational data into every stage of the passenger journey.

Real-time service updates show delays or cancellations directly under the navigation bar. Live Feefo reviews surface on route pages, helping first-time visitors choose between Wightlink's three island routes based on passenger experiences. Interactive maps display geolocation and nearby facilities.Behind all of this sits direct integration with Wightlink's internal booking system, syncing purchases, vehicle details, and passenger data instantly. The site handles bookings for 140+ daily sailings without manual processing or duplicate entries.

Real-time platform integration

Wightlink operates three ferry routes between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, carrying 4.5 million passengers annually across 140+ daily sailings. Their website handles the majority of bookings for both leisure travellers and island residents who rely on regular crossings for commuting and essential travel.We've worked with Wightlink since 2017, rebuilding their platform and continuously developing new features that turn complex timetabling and fare structures into clear passenger decisions.

Large-scale UX research, content auditing and website build for Wightlink.

Large-scale UX research, content auditing and website build for Wightlink.

A bespoke platform to allow the public to submit toy invention ideas.

Hasbro wanted to do something unusual in the toy industry: open their invention process to everyone, not just professional inventors. We designed and built a platform where anyone with a toy or game idea can submit it directly to Hasbro's team.From brand identity to visual design to the platform build, we created an experience that makes the submission process feel accessible and inspiring. The platform handles everything from idea submission and evaluation to secure IP management, giving Hasbro a streamlined way to discover the next generation of toys.

Hasbro

Hasbro’s new platform needed to integrate with the existing professional inventors platform we’d built for them.

We'd previously built Hasbro's platform for professional inventors. The new public submission system needed to integrate seamlessly with that existing workflow.Public submissions flow into the same external inventor management platform, where Hasbro's team reviews and evaluates all ideas in one place. This unified system means promising concepts from public inventors get the same consideration as professional submissions.

Bespoke Integrations

Established in 1923, Hasbro are one of the worlds largest children’s toy manufacturers, with brands such as Monopoly, Dungeons & Dragons and Peppa Pig part of their vast portfolio.We’re been working with Hasbro for over a decade, and we continue to work with them to allow inventors and creators across the globe to submit their creations to Hasbro, allowing their portfolio of games to continue to grow.

Building a custom software platform for one of the world's largest toy manufacturers. 

Building a custom software platform for one of the world's largest toy manufacturers.

Setting the foundation for a future-proofed digital presence for Harwin.

Harwin came to us wanting to refresh their online presence, modernise their platform, and fix the technical issues that had built up over time. More importantly, they needed a website that could actually handle 4,000+ products and make them easy to find.So, we rebuilt the site from the ground up. The new platform brings together Harwin’s <a href="https://sidigital.co/services/integrate/salesforce">Salesforce</a> system for product data, <a href="https://sidigital.co/services/integrate/asset-management-software">Bynder</a> for digital assets, and Payload CMS for content management, all served through a fast Next.js frontend. Everything syncs automatically, so when Harwin updates a product in Salesforce, it appears on the website almost instantly.The results speak for themselves. Pages load 90% faster, product information stays accurate across over 4,000 products, and customers can find exactly what they need without the wait. It's a website that matches the precision of Harwin's aerospace-grade connectors.

Harwin

Harwin manufactures over 4,000 products. From connectors for spacecraft and medical devices to high-reliability applications like UAVs. We redesigned and restructured how customers discover and explore them.

Always up-to-date Thanks to our custom middleware, the Harwin website syncs website data with their Salesforce database. When their team updates a product, those changes appear almost instantly. No manual updates, no stale data. Salesforce also acts as a source of truth for all of Harwin’s data, so there’s one key place to check data.Filtering that works We integrated Elastic Search to handle complex queries instantly. Filter by connector type, mounting style, contact material, or any combination, and results appear in milliseconds. We’ve seen a 97% increase in filter interaction since launch, showing customers are actually using it.Everything in one place Product images and technical documents pull from Bynder. CAD files display through TraceParts and Samacsys. Real-time stock availability appears via TrustedParts. All running on our custom middleware and a REST API.

Finding Products, Fast

Harwin’s new website is built using Payload, a modern, headless CMS.

The site is built using Payload CMS, a modern content management system. Harwin's marketing team can create and edit pages without developer help. Dynamic components keep the design consistent while giving them flexibility for new content.The interface is clean, navigation is logical, and everything is built to help users find what they need fast. Want to know more about why we use Payload? Read our <a href="https://sidigital.co/lab-notes/why-weve-swapped-wordpress-for-payload">Lab Note about the benefits</a>.

Built on Payload

We built a tool that lets Harwin's customers configure custom cables, preview them in 3D, and submit them directly to sales.

Many of Harwin's customers need cables built to exact specifications. We designed and built a tool that lets them configure exactly what they need, see it in 3D, and submit it directly to Harwin's sales team.The interface uses a sidebar layout that guides users through each option logically, taking them through cable length, connector type, contact configuration, and more. As they build, a live 3D model updates in real-time via CADENAS' rendering engine. Visual cues like colour selectors and clear selection states make the process straightforward, even for more complex configurations.Once configured, users can submit their request, which feeds directly into Harwin's Salesforce. They can also download a PDF datasheet or export CAD files in multiple formats. What used to take multiple emails now happens in minutes.

Custom Cable Configurator

Since 1952, Harwin has been an industry leader in electrical connectors used in spacecrafts, airplanes, and electric vehicles, to name a few. We’ve established a relationship with Harwin over the last few years to become their digital partner, pushing their digital presence to new levels and enabling their business to grow through a powerful, fully integrated website.We continue to work with Harwin to push and develop their Salesforce website integration, always looking for growth opportunities and areas of improvement.

Bespoke website with Salesforce integration for a leading connector manufacturer.

Website design and build with custom Salesforce integration that slashed page load times by 90% for a leading connector manufacturer.

Work

Wightlink

Large-scale UX research, content auditing and website build for Wightlink.

Hasbro

Building a custom software platform for one of the world's largest toy manufacturers.

Harwin

Bespoke website with Salesforce integration for a leading connector manufacturer.