Goodwood modernizes digital experience with Optimizely CMS 12

Goodwood Estate is one of the England’s most prestigious sporting venues. Owned by the Duke of Richmond, the estate spans over 11,000 acres and is renowned for hosting a variety of world-class events, including the Festival of Speed, The Qatar Goodwood Festival, and The Goodwood Revival. 

Established in the late 17th century by the first Duke of Richmond, Goodwood has a rich history that includes a historic motor circuit, a racecourse, an aerodrome two golf courses, a 91-room hotel, and an 18th-century clubhouse. Its commitment to excellence and tradition has cemented Goodwood's reputation as a premier destination for motorsport, horse racing, and luxury hospitality.

Goodwood Estate has undertaken a significant digital transformation, redesigning their flagship website whilst also making the decision to upgrade to Optimizely’s latest CMS, CMS 12. This upgrade is pivotal in delivering a faster, more dynamic, and user-friendly experience that encapsulates Goodwood's premium brand. The new website features a clean design and rich video content, offering an immersive experience that reflects the prestige and elegance of Goodwood.

An example page highlighting Goodwood's new modern digital experience

Why Optimizely?
Simon Gardiner, Head of Digital Product at Goodwood Estate, explained that Goodwood began to utilize Optimizely’s CMS in 2016 due to the limitations of their legacy CMS, which was not mobile-optimized and became cumbersome to manage. Optimizely’s CMS offered the scalability, flexibility, and user-friendly interface required to manage Goodwood's vast content and high traffic volumes, enabling a seamless and engaging digital experience.

The initial move to Optimizely CMS in 2016 marked a significant improvement, but the sprawling nature of the website still posed challenges. Upgrading to CMS 12 provided Goodwood with the tools needed to streamline their content management processes and improve overall site performance.

Why CMS 12?
Goodwood’s transition to Optimizely’s CMS 12, the fastest version to date, was driven by the need for improved performance and scalability. CMS 12 offers enhanced user experience and access to new functionalities, essential for Goodwood’s ambitious digital goals. The decision to upgrade was a strategic move to leverage the latest advancements in CMS technology and provide a superior digital experience for their visitors.

CMS 12 improves website performance and reduces load times, crucial for events like the Festival of Speed. Its scalability ensures stability during peak traffic, while new features simplify site management, enhancing the user experience for both administrators and visitors.

Goodwood’s comprehensive website redesign
The redesign of Goodwood's website was a comprehensive effort to create a modern digital experience that encapsulates the essence of Goodwood's premium brand. The new website features a clean, sleek design with a heavy emphasis on high-quality video content, offering an immersive experience that reflects the prestige and elegance of Goodwood.

Design and Development Process
The redesign process was meticulous and involved extensive collaboration among Goodwood’s digital team and their trusted partner, dotcraft. The process included several key stages:

Goodwood's upgrade to CMS 12 and the comprehensive website redesign have significantly enhanced Goodwood’s digital presence. Advanced features like Visitor Groups and the Visual Editor have empowered Goodwood to deliver a dynamic, personalized, and visually captivating experience for their audience. The new website not only reflects the luxury and premium nature of the Goodwood brand but also provides an efficient and engaging user experience.

By leveraging Optimizely's Visitor Groups, Goodwood can tailor content dynamically based on user behaviour and characteristics. This allows them to define segments such as first-time visitors, returning members, or users engaged in specific content categories, ensuring that each visitor receives the most relevant information. This segmentation enhances engagement by showing content that aligns with the visitor’s interests and past interactions, providing flexibility and control to quickly adapt to changing user behaviours and preferences.

The Visual Editor in Optimizely's CMS has been instrumental in Goodwood's ability to create and preview content seamlessly. Key benefits include real-time previews that allow quick switches to visual preview mode to see how content blocks stack up, ensuring that the layout and design are visually appealing and functional across devices. Mobile optimization features enable easy checks on how content renders on different devices, ensuring a consistent and high-quality user experience on mobile platforms.

Efficient editing and instant publishing allow for quick iterations and immediate updates, crucial during events or promotional periods. Additionally, the ability to visualize how different visitor groups will see the content makes it easier to ensure that personalization strategies are effectively implemented.

Goodwood’s focus on storytelling is significantly enhanced by the CMS’s ability to manage structured data. This capability allows them to utilize dynamic, interchangeable content blocks, such as trivia facts and quotes, that keep the site feeling fresh and engaging for repeat visitors. Tagging and associating content with relevant metadata ensures that the most appropriate and interesting snippets are displayed, enriching the visitor's experience with every visit.

User management within Optimizely’s CMS allows Goodwood to control who can edit, publish, and change content, providing a structured workflow that is essential for maintaining the integrity of their site. This capability is particularly useful during high-pressure periods, such as when new events go on sale, as it facilitates the preparation, review, and approval of multiple updates simultaneously.

Security is another critical aspect where Optimizely excels, allowing Goodwood to focus on their core mission without undue concern. The CMS’s robust .NET foundation and integration with Azure provide a secure and scalable environment, which has passed extensive penetration testing. This robust security setup means that Goodwood's team can dedicate more time to enhancing their brand rather than worrying about potential vulnerabilities.

With CMS 12, Goodwood can now easily manage and update content, ensuring a consistent and engaging user experience. The improved speed and scalability of CMS 12 have allowed Goodwood to handle high traffic volumes seamlessly, which is crucial during major events like the Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival. The new website has achieved impressive performance metrics, including a 93 out of 100 on core web vitals. The faster load times and improved responsiveness contribute to higher user satisfaction and engagement.

Partnership with Optimizely and dotcraft

dotcraft has been a critical partner, providing the technical expertise and support needed to manage Goodwood’s DXP instance on the Azure platform. Their collaboration with Optimizely’s tech teams ensures that the platform runs smoothly, allowing Goodwood to focus on delivering an exceptional digital experience. They handle the heavy lifting and technical management, ensuring the site’s stability and performance.

Useful Integrations
Optimizely’s CMS 12 has enabled Goodwood to integrate various third-party tools and platforms seamlessly, enhancing their digital capabilities.

Vimeo, Brightcove, and YouTube integrations enable high-quality video content delivery, allowing easy embedding and management within the CMS, resulting in vibrant auto-play motion graphics and high-definition videos.

The Bynder integration streamlines asset management, facilitating efficient handling and deployment of extensive imagery and video content. Editors can quickly find, manage, and deploy assets without leaving the CMS. 

Additionally, integrations with Google Tag Manager and custom web services for CRM integration enable detailed tracking and analysis of user behaviour, crucial for refining digital strategies and understanding user preferences.

Conclusion
Goodwood’s upgrade to Optimizely CMS 12 and the comprehensive redesign of their website have significantly enhanced their digital presence. The new website not only reflects the luxury and premium nature of the Goodwood brand but also provides an efficient and engaging user experience. With the continued support of Optimizely and their partners, Goodwood is well-positioned to deliver an unparalleled digital experience for their visitors.

In the next 12 to 18 months, Goodwood plans to upgrade its entire ticketing e-commerce platform. A major milestone will be launching the new ticketing platform by the end of this year. Following this, Goodwood will undertake a significant phase two project to integrate the entire sales flow, including basket checkout and personalized recommendations, into goodwood.com. This integration aims to make Goodwood's website one of the best in the world, enhancing user experience and streamlining the purchase process.

Optimizely CMS 12 has proven to be an invaluable tool in Goodwood’s digital transformation, offering the speed, flexibility, and integration capabilities needed to support their diverse and dynamic business. As Goodwood continues to innovate and expand their digital offerings, their partnership with Optimizely will remain a cornerstone of their success. The seamless integration of various tools and the ability to manage complex content efficiently have set Goodwood apart as a leader in providing a premium digital experience.