Category
Website Design
Services
Web Design, Digital Design, UX/UI Design
Location
Swindon, England
Bravedog was chosen to design and build the new website for STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway, a Swindon icon and one of the area’s most visited attractions.
The new site elevates STEAM’s story, simplifies ticketing and events discovery, and gives the team a flexible platform to grow seasonal campaigns and special
exhibitions.
STEAM’s previous site carried a lot of history—but not enough momentum. Content was hard to manage, exhibitions were buried, and visitors were bouncing before they booked. The brief was simple and ambitious:
• Make planning a visit effortless (especially on mobile)
• Surface dynamic events and exhibitions
• Improve online conversions for tickets, groups, learning and venue hire
• Respect the heritage; feel modern, confident and Swindon-proud
We understand culture brands and we live the local context. Our pitch focussed on clarity over clutter: fast journeys
to tickets, bold storytelling for exhibitions, and an editor-friendly CMS so STEAM’s team could move at exhibition
speed. STEAM selected Bravedog to deliver strategy, UX, design, and full stack build.
• Awareness: Organic sessions up +223%
• Engagement: Time on “What’s On” up +134%
• Conversion: Ticket pre-bookings up +118%
STEAM remains one of Swindon’s most popular attractions 45,000+ general visitors recorded in 2024 (not including major event footfall), based on Swindon Borough Council reporting. The new site is built to help turn that interest into
committed visits and repeat engagement.
Project Strategy: Nick
Digital Design: Matt
Timeframe: 9 Weeks
Budget range: £20k
"Working with Bravedog has transformed the way we present STEAM online. Our new website finally does justice to the scale of our collections and events, while making it so much easier for people to plan their visit and book tickets. The Bravedog team were brilliant - creative, responsive and always thinking ahead about what our audiences need. Since launch we’ve seen a real uplift in online engagement and pre-bookings, and the site gives us the confidence and flexibility to promote exhibitions and events at pace. It’s been a genuine step change for us."
Marketing Manager, STEAM - Museum of the Great Western Railway
