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Wakefield Council

Delivering a Destination-Focused WordPress Platform to Boost Local Tourism and Cultural Engagement

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Background

Experience Wakefield is Wakefield Council’s official destination marketing platform — promoting events, attractions, heritage, and cultural experiences across the district. From art exhibitions and live performances to historic landmarks and family activities, the site plays a central role in encouraging tourism, economic development, and community engagement.

As part of its ambition to better showcase the district’s unique offering, Wakefield Council commissioned a complete redesign and rebuild of the Experience Wakefield website. The goal was to create a visually engaging, high-performance WordPress platform that could serve residents, tourists, and local partners alike — all while being easy to manage internally. 6B was appointed to deliver a flexible and future-ready solution.

The Need

The existing platform was visually outdated and difficult to manage, with inconsistent page structures and limited capacity for showcasing dynamic event content. Content publishing required technical input, and the design lacked the visual impact expected from a modern destination brand. The site also offered limited flexibility for highlighting campaigns, seasonal content, or partnerships.

Wakefield Council required:

  • A fully custom WordPress CMS with a modular content structure
  • Visually engaging templates to showcase events, attractions, and venues
  • Improved performance and SEO to drive tourism traffic
  • Integration with third-party ticketing and CRM platforms
  • Role-based access for internal teams and partners
  • Mobile optimisation and WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility compliance

The Solution

6B delivered a bespoke WordPress website for Experience Wakefield, designed to celebrate the region’s cultural offer while providing a robust, flexible CMS for internal teams. We developed a new content architecture based on user journey research — optimising paths to What’s On listings, venue directories, trail guides, and editorial content.

Using Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) and custom post types, we created reusable blocks for events, attractions, articles, and campaigns. Each content type is filterable, location-aware, and optimised for both mobile and desktop users.

The visual design showcases high-quality imagery, interactive maps, and bold typography — creating a strong sense of place and identity. Event pages support embedded media, linked venue data, and booking integration, while the homepage dynamically highlights upcoming events, featured content, and seasonal promotions.

Accessibility and performance were key throughout. The platform meets WCAG 2.1 AA standards and is built with lightweight, standards-compliant code optimised for fast load times and high SEO scores.

Wakefield Council’s internal team was provided with full training, documentation, and a CMS interface tailored to non-technical editors. The new platform is also built to support microsites and thematic campaigns — allowing Experience Wakefield to grow and adapt alongside local cultural priorities.

The Impact

Since launch, the new Experience Wakefield website has seen a significant increase in engagement from both residents and visitors. Events and attractions are easier to discover and share, and the Council’s internal team can now update listings, launch campaigns, and promote local culture without external support.

The platform has become a powerful tool for local economic development — supporting tourism, promoting venues, and encouraging participation in Wakefield’s cultural life. With a modern, scalable WordPress platform in place, Wakefield Council is now better positioned to grow its destination brand, support local creatives, and champion everything the district has to offer.

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