Cork Whiskey Fest

Project Challenge

While the initial website met the festival’s early needs, rapid growth revealed areas that required improvement to better serve organisers and attendees. Working closely with the festival organisers, we identified key areas where the site’s functionality and user experience could be enhanced. As the festival grew in scale and complexity, the digital infrastructure needed to evolve in step.
With the success of the in inaugural festival, new challenges began to emerge:

• The ticketing system worked, but manual order lists created friction at check-in leading to bottlenecks.
• The festival organisers received a high volume of ticket related emails all with the same queries.
• We noticed that whilst the ticketing page outlined all the events in one place, the layout resulted in multiple single ticket order by the same customers.
• As more events and masterclasses were added, the site became harder to navigate.
• The festival organisers also required a new booking portal for festival vendors so that they could also take payments and keep track of exhibitor bookings through the website.
• The mobile app was added after the fact and had to be made to work with the existing site rather than alongside it.
• Updates over time had been patchworked in — useful in the short term, but not sustainable as the site and festival expanded.

The goal for the redesign was to fix those underlying issues, future-proof the setup, and make everything easier to manage for both the organisers and attendees.

Web Design & Development

The new site was rebuilt from the ground up with flexibility, ease of use, and growth in mind. However, it was also important that the overall aesthetic structure of the website didn’t change completely. The client was happy with the existing layout, it was clean, uncluttered, and intentionally simple to help users find key information and purchase tickets quickly. That simplicity was preserved in the redesign.

Most of the work in the 2025 update was done in the background, restructuring how content and ticketing systems were handled behind the scenes. Visual updates were made only where they were necessary to improve functionality or enhance the customer experience.

Key improvements:

• Improved Ticketing System: After year one, organisers identified bottlenecks with manual order-list check-ins. Tickera was introduced so attendees could use scannable QR tickets (available for print and mobile) and staff could process entry faster and more reliably.
• Wallet Support: Apple/Google Wallet support was added to make ticket access on phones easier and more convenient at check-in, whilst supporting a better green footprint by reducing the need for paper tickets.
• Better Navigation for Events & Tickets: Previously users were placing multiple separate orders for what should have been a single ticket purchase. Adding ticket quantity selectors reduced repeated orders and sped up checkout.
• Ticket Visibility: Clear stock levels and availability are now shown, making it easier for people to plan their purchases and reducing common queries.
• Exhibitor Listings: A full list of exhibiting brands is now featured on the homepage, complete with info on where each brand is located and quick-links to buy tickets.
• Improved FAQ Sections: An FAQ was introduced to address recurring support emails about ticket access and reduce administrative workload.
• Showcasing Exclusive Festival Bottlings: Each year, Cork Whiskey Fest releases a number of limited-edition whiskey bottlings, some of which have gone on to win awards. To support this growing part of the festival, a dedicated page was added to the website to showcase current and past releases. This gives the bottlings the attention they deserve while making it easier for attendees and collectors to find information about each release in one place.
• Built for Growth & API Integration: While much of the functionality is visible on the front end, the backend of the site was completely restructured with long-term flexibility in mind. The new build is designed to support API integrations from the ground up — making it easier to sync data with other systems (like the mobile app), and opening the door to future expansions such as purchasing tickets through the app. Updates can now be made faster and with less risk of breaking things, which is essential for an event that grows and evolves each year.

By rebuilding the website with a focus on flexibility, user experience, and backend scalability, the redesign directly addressed the growing pains identified after the inaugural festival. The enhanced ticketing system, clearer navigation, and new features like exhibitor listings and API integration not only improved day-to-day management for organisers but also delivered a smoother, more intuitive experience for attendees — setting the stage for sustainable growth and future innovation.

Mobile App Development

After the first festival, the client wanted a better experience for attendees on the day — particularly when it came to finding event info and navigating the venues. To address this, two native mobile apps were developed (one for iOS in Swift and one for Android in Java).

Originally, these apps had to work around the limitations of the pre-existing website, which wasn’t built with app support in mind. This caused ongoing friction: updates to events or tickets on the site had to be manually implemented in both apps, which made expansion and maintenance more complicated.

For the 2025 rebuild, this was addressed at the core level. The website was restructured to provide clean API access, allowing the app to pull data directly — ensuring both platforms now work seamlessly together and making future development much more efficient.

Core Features of the App:

• View full event and masterclass details

• Browse interactive festival floorplans to see where each brand is located at the Brand Expo & Social(s).

• Use GPS-based directions to find venues from current location.

• Receive real-time push notifications for last-minute updates or changes.

Outcomes & Improvements

While ticket sales remained consistent year-on-year, operational efficiency improved significantly following the introduction of QR-based ticket scanning and structured ordering improvements.