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Case Study: Longue Vue

Longue Vue House and Gardens is a historic estate and cultural institution nestled at 7 Bamboo Road in New Orleans. Known for its lush gardens, curated events, and public tours, Longue Vue is a staple of the local landscape. However, their digital presence didn’t reflect the charm and sophistication of the property. Their website was outdated, difficult to manage internally, and not mobile-friendly—falling short of the serene beauty visitors experienced in person.

The Previous Website

Before the redesign, the Longue Vue website served its core purpose but had begun to show its age. The homepage, while informative, lacked visual cohesion and didn’t fully capture the charm or vibrancy of the gardens. Important content like event listings and visitor information was available—but not always easy to find, especially for first-time visitors. As the organization grew and added more programming, the site became harder to navigate and maintain, especially without dedicated in-house development resources.

The redesign had a clear set of goals: modernize the site’s look and feel, improve navigation and readability, and ensure the experience carried across devices. Just as importantly, Longue Vue wanted to bring future development efforts in-house, so they could manage updates without relying on third-party developers.

The Mobile Experience: A Growing Gap

The mobile version of the site presented an additional challenge. With more visitors accessing the web from phones and tablets, a responsive layout had become essential. Unfortunately, the older design wasn’t built with mobile in mind. Text and images didn’t always scale properly, and some interactive elements—like dropdown menus or buttons—were difficult to use on smaller screens. Pages that looked fine on desktop would shift awkwardly on mobile, creating confusion or requiring extra effort to navigate.

This wasn’t just a matter of aesthetics—it had real implications for engagement. Guests looking for quick information about hours, tours, or upcoming events often struggled to find what they needed, especially when visiting the site from the parking lot or on the way to the property. For those trying to purchase tickets or register for a program, the friction could sometimes mean abandoning the effort altogether.

The team at Longue Vue was aware of these pain points and had done their best to adapt over time, but the limitations of the existing framework made improvements difficult. A more responsive, user-friendly foundation was needed—one that could scale gracefully with their growing programming and support visitors no matter how they reached the site.

The New Homepage: A Fresh Start, Rooted in Place

Our work with Longue Vue began with a full audit of the existing site—both technically and from a user experience perspective. We listened closely to the team’s goals: simplify navigation, better reflect the beauty of the grounds, and create a system they could manage confidently in-house.

Using Figma, we collaborated on a series of design mockups that elevated their visual identity while staying grounded in the spirit of the estate. The result is a homepage that feels both modern and timeless, with clean lines, intuitive structure, and space to let photos of the gardens shine.

We built the new site on WordPress to ensure flexibility and ease of use, customizing the theme and components to match the design system we developed. The site now performs smoothly across all screen sizes, and content updates—whether it’s a new event or a seasonal message—can be made directly by their internal team.

Supporting the Transition: Design Guide & Onboarding

To make sure the team felt confident long after launch, we provided training, documentation, and ongoing support. We walked through how to build new pages, update content, and maintain design consistency using the custom toolkit we built into the theme. What began as a redesign became a collaborative shift toward long-term self-sufficiency.

Today, the Longue Vue website is a more accurate reflection of the place itself—thoughtful, elegant, and welcoming. The team is empowered to make updates and share new stories without having to start from scratch each time. And most importantly, visitors—no matter what device they’re on—can now experience the same clarity and beauty online that they’ll find at the gardens themselves.