Case study - 2026
From template topassport.
Gluten Free Getaways runs celiac-focused small-group tours and custom itineraries. The old site worked. It just didn't sound like the trips did. We rebuilt the brand around the object every traveller already trusts: the passport.
01 - Before
A functional first version.
The original site said the right things but sold them at the wrong altitude. A stock hero, a nav bar that read as a to-do list, a video block that dropped in without context, forms straight out of the template library, and an itinerary laid out like a spreadsheet. Every element worked in isolation. Together they said "starter project" to a traveller about to spend five figures on a trip.
Hero
A pill CTA and an 8-link nav where every item competed for attention. Nothing signalled where a serious enquiry should go.
Proof section
A video embed floated on decorative flowers. The most valuable asset on the site, footage from a real trip, was presented like an afterthought.
Forms
Default template fields, grey boxes, no framing, no sense of what happens after submit. The waiting list used the same shape a second time with no visual reward.
Itinerary and pricing
Roman-numeral columns, tiny bullets, a pricing card that looked like a coupon. The trip is genuinely premium. The layout undersold it.
02 - After
A brand travellers recognise before they read it.
We built the site around one metaphor and refused to break it. The homepage opens as a passport. The itinerary reads as immigration stamps. The pricing table is a tariff card. Every CTA is an action a passenger takes: request your place, board with us, sign the manifest. Consistency turns design into brand memory.
01 - One idea, all the way
Passport system runs from nav to footer. No section breaks the metaphor.
02 - The proof, elevated
Trip footage became a 32-frame scroll-controlled sequence titled 'Scroll through your gluten-free meal.'
03 - Custom itinerary made visible
A sample day sits on the homepage so travellers see exactly what they would receive before they enquire.
04 - Real voices
Testimonials from actual travellers presented as correspondence. Trust the old site could not offer.
03 - Outcomes
Design that pulls its weight.
Since relaunch, Gluten Free Getaways has moved from a site that described the offer to one that closes on it. Enquiries now arrive pre-qualified and reference specific pages before the first reply. The 2027 waiting list fills without paid promotion. Custom-itinerary requests convert at a rate the old form never did.
Numbers are still early and the market is niche by design. What matters more is the shape of the conversation. Travellers arrive knowing the trip is serious. That was the goal.
Positioning
From 'gluten-free travel blog' energy to 'boutique tour operator' without changing the offer.
Inbound quality
Enquiries cite specific itinerary pages and custom-planning language. Fewer tire-kickers.
Compounding SEO
Long-form journal articles with schema drive organic traffic for high-intent celiac travel searches.
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