TravelTech Product Design
Bridging TravelTech and UX: Designing a Scalable WordPress Plugin for Cruise Data Integration
BANC Digital, Cruise Clients
Ongoing project (working on UI for users of plugin)
UX & Product Designer (led discovery, research, design, prototyping)
TravelTech
Myself, Developers, Strategy Director, Project Manager
Project context
While working across multiple cruise clients (including Cruise Nation, My Kind of Cruise, and AG River Cruises), our team identified a recurring pain point: integrating cruise itineraries via Widgety was clunky, slow, and inconsistent.
The market offered two poor options:
iFrame embed → quick but inflexible, poor for branding and SEO.
Custom API integration → powerful but expensive, slow, and inconsistent across clients.
This created problems for users (outdated info, poor usability), for travel agents (manual updates, higher dev costs), and for our dev team (reinventing the wheel each time).
We saw an opportunity to design a standardised, scalable, SEO-friendly plugin — something reusable that solved problems across clients while creating a new revenue stream for the agency.
My role
Product & UX Design: branding, naming, UI design for plugin interface, and marketing one-pager site.
Product Definition: collaborated with devs and directors to shape the feature set and customer value proposition.
Research & Validation: competitor scan, naming workshops, and feedback cycles with internal stakeholders.
Storytelling: articulated client/user benefits and created the product landing page and explainer content.
Research & Insights
Competitor Analysis → Reviewed existing travel tech integrations and mapped positioning gaps.
Naming Workshop → Explored 12 routes (e.g., Compass, Orca, Wavefarer). Final choice: Pontoon → evoking stability, flexibility, and connection.
User Needs → Agents required faster updates, sold-out flags, SEO optimisation, and automated itinerary generation.
Business Needs → Our agency wanted a repeatable product to cut dev costs and generate new SaaS-style income.
The solution - Pontoon
A universal WordPress plugin connecting Widgety’s cruise package data to travel agent websites.
Core Features:
Maps API data into templated WordPress pages.
Automates dynamic listings and itinerary pages.
SEO-friendly (unlike iframe).
Flexible branding and modular display options.
Centralised updates → scalable across multiple clients.
Why It Matters:
For users → faster load, more accurate info, smoother journeys.
For clients → reduced dev costs, quicker go-live, better performance.
For agency → predictable recurring revenue, new SaaS-like business model, strategic positioning in travel tech.
Process
Discovery → Mapping existing pain points from multiple cruise clients.
Concept Development → Defined MVP feature set with devs and directors.
Brand Creation → Naming, logo, visual identity, tone of voice.
Product Storytelling → One-pager website + explainer content.
Delivery → Plugin launched internally, now being prepared for market in partnership with Widgety.
Design & Branding
Name: Pontoon → symbol of stability, accessibility, and seamless connection.
Logo & Identity: Tech-forward, clean, distinct from agency brand but credible in B2B SaaS.
Landing Page: One-pager explaining the plugin, benefits, and CTA for demo/consultation.
Explainer Video: Simple motion graphics to illustrate “problem → solution → benefits → future growth.”
Impact
Reduced overhead
Reduced dev overhead by standardising integrations across multiple cruise clients
Saas revenue
Creates a new SaaS-style revenue stream for the agency
Improved SEO
Improved SEO and performance for client sites
Leader in Travel Tech
Strengthened agency's position as a leader in travel tech innovation
Future opps
Opened partnership opps with Widgety for referrals and future booking integrations
Reflections & next steps
What I’d do differently:
Add user-facing research (e.g. travel agent interviews) to refine plugin UX further.
Develop a clearer roadmap for phased roll-out (MVP → advanced features).
Next Steps:
Expand branding & product site into a full marketing toolkit.
Build more platform-agnostic versions (e.g. Drupal).
Explore direct SaaS licensing model beyond agency clients.
Key takeaway
This project shows how UX design can move beyond screens. Shaping, not just interfaces, but scalable products that deliver value to users, clients, and the business.
