Skip to content
D David Williams
WordPress Performance UX/UI Data Visualization CMS Architecture Scalability Interactive Design

Powder Alliance Global Ski Website

Designed and developed a high-performance WordPress website for Powder Alliance, improving page speed, engagement, and enabling scalable content management for 18 global resorts.

2020
Powder Alliance
Lead Designer & Developer
screenshot of Powder Alliance Global Ski Website

🚀 Overview

Designed and developed a modern, high-performance website for Powder Alliance to showcase its global reciprocal season pass program spanning 18 world-class ski resorts. The new platform focused on improving discoverability, visual storytelling, and scalability while enabling partner resorts to manage their own content.

👤 My Role

Lead Web Designer & Developer responsible for end-to-end delivery, including UX/UI design, frontend development, CMS architecture, and performance optimization.

⚠️ The Challenge

  • Outdated WordPress implementation with legacy plugins and theme
  • Slow page load times and poor performance
  • Dated visual design with limited engagement
  • Manual content management bottleneck (single admin managing all 18 resort pages)
  • Lack of interactive tools to communicate the global value of the program

🛠️ The Solution

Design & Experience:

  • Redesigned the site with a modern, visually engaging UI and updated color palette
  • Introduced immersive imagery to better represent each destination

Interactive Exploration:

  • Built an interactive global map allowing users to explore all 18 partner resorts
  • Improved geographic discovery and user engagement

Data Visualization:

  • Developed animated charts to highlight key mountain features (terrain, snowfall, elevation)
  • Improved user understanding of resort differences at a glance

CMS & Scalability:

  • Rebuilt the site using the latest WordPress + Elementor Pro
  • Implemented ACF-based structured content model for each partner resort
  • Enabled decentralized content management for all 18 partners

Performance & Infrastructure:

  • Integrated Cloudflare for caching, image optimization, and security
  • Optimized frontend performance and load times
  • Deployed on WP Engine for scalable, reliable hosting

📈 Outcome / Impact

  • Improved page performance score from 42 → 90
  • Increased time on page by 200% during peak winter season
  • Reduced admin workload by 5–8 hours per month
  • Saved ~40 hours per winter season through decentralized content management
  • Increased engagement through interactive map and data visualizations
  • Delivered a scalable platform supporting 18 global resort partners
  • Modernized visual experience aligned with premium ski destinations
screenshot of Powder Alliance Global Ski Website Color Palette

🧰 Tech Used

WordPress Cloudflare WP Engine Elementor Pro Coveo Advanced Custom Fields (ACF)