Christophe Harbour

One of the great advantages of Christophe Harbour is that it’s on the island of St. Kitts, far removed from the usual, overcrowded Caribbean resorts. But that doesn't mean the developers want it to remain a secret. Having already secured features in Conde Nast Traveler, Elite Traveler and USA Today, the award-winning partners behind Christophe Harbour wanted to take their efforts further and create a new website that would capture the attention and imagination of potential island visitors. That's when we at {e} house slipped on our thinking caps (and beach sandals) and went to work.

The website needed to achieve several goals. First, present in a stunning fashion the unparalleled beauty of Christophe Harbour with its five-star resorts, would-class restaurants and mega-yacht harbor. Also, speak to the developers' commitment to preserving the natural beauty and wildlife of St. Kitts. And then, include an easily updated blog that could provide up-to-the-minute information while generating search engine optimized copy targeted to the interests of the island’s core market.

Like the Christophe Harbour resorts themselves, we didn't hold back.

Working with freelance flash developers and the high-end real estate experts at partner-agency FORMO, we integrated video, photography and text in a distinctive, eye-opening combination equal to the unique beauty of Christophe Harbour. This cutting-edge website required the artists and programmers to fuse html and flash elements in such a way that keeps the site rich with accessible html content while losing none of the sleekness of a cutting-edge flash environment. Typically, flash-heavy sites require a second site programmed in html in order to generate hits on search engines. This doubles the cost of development and hosting. We circumvented this problem by creating a flash movie background with an overlay of html and ajax. Using a content management system, the programming allows clients to easily update to ensure the information on the site is always current. Additionally, the site allows us to track conversions and Google analytics with all the ease of a typical html site.

Of course, we didn't stop there.

Per the request of the Christophe Harbour developers, we also put together an easy-to-update blog. More than just a way for fans of Christophe Harbour to keep up with the latest goings on, the blog allows us to write search-engine friendly posts that discuss popular topics such as sports fishing, yachting, cooking and other activities widely enjoyed on St. Kitts. This way, people interested in these activities can easily discover the advantages of Christophe Harbour even if they are unfamiliar with the resort. It’s a simple yet innovative way to make sure this spectacular resort and its incredible site get all the attention they deserve.