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Kudos Nepal
Key Insights and Design Strategies Driving Kudos Nepal’s Website Development
Our Role
At Ikran Innovation, we designed and developed the Kudos Nepal website from scratch using the Cornerstone page builder. Our focus was on creating an engaging, intuitive, and visually immersive experience that highlights Nepal’s trekking and mountaineering adventures led by Ang Tsering Sherpa. The website emphasizes trip details, private and fixed guiding options, and easy booking for adventurers worldwide.
Team Structure
- 2 UX/UI Designers/DevelopersResearch Methods
- User surveys and interviews with past travelers, Usability testing of the previous site, Competitive analysis of adventure tourism websitesDiscipline
- UX Design, UI Design, Web Development, Content StrategyPlatform
- Web and Mobile ResponsiveTime Frame
- 3 monthsTechnology we used
Overview
Kudos Nepal, led by Ang Tsering Sherpa, is a premier trekking and mountaineering adventure company in Nepal. They needed a modern, professional website to clearly present their fixed departure and private guiding trips, highlight the loyalty and milestone program, and make the booking process seamless for travelers. They partnered with Ikran Innovation to redesign and develop the website from scratch using WordPress and Cornerstone, creating an engaging, intuitive, and visually immersive online experience.Outcomes
Improved trip discoverability and highlighted personalized guiding experiences
Streamlined booking and inquiry process to enhance traveler engagement
Strategic Value
Our redesign and development emphasized intuitive navigation, clear trip presentation, personalized guiding highlights, and responsive design, helping travelers understand offerings quickly, boosting trust, and increasing bookings.
Outcomes
55%
increase in trip inquiries within the first two months
40%
reduction in bounce rate due to enhanced navigation and content clarity
100%
positive client feedback on usability, design, and overall experience
“The redesigned website perfectly presents our adventures, making it easier for travelers to explore, book, and engage with our offerings. Ikran Innovation delivered an exceptional experience from design to launch.”
Ang Tsering Sherpa
Founder & Lead Guide, Kudos Nepal
The Challenge
Kudos Nepal, a leading trekking and mountaineering company in Nepal, aimed to modernize its online presence to better showcase trips, guides, and loyalty programs. Several challenges were identified that could impact user engagement, trip bookings, and trust with prospective travelers.
Limited Trip Clarity: Travelers often struggled to understand the variety of fixed departure and private guiding trips, their itineraries, and key highlights, making it difficult to choose the right adventure.
Complex Booking & Inquiry Flow: Without an intuitive navigation structure and clear calls-to-action, users found it challenging to inquire or book trips, reducing overall engagement and conversions.
Insufficient Trust Signals: The previous site lacked clear guides’ profiles, testimonials, and detailed information about safety, rewards, and milestone programs, limiting confidence for first-time clients.
Note: The primary issues identified were limited trip clarity, a non-intuitive booking flow, and insufficient credibility-building elements, each contributing to lower engagement and bookings.
To address these challenges, we conducted in-depth research, including competitor analysis, usability testing, and client consultations. These insights guided our design and development strategy, resulting in a visually engaging, user-friendly, and trustworthy online presence for Kudos Nepal.
Research
To uncover the key factors behind limited client engagement and identify where users were encountering friction, we conducted:
Outcomes
Interviews with 12 prospective and past travelers to understand their trip preferences, decision-making process, and information needs.
Competitive analysis of leading trekking and mountaineering websites to identify best practices in layout, trip presentation, and trust-building elements.
Usability testing on early wireframes and mockups to uncover navigation issues, accessibility concerns, and clarity of trip information.
Strategic Value
This research enabled us to design and develop a website that clearly communicates Kudos Nepal’s trips, private guiding services, and loyalty programs while building credibility for first-time clients.
Outcomes
Improved User Understanding: Identified gaps in trip descriptions, itinerary details, and rewards programs, enabling clearer communication of offerings and value.
Enhanced User Experience: Addressed navigation and layout issues to guide visitors smoothly to trip details, inquiries, and booking forms.
Trust Building: Highlighted opportunities to showcase guide profiles, testimonials, and safety information to increase client confidence.
The research provided actionable insights into user behavior, trip presentation, and competitive positioning. Leveraging these findings, we developed a fully functional website that enhances usability, encourages inquiries and bookings, and strengthens Kudos Nepal’s professional online presence.
Insights Recommendation
Insight 1
Users found it difficult to understand the range of trips offered by Kudos Nepal. Information about destinations, trip durations, and experience levels was scattered across multiple pages, which made decision-making confusing and time-consuming. Travelers often had to guess which trips suited their skill level or interests.
Web
Mobile
The Kudos Points system is a core feature of the brand experience, yet many users did not notice it or understand how to earn and redeem points. This lack of visibility reduced engagement with repeat bookings and prevented users from fully experiencing the program’s value.
Web
Mobile
Unclear information on features like '50 broadcasts per month' and '30k messages per month' further added to the confusion. This ambiguity led to an impression of incompleteness, impacting user trust and decision-making.
Web
Mobile
Although Ang’s expertise and years of experience were mentioned, these trust-building elements were not highlighted effectively on key pages. First-time users found it harder to gauge credibility and felt less confident committing to bookings.
Travelers were unclear about the differences between fixed departure trips and private guiding options.
Trip details like itineraries, costs, and inclusions/exclusions were difficult to find.
The rewards program and achievement badges were not easily discoverable or understandable.
This insight revealed that fragmented information, poor navigation, and low visibility of rewards and trust-building elements were creating friction in the user experience. Addressing these gaps was essential to improve clarity, user confidence, and conversion rates for Kudos Nepal’s trips and services.
Recommendation 1
To improve clarity and user confidence, we recommend consolidating trip details and presenting them in a clear, structured format. This will help travelers quickly understand the offerings, differences between trip types, and benefits of joining Kudos Nepal, reducing confusion and supporting informed decision-making.
Web
Mobile
Create dedicated, easy-to-navigate pages for each trip, clearly showing itinerary, duration, difficulty level, and cost.
Highlight key differentiators between fixed departure trips and private guiding options on the main trip overview pages.
Introduce interactive elements like maps, image galleries, and tabs for inclusions/exclusions to make information more digestible.
Increase visibility of the Kudos Points and achievement badge system to encourage repeat engagement and bookings.
Promote Ang’s expertise, years of experience, and testimonials prominently across trip and landing pages to build trust.
Implement clear CTAs (Call-to-Actions) for booking inquiries and trip registration, ensuring a seamless user journey from discovery to conversion.
Outcome
By implementing these recommendations, users will have a more intuitive and engaging experience. Travelers can easily understand trip offerings, build confidence in their choices, and interact with the rewards system. This leads to higher booking conversions, improved user satisfaction, and stronger loyalty to Kudos Nepal’s adventures.
Insight 2
During usability testing and site evaluation, we observed that visitors often struggled to find key information about trips, guides, and booking options. Users had to click through multiple pages or search manually for details, which caused frustration and longer decision-making times. The lack of intuitive menus and clear pathways reduced overall engagement and risked potential bookings being abandoned.
While the website provided rich content about trips and services, much of it was presented in long text blocks without clear visual hierarchy. Important information such as trip difficulty, itinerary, and inclusions/exclusions was buried, requiring excessive scrolling. This made it challenging for users to quickly compare trips and understand what each adventure offered.
Users struggled to differentiate between Fixed Departure and Private Guiding trips due to inconsistent labeling and placement of information.
Critical trip details like dates, costs, and what’s included/excluded were not immediately visible on landing pages, leading to repeated clicks and backtracking.
Visual and textual clutter affected readability, reducing user confidence and engagement with the content.
This insight highlighted that improving navigation, structuring content clearly, and prioritizing essential trip details are crucial for enhancing user experience. A streamlined layout and intuitive user flow would reduce friction, help travelers make quicker decisions, and increase overall engagement with Kudos Nepal’s offerings.
Recommendation 2
To improve user engagement and simplify decision-making, present each trip’s details including itinerary, difficulty, duration, and pricing clearly on a single page. This approach reduces the cognitive load for travelers and helps them quickly compare options without navigating multiple sections.
Web
Mobile
Consolidate trip details in a structured, visually appealing format for easy comprehension.
Outcome
Boosted trip inquiries by 30% and improved overall user satisfaction with trip selection.
Insight 3
During usability testing, it became evident that travelers often struggled to distinguish between Fixed Departure trips and Private Guiding experiences. Users expressed uncertainty about the differences in benefits, pricing, and flexibility, which sometimes caused hesitation in booking. Clear differentiation between these options was crucial to helping users make informed decisions confidently.
Additionally, users frequently scrolled through multiple sections to find information about trip inclusions, gear requirements, and accommodations. The lack of structured presentation slowed decision-making and increased the chance of drop-offs, particularly for first-time visitors unfamiliar with trekking logistics in Nepal.
Users found it difficult to compare Fixed Departure and Private Guiding options quickly.
Important trip details, like itinerary, inclusions, and gear requirements, were scattered across the page.
Limited visual hierarchy made key information less noticeable, affecting engagement and confidence.
This insight highlighted that clearly separating trip types, consolidating critical information, and using a structured visual hierarchy would significantly enhance user comprehension, reduce friction, and increase the likelihood of successful bookings.
Recommendation 3
To address the confusion between Fixed Departure and Private Guiding trips, we recommended implementing clearly separated sections with distinct headings, visual cues, and summary cards for each trip type. This would allow users to immediately recognize the differences in flexibility, pricing, and experience, streamlining their decision-making process.
Web
Mobile
Use dedicated visual cards for Fixed Departure and Private Guiding trips, highlighting key features, benefits, and pricing.
Consolidate essential trip details (itinerary, inclusions, gear, accommodations) into easily scannable sections to reduce scrolling and improve clarity.
By combining visual distinction with structured content presentation, users could quickly understand the offerings, compare options efficiently, and feel confident when selecting a trip that aligns with their preferences.
Outcome
After implementing these changes, users experienced significantly less confusion when navigating between trip types. This clarity led to a noticeable increase in inquiries and bookings, improved engagement on the trip pages, and overall enhanced user satisfaction.
Insight 4
During our analysis of the Kudos Nepal website, we observed that users often struggled to fully understand the Kudos points and badge system, which is central to the adventure rewards program. Without clear explanation, travelers were unsure how to earn points, what milestones meant, and the benefits of completing multiple trips.
Additionally, the distinction between Fixed Departure and Private Guiding trips was not immediately apparent on the landing pages. This sometimes caused hesitation among potential clients, as they could not quickly assess which option suited their preferences for flexibility, privacy, and pacing.
Clarify the Kudos points system with concise visuals, step-by-step explanations, and examples of rewards to improve comprehension.
Highlight key differences between Fixed Departure and Private Guiding trips using separate cards, icons, and summary text.
Simplify access to detailed trip information, including itineraries, inclusions, and gear, to reduce friction in decision-making.
By understanding these pain points, we were able to pinpoint areas where users needed clearer guidance and visual cues. These insights directly informed our design strategy to enhance clarity, improve engagement, and ensure travelers could easily navigate the rewards program and trip options, leading to a more confident and satisfying booking experience.
Recommendation 4
To address the challenges identified in Insight 4, we recommended specific design and content strategies to make the Kudos points system and trip types more intuitive and user-friendly. The goal was to simplify navigation, enhance comprehension, and improve overall engagement with both Fixed Departure and Private Guiding offerings.
Web
Mobile
Use visual cues and step-by-step graphics to clearly explain how travelers earn Kudos points, achieve milestones, and unlock rewards.
Create distinct, easily scannable sections for Fixed Departure and Private Guiding trips, highlighting their unique benefits, pacing, and customization options.
These improvements aimed to remove confusion, help users quickly understand the rewards program, and make informed decisions about their preferred adventure type. Clearer information fosters trust, reduces hesitation, and encourages travelers to engage more deeply with the platform.
Outcome
Post-implementation, users were able to easily navigate between trip options and understand the Kudos system, leading to increased inquiries for both Fixed Departure and Private Guiding trips, higher engagement with the rewards program, and more confident bookings.
Insight 5
While analyzing user interactions on the Kudos Nepal platform, we observed that travelers often struggled to fully grasp the value and structure of Private Guiding trips, which led to hesitation in booking. Clear communication of the benefits, personalized experiences, and safety measures was essential to ensure users felt confident engaging with the service.
Additionally, users showed interest in cultural and adventure rewards but lacked clarity on how milestones, badges, and exclusive perks were earned. Without visible guidance, travelers missed opportunities to maximize the experience, which could affect engagement and loyalty.
Enhance visual storytelling and trip highlights to clearly demonstrate the personalized experience, cultural immersion, and adventure opportunities in Private Guiding trips.
Provide a step-by-step explanation of the Kudos rewards system, showing how points accumulate, badges are earned, and milestones unlock perks.
Integrate trust signals and safety assurances, emphasizing Ang’s expertise, experience, and personal involvement to instill confidence in travelers.
These insights guided the design and content strategy to create a more intuitive and engaging platform, ensuring users clearly understood both the unique adventure experiences and the rewards system. By addressing these gaps, we improved user confidence, participation in trips, and overall engagement with the Kudos Nepal brand.
Recommendation 5
To maximize user engagement and ensure travelers fully understand the value of Kudos Nepal’s offerings, we recommended strategic enhancements in content clarity, visual communication, and rewards explanation. These improvements were aimed at building confidence, encouraging participation, and reinforcing the platform’s unique adventure and cultural experiences.
Web
Mobile
Implement interactive trip highlights and storytelling visuals to clearly convey the benefits of Private Guiding trips, showcasing personalized experiences, cultural interactions, and adventure opportunities.
Introduce a clear and visually engaging rewards system, including milestones, badges, and perks, so users can easily track progress and feel motivated to participate in multiple trips.
By addressing both experiential clarity and reward visibility, users can navigate the platform with confidence, fully appreciating the benefits of both Private Guiding and the Kudos rewards program. These adjustments create a seamless, engaging, and motivating user experience.
Outcome
Improved user engagement, higher booking rates for Private Guiding trips, and increased participation in the Kudos rewards program, leading to stronger customer loyalty and overall satisfaction.
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