For many years, the website bahnhof.de has been a contact point for information about railway stations on the internet. With the redesign of the site, we want to make it even easier for our customers to find information about our stations. At the same time, a new design and a simplified structure should contribute to more clarity in its presentation.
New design
From the station you can experience on site to the screen: With our new design, we want to bring the analogue and the digital station into harmony. That is why the design is based on the existing wayfinding system at our stations. Travel and service information is displayed on a blue background with white lettering, providing customers with information and orientation in line with the signage and displays at the station.
Following the colour scheme of the stations, this ensures a high recognition value as well as good readability. The corresponding use of uniform and familiar icons, for example for parking or rail replacement services, complete the consistency in communication.
In contrast to the service offers and travel information, the presentation of general topics and articles relating to the diverse world of railway stations is supported by the use of images.
Clear concept
Based on a customer survey, we analysed the needs of potential users of bahnhof.de and took them into account in the development of the website concept.
For example, there is now a categorisation of the different services for a better overview on the station pages. Clear naming and additional short descriptions increase the comprehensibility of the individual services and lead users more quickly to their destination. Furthermore, all important information such as opening hours or telephone numbers are available at first glance. This means that specific station information can be called up with just a few clicks.
In addition to structural improvements, we have also integrated new content. If luggage lockers or parking facilities are available at a station, travellers and visitors can find out about their locations, prices, duration of use and other details before their idle time at the station.
Mobile First
Bahnhof.de remains a responsive website, which means the layout is designed flexibly. Whether computer desktop, tablet or smartphone: consistent user-friendliness is guaranteed across the various devices. This means that the content can always be viewed quickly and entirely.
Since bahnhof.de is predominantly accessed on mobile end user devices, we paid particular attention to the mobile presentation of the site during the redesign. Design, structure and content were optimised to enable a clear display, especially on small screens. This means that information on our stations can be called up at any time, fitting the device used.
Digital accessibility
During the conception and development of the new bahnhof.de website, digital accessibility was focused on from the very beginning. Digital accessibility means that digital offers can be operated and used by everyone – including people with impairments – without any obstacles.
During the development of bahnhof.de, we involved several colleagues with physical disabilities and will continue to do so in the future. This gives us first-hand advice on how to adapt the website so that it is usable for all people.
With the ‘mobile first’ approach, we have also ensured that all content can be experienced comprehensibly on small screens or when using a strong zoom of a screen magnifier. Subpages for individual services, such as for lifts, ensure that the pages do not become too long and remain clear. Specific information for a frequently used station can also now be saved as a bookmark and thus called up particularly quickly in everyday life.
Technical optimisation
The website was technically rebuilt – and not only to optimise digital accessibility.
The content of the website is primarily based on our stations. This is now also reflected in the new URL structure. Previously, station pages were accessible under complex, long and incomprehensible URLs. Now these are short and simple, such as bahnhof.de/en/frankfurt-main-hbf. People who programme websites or apps and know the station id can also link directly to the station pages, for example to bahnhof.de/en/id/1866.
Furthermore, jump labels such as bahnhof.de/en/frankfurt-main-hbf#at-the-station, can now also be used to refer to a section. When used, the browser automatically scrolls down to the desired section. This makes it easier to link and share in social media.
Agile development
Our overriding goal is to bring together all station-relevant content on one platform in the future and offer it in the most customer-friendly way possible. In this way, we will simultaneously contribute to the dissolution of scattered station information on the internet. In order to achieve this, we will continuously develop bahnhof.de together with our customers.
Feedback
We always want to improve and welcome your feedback. Please send an e-mail to feedback@bahnhof.de and let us know what you like about bahnhof.de or what could be improved.