Old Gold Racing (OGR) is a leading racing syndicate management business that revolutionizes the co-ownership experience of racehorses. Unlike its competitors, OGR aligns itself more closely with racing clubs, prioritizing delivering exceptional value to its members.

Through a consistent flow of top-notch content, including exclusive interviews with jockeys, trainers, and stablehands, and curated on and off-course events, OGR immerses its members in the captivating world of horseracing.

Old Gold Racing’s commitment to transparency ensures that its members are well-informed at all times, receiving regular updates on the progress and performance of the syndicate horses. Thus, they created a website and subsequently developed a mobile application.

The original website of OGR got built using WordPress, a leading website builder and content management system (CMS). This free and open-source platform provides extensive customization options, granting OGR significant authority over design and functionality.

However, recognizing the need to adapt and innovate, Old Gold Racing sought to transform its outdated website into a cutting-edge platform that would captivate its audience and deliver an exceptional user experience.

The headless architecture journey

Sogody and OGR share a longstanding and trusted partnership. OGR railed on our expertise to bring about the necessary changes and trusted us to deliver the transformation they needed.

On February 2023, we embarked on an in-depth research journey to gain profound insight into OGR’s customers’ needs and preferences. Through meticulous analysis, it became evident that the optimal solution for OGR’s digital transformation was embracing a headless architecture, utilizing the powerful combination of Gatsby.js and Sanity.

Old Gold Racing’s decision to pursue a web 2.0 transformation, was primarily driven by the need for improved website performance. The previous site had significant delays, with each request taking approximately 2 seconds to complete. This sluggish response time was suboptimal for a website of OGR’s nature and negatively impacted the user experience and overall business success.

However, by embracing a headless architecture, OGR experienced a remarkable transformation in website performance. By utilizing Netlify's CI/CD workflows, developers have managed to quickly build, test, and deploy new features with an accelerated velocity. With the implementation of this modern approach, the response time has drastically improved, now measured in milliseconds. This reduction in processing time ensures that visitors to OGR’s website can seamlessly access the desired information and services without any frustrating delays.

The shift to headless architecture has allowed OGR to provide an exceptional user experience, meeting the demands of today’s face-paced digital landscape. By optimizing performance and reducing response time, OGR can now deliver a highly responsive and efficient website, enabling visitors to access information, make transactions, and engage with content swiftly and effortlessly.

From shopping to community

By departing from the constraints of the existing WordPress framework, Sogody aimed to elevate OGR’s online presence, bolster its performance, and enhance overall user satisfaction.

Armed with a newfound understanding of OGR’s aspirations, our design team crafted wireframes that mirrored the envisioned transformation.

Our primary objective was to create a captivating website that would provide a better user experience. In addition to the main shopping cart, which allows users to purchase horses for themselves, we went a step further and introduced a “gift cart” feature. This innovative addition enables users to purchase shares and/or horses for their family and friends, fostering a sense of community and expanding OGR’s reach.

Recognizing the importance of engaging content, we also redesigned the blog section. With these enhancements, the blogs have become more interactive, promoting greater user engagement and encouraging active participation. By incorporating interactive elements, such as social sharing options, we have created an environment that fosters meaningful interactions and allows users to connect with OGR’s content on a deeper level.

These strategic additions and improvements further contribute to the overall success of OGR’s website, enriching the user experience and fostering a sense of community.

As a result of focusing on captivating design and interactive features, we have positioned OGR to stand out in their industry and create lasting connections with their audience.