08 Dec Accelerating the Web Experience – Project Update
A new website can be daunting. Where do you start? What do you want? How do you ensure the new site does what you set out to accomplish? How much should it cost and how much will it cost to get the job done? This post originally appeared in 2018 not long after the project launched.
The answer is strategic planning.
When Axiom first began working with custom cabinet maker Crystal Cabinets some years back, we started with focus groups, an understanding of the current issues, and clarity around the desired outcomes. At this early stage in the process, we began talking beyond the look and feel of the site; beyond the features and functions it had to have. We talked early and often about how it should perform and what was needed to make sure it delivered the audience and traffic volume to meet and exceed expectations. That meant starting with clearly defining Search Engine Optimization, including customer-driven terms (not the ones manufacturers use to describe their products) built into a file-naming nomenclature. This effort applied to hundreds of assets on the site, each with a unique set of SEO keywords and phrases strategically compiled from our set list of terms.
Through the process of gathering insights from customers and working with the team at Crystal to set a clear and strategic course, we were able to create a new website that prioritized the Crystal brand’s strengths, highlighted imagery as the primary driver of visitor engagement and emphasized an intuitive structure to support the company’s dealers and encourage lead generation.
The design now emphasizes the brand with bold, full-page graphics, many of which were obtained by Crystal over the years through their extensive designer-customer base. Pages use a simple layout structure with little clutter and minimal copy. A product configurator was developed, and has since been enhanced, to allow dealers, designers and potential customers an ability to see cabinet door styles in white to start, enabling clarity with a blank slate, and adding wood species and finishes as they refine their choices.
Dealer information is clearly represented with icons to represent various attributes offered by each dealer, including showroom availability, service, etc.
The results show the positive impact of spending the time up-front to strategize and build the search engine data for each page and asset, and develop a site structure that maximizes the customer experience.
- Website traffic continues to steadily increase month over month and is now performing nearly 55 percent above its already strong numbers from 2019
- New users outpace returning visitors 3 to 1, to show the site reach continues to grow
Crystal Cabinet’s website continues to grow its audience month after month. If your organization is contemplating a new web design, we can help. seinck@axiomcom.com.
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