MixedDigital.com:

A Website Re-Design Journey2016

(complete with cheesy PPT clip art)

Summary

Mixed Digital decided now was the time to update the look and feel of the company website. The style of the existing site may have been modern in 2011, but standards have dramatically changed in five years and an overhaul was in order.

Shortcomings of Current Site

• Doesn’t match the visual nature of modern websites• Not developed using responsive design• New WordPress plugins are incompatible• Copy is outdated and incomplete• Doesn’t ideally position the company’s offerings and capabilities

Plan of Action

• Liberal use of images and engaging media such as video and infographics• Address responsive design and improve the mobile user experience• Leverage new WordPress plugins to improve the look, functionality and utility• Refresh existing copy and add to account for expanded solutions offerings• Use more contact buttons and CTA’s throughout the site to foster conversion• Take advantage of HTML5 functionality to improve the user experience• Integrate with marketing automation/CRM platform

The ResultThe resulting website is one that is visually stunning and makes careful use of the non-flash animation feel that HTML5 and creative CSS provide. Built on a WordPress platform, the site makes updating content a breeze and provides many options to enhance the experience for visitors as well as management of the site with tools like Yoast SEO, Google Tag Manager and more.

The use of video to tell the agency’s story provides eye-catching content that draws visitors in. Careful attention was given to ensure navigation and content made logical sense to the masses. Lastly, the integration of InfusionSoft forms allow the company to seamlessly collect subscriber and prospect information, having it conveniently populated in an easy-to-use CRM.

The Presentation: Before & After

Notes:

A silent video (Vimeo for increased flexibility) spans the entire width and height of the screen to introduce the visitor in the most visually engaging medium possible.

Careful attention was given to conveying the company’s offerings, examples of work we’ve completed, showcasing clients and highlighting mentions in major media.

Home Page

“About” Notes:

The previous about page was a one stop shop for all information about the company. Given the additional copy in the news site, this would have resulted in a very long page, with a lot of reading.

The content was divided into Our Company, Our Story and Our Team to give users a defined path to learn about us as well as not feel intimidated with each page.

Most importantly, the Our Company page is hallmarked by our “showcase” video with full sound on demand – powered by Wistia.

About Page

“Solutions” Notes:

The pages discussing our solutions were either very wordy or “content-lite” and lacked the use of visuals and media to break up text and keep the user engaged, while educating them on our capabilities.

The new site highlights our qualifications, process and thought leadership in a nicely visual manner that works well with the required text content.

Additionally, each solutions page includes additional resources for the user and the entire site uses more obvious contact buttons than before.

Solutions Pages

“Content Marketing” Page Notes:

Content strategy is a newly articulated page for the website. One that was extremely wordy once we started talking about all the specific tactics used to execute strategy. A solution was required to display the information in a format more appealing, easier to consume and lets face it, more fun! We used HTML5 to animate the process of uncovering the descriptions behind each title/headline. Needless to say, we’re pleased with the outcome.

Content Marketing Page

“Case Studies” Notes:

The first major shift we took was rethinking the outdated term “case studies.” We decided upon “Client Success Stories” as a superior description or what we do.

Driven by analytics’s lack of ability to properly track PDF’s, unique pages were created to leverage SEO potential.

Additionally, the highly visual approach enables the visitor to quickly see the results we delivered for our clients.

Case Studies >> Client Success Stories

Blog Page“Blog” Notes:

Keeping with the plan to be more visual, we open with a nice wide image on top of the page and the “title” of our blog. Edgy, isn’t it?

We wanted to boldly display featured images and make use of the real estate by adding a subscribe CTA and some highlights for top and recent posts. Below that, we have Categories for those looking for specific topics. Still considered a work in progress, we feel it was good for Beta and big improvement.

The Wrap UpThis was an incredibly useful process for us to go through the same steps we use when providing the same service to clients. Given the rapid change of the web design landscape, re-designing our own site may need to occur every couple of years just to keep up with standards.

Ultimately, we are now confident that we have a well thought out website that articulates what we do, who we are and why anyone should care. Along the way, we’ve developed some great content, in several formats to satisfy different types of visitors. We hope you enjoyed our presentation and that you feel like starting a conversation with us.

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