Web Design
Case Study
WF Education
WF Education are a US company with a large presence in the UK and France supplying schools and other educational institutions with equipment.
CMS
Magento 2
URL
DESIGN PROCESS
Continuing from the previous project, but from the start, the new libraries site focuses on all things in this area and of course the e-commerce side of the site.
1. Time Management
The wider team were already using Trello and Click-Up for task tracking. Stakeholders were located in the UK and France. Again, you had to manage expectations of key stakeholders and be clear.
2. Research
For this site, the user research had already been completed and I had to follow the brand standards and outline from the feedback.
3. User Testing
Once the website was in a state of readiness in the sandbox test area, the customer service team within the company were asked to place orders and look through the site and feedback on their findings. From that, adjustment and amendments were made.
4. Team Management
Working with an external web agency that would manage the uploads and sync between the Magento system and Akineo (an image repository system), regular Zoom calls were haad covering any issues and outlining expectations with timescales. All stakeholders had access to the Trello board that was managed.
OUTCOME
Just like the Design & Technology site, the new sub-domain is built with Magento 2 as opposed to WordPress. WordPress is very good at e-commerce for 200 or less products, Magento 2 is better for above that number. This site has hundreds of products and product lines.
The menu structure with the mega-menu would work in the same way as the other e-commerce sites. This site very complex and has a lot of ‘moving parts’ behind the scenes in terms of stock control, hundreds of products, data sheets, downloads and also the need for in-depth SEO.
As each page was being built, SEO was needed to be built into the site including keywords, meta-titles, meta-descriptions and H1 tags. Once the site was live, it was also submitted to Google for indexing via the Google Web Master account.
The outcome was a far cleaner looking site than the previous incarnation (originally built using Magento 1) with users being able to undertake more accurate searches, find information, downloads and videos while also being able to purchase products in a smooth transition. Different geographical areas would have different delivery charges, so that also had to be set.
OLD SITE DESIGN
As a comparison, the old site built using Magento 1 is quite cluttered and not particularly mobile-friendly with text running off the screen and is an an old fashioned ‘box’ style.
In terms of design, the user interface was cluttered and as was the menu system.