How one team of inspired North West digital designers and 7 very different websites can provide inspiration for your new website.
It wouldn’t do if we were all the same. Difference is something to be celebrated, because difference, especially in business, is what sets you apart from everybody else. So it’s important that from the moment your website pops into view that that difference is clear.
In just the last two months, north-west branding and digital marketing agency Happy Creative has launched 7 new websites. Each one uses different techniques to build different brands and achieve different goals. The one thing they have in common (aside from their designers and developers) is that every site has been a whopping success.
Using their latest projects as a guide, Happy MD Karen Lambert provides 7 different approaches to updating your website in 2015.
1. On trend design: Boardmans
“When your business sits at the cutting edge of global fashion, it’s important your passion for and understanding of style and design is evident on your website too. Boardmans go to incredible lengths to find the looks, designs and materials we’ll all be wearing next season. So we’ve created a website and downloadable collections that are equally on trend.”
2. Use what makes you special: Canal Boat Cruises
“The phrase ‘family business’ conjures up all sorts of images of trust, reliability and warmth. So when Canal Boat Cruises asked us to refresh their website it was important that, in amongst all the new features and functionality, we retained the very things that have brought them so many friends (and awards). It may be a powerful, contemporary website, but it still feels like part of a family business.”
3. Let the work speak for itself: Red Systems
“Red Systems are structural glazers. Ask them for images that show their capabilities and you’re spoilt for choice. So we used that imagery to create a site that allows the work to speak for itself. If what you do has a real visual impact, make sure you’re making the most of it online.”
4. Make the complex, simple: NTFSS
“When you’re trying to manage debt, you need simple information in an accessible way. Checklists, straightforward design and language, and carefully breaking information down make scary, complex concepts far less daunting. It’s the ideal approach if you’re involved in financial or legal services.”
5. Look at it from a another angle: Fresh
“The point of asking for help from a digital creative agency is to find that creative spark – that angle that lets clients see you in a new way, and sets you apart from the competition. Fresh’s approach to business services, and our approach to the site design, were a perfect match for one another.”
6. Is your site aligned with your business?: Colossal Group
“Colossal provides security, maritime and intelligence training. So trust, credibility and reassurance needed to be at the heart of the site. One way your website builds credibility is through alignment, that feeling you get when the images, design and words work together to create a consistent message that says: ‘you can rely on us’. If you have a nagging feeling your site doesn’t quite get to the heart of what you’re about, it could be because it’s misaligned.”
7. Technical doesn’t have to look technical: DH Projects
“Your clients may deal with complex engineering issues day in, day out, but when it comes to your website they still appreciate clear simplicity. It’s all too easy for a technical business to create a technical website. We ensured DH Projects’ website stayed clear, focused and accessible.”
If you’re planning to revamp your website, talk to Happy’s north-west team of creative digital designers, and let’s show what’s different about your business.
