Web & Marketing
Building a new digital direction for Mike Harley
Client.
Mike Harley Building Contractors Ltd are a team of highly skilled, trustworthy building professionals delivering comprehensive construction services in and around the Market Harborough area.
Their old website was clearly dated and whilst achieving regular form completions, there was a huge opportunity for the business. Mike approached me to lead the process of a brand new website, streamlining the user journey and handing over complete creative control of the brand.
Objectives.
• Bring the brand into the digital era.
• Communicate the brand more consistently.
• Showcase Mike’s roster of projects in a modern way.
Before
After
1. Nailing the brief
Mike Harley’s new website needed to work harder to showcase their projects, content needed to be easily accessible, and getting in touch should be effortless.
Working closely with Mike in a discovery session, we defined his key target audiences and identified styles that resonated with the values that his team stand by. In the construction industry, reputation and word of mouth is paramount, which made us instantly add extra emphasis on showcasing projects as a key driving feature on the site.
2. Designing for ease
Once we had narrowed down Mike’s services to a more simplified user journey, each page was designed with a hierarchy system, throwing away any unnecessary jargon and allowing images to take precedence over content.
We believed that the ultimate way to tell the story, particularly around the projects, was to show...not tell. As you browse the site, you’ll notice a handful of beautifully placed slideshows with a reel of gorgeous snaps from projects and large imagery fading in with the intention of creating an awe factor. Content is minimal, and generally just adds a sprinkle of extra detail.
3. Projects were key
The projects section on Mike’s website, from the beginning, was arguably the most important area for prospects. Telling a story was the main driving force behind it all, it was imperative we accomplished an experience that showed Mike’s experience.
To achieve these ambitions, visitors are greeted with a stunning image of the finished project, followed by the key project points and a Before & After to set the scene. Then, content written by the building team creates a context for the slideshow showing the process. After this, a neatly placed testimonials block aims to build rapport with the user before showing revealing an elegant grid of photographs from the final work. The page finishes with a self-assured call-to-action to maintain consistency and keep users returning to the main funnel of the website.
4. Ensuring conversions
The new design includes a call-to-action strip on every page, personalised for the section the user is currently viewing - which adds a greater human touch.
When browsing services, we also opted to add unique selling points as to why a potential prospect should choose Mike. This is intentional to increase credibility and reassurance. And to link back to accessibility, every page has a pinned ‘Contact Us’ button on the navigation bar which takes a user straight to a contact form to begin a project. The aim was to make it as simple as possible to get in contact or pick up the phone and ring.
Client feedback.
“Charlie was recommended to me by a friend, so I contacted him and we arranged a meeting to discuss our project. Before we’d met, he sent through a clear outline of his process, so I knew what to expect. I asked Charlie to take the lead as my knowledge on websites is limited to none, and he was happy to and keep me involved throughout. We had regular meetings, allowing us to stay on track, with each having a strong agenda - being a technophobe this was useful. Each workshop allowed me to visualise the finished website.”
OWNER, MIKE HARLEY