Project Overview
Services
Brief
Like many manufacturing and engineering companies, Dudley Associates historically relied on traditional, offline marketing methods to generate new leads and business. Strawberry Forge was brought on board as they explored new methods to generate revenue online, centred around their website.
However, before this could be achieved, they needed a website that matched the quality and precision of their products and services. Strawberry Forge was tasked with delivering this website, alongside modernising and documenting their company brand.
Project Process
Phase 1
Discovery
In analysing their existing site, it quickly became clear that Dudley Associates’ website did not reflect the high-quality nature of their service or products. Poor quality imagery and use of white space gave the pages a cluttered feel, while confusing navigation meant users struggled to find information relevant to them.
Following this evaluation and conversations with key stakeholders it became clear that the Dudley Associates website needed to provide expert information in a clear and concise way, while their overarching brand needed to present them as a modern organisation that could be relied on.
In discovery, we also learnt that their existing website was difficult to maintain and update, hindering their ability to effectively market online. Therefore, delivering a site that the Dudley team could easily manage themselves became imperative.
Phase 2
Brand Development
Dudley Associates already had a number of brand assets that they liked, so our goal in updating their branding was to deliver evolution, not revolution.
This involved redrawing their logo to create new styles and color variations, with and without a tagline, along with creating a new color palette that provides greater versatility. Finally, we selected new typographies to be used online and across their other marketing assets.
All of these updated brand assets were incorporated into a brand guidelines document, allowing the Dudley team to ensure their new brand could be correctly implemented across all areas of their business.
Phase 3
UX Design
During our Discovery phase, a key topic of discussion was the profile of lead Dudley Associates wanted to attract online. In doing so, it quickly became clear that their customers have a high level of manufacturing expertise themselves, and will wish to find in depth information that’s relevant to their needs quickly.
For this reason, clear navigation became a primary focus. We implemented a new navigation that would allow users to identify whether Dudley Associates could provide the service they need, while a new industries section highlighted the key sectors Dudley Associates were experts in.
We also designed a dedicated quote page to make submissions of technical drawings simple, and created a variety of CTAs across the site to drive leads to this page.
Phase 4
Content Creation
One of the difficulties Dudley Associates had faced in the past was effectively demonstrating their professional capabilities to prospective clients.
Key to solving this problem was the content on the website, which was used to deliver complex information in a clear and concise format. This, in turn, delivered a tone of voice across the website that supported their company values of reliability and expertise.
Beyond simply writing content that would engage users, we also ensured all key pages had been correctly keyword-targeted, providing the foundation for any organic marketing efforts in the future.
Phase 5
Website Build
Since the website needed to be manageable by the Dudley Associates team after delivery, we elected to build a WordPress website using an intuitive page builder, paired with custom CSS code to style the website to their unique brand.
While the build of the front end of the website did not present any major obstacles, careful thought had to be put into the creation of the new navigation, which eliminated multiple redundant pages. As a result, we had to ensure all redirects where correctly implemented, along with a new sitemap, so as to avoid any potential SEO damage.
Phase 6
Test & Launch
As with any Strawberry Forge website, before making Dudley Associate’s new website live, we double and triple checked both the front and back end.
This involved reviewing the entire site across a variety of devices and browsers to ensure proper functionality. It also included a thorough technical SEO audit to make sure organic website performance would improve.
We then launched the site at a quiet time of day to ensure minimal disruption, resulting in a stress free start to Dudley Associates’ new digital journey.
Finally, we did another round of tests, before taking the Dudley Associates team through the back end of the website, so they could understand how the site was built and how they could easily make changes in the future.
Project Results
Dudley Associates wanted a website that would better reflect their expertise and commitment to quality. In just a few short months, Strawberry Forge delivered this, transforming their most important digital asset and providing them with the platform they need to find new leads online.
Before
After
