Creating a web design to reach potential customers
Our web design agency was delighted to be approached by Best Foot Forward Training (BFFT) to redesign their company web site. BFFT are a London based training company providing a range of training courses to improve office and managerial skills such as teamwork, communication and leadership. They were in need of a corporate and professional looking web site to sit ahead of their competitors and gain clients. For this, they trusted our expertise; to guide them with the design and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) build, with the aim of increasing their conversion rate.
The web design needed to be responsive and intuitive on mobile and desktop, as well as needing clear call to actions (CTAs) to entice users to contact them for information.
On brand, content managed, mobile first web design.
From a design perspective, we wanted the web site to reflect their training style; interactive and enjoyable yet very reliable, professional and corporate. BFFT have a strong focus on perception – looking at the way people are perceived and teaching organisations how to use this to their advantage. Because of this, it was important that we created a web design which would reflect BFFT’s key philosophies and allow them to portray their own message clearly to their potential clients./
The design started with tweaking the brand colours. Using a darker tone of blue proved to create a more trust inspiring and softer corporate feel to the web site. This new blue was teamed with 2 variants, a lighter and darker shade, to add contrast and highlight key areas.
Keeping the mobile first design theory in mind, we created a modular design that scaled down perfectly on mobile and tablet.
For the Content Management System (CMS), we used the open source CMS, WordPress, to ensure the site would be easy for the client to edit. We could also then make good use of WordPress’ built in features with the ability to build Custom Post Types for the courses – meaning the client can easily create and manage content for particular sections. Using Custom Fields also allow us to create a truly personalised experience for the client.
Structuring the site for Google
Having a wealth of expert SEO knowledge within our web design agency meant that we were able to keep this in the forefront of our minds throughout the whole design and build process – allowing us to build the sitemap in a way that makes it easy for search engines to navigate.
We were also able to ensure that all fields are available for SEO and all courses are labelled, the headings are in order and are clearly labelling sections – as much for search engines as they are for the user, and that all URLs adhere to SEO best practices. Using the SEO plugin, Yoast, also helps us and our client, to easily manage the sites meta data.
In addition to this, the layout of the site allows ample space to include plenty of content, which is needed for SEO, without overwhelming the user.
This ensures that BFFT are put in the best position to work on their SEO on an ongoing basis, with the design of the site and the CMS working for them and easing the process.