New Website for Clear Architects

Project Management

Luminescence built a team of specialists around this website project to achieve the client’s business and communications objectives. We know that a successful website – much like successful architecture – is one that combines superb design with smart and intuitive functionality.

Website Design

• A content-first approach to the website architecture, providing optimum layout, design and functionality
• The website design was influenced by the popularity of digital magazine-style social platforms specific to property and home improvement (such as Houzz and Homify), which appeal to the client’s main target audiences
• The magazine-style design of the website allowed for the surfacing of more professional images with greater context of the design features and architectural process
• Designed to showcase high resolution images of architectural projects (balanced with optimum download speeds)
• User-friendly, intuitive navigation
• Ensures user-journey navigation for each target audience, as defined in our Communications Strategy for the client
• 6 x unique page layouts including adapting images/illustrations and copy to work within page frames, making necessary adaptations to the design following testing (such as usability), and the preparation of all files for development
• Ensuring the website works effectively on all platforms including mobiles and tablets devices by implementing a responsive design
• Subtle animation states that draw on existing brand elements give the new website an active vibrancy and reinforce the brand throughout

Website Development

• Responsive design built into the wireframe
• Implemented World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) guidelines for good, clean code
• Used CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
• Bespoke, retina ready site resulting in the display of crisper high-resolution images
• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) structure built in
• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) friendly transition from the old website
• 301 redirects to prevent missing links from the previous website domain
• Google Analytics built in for measurement and tracking (with monthly reporting and recommendations by Luminescence)
• A content Management System (WordPress) that is easy for the client to edit, upload and maintain independently

Website Copy

• Luminescence produced all of the content for the website, ensuring a uniform tone of voice and style (written by a Luminescence associate who is a respected architecture journalist)
• Conducted SEO keyword research to target local leads and created engaging and relevant SEO-friendly content written for the firm’s target audiences
• Worked alongside the architect’s photographer to ensure magazine-style imagery that reflected greater depth of consumer-friendly information about the projects and practice’s process
• Produced a website written Style Guide to ensure continued uniformity of web content after launch

New Website for Clear Architects

The unique magazine-style page layouts allowed the client to showcase a broader selection of images and information about each project, providing flexibility with different elements that can be tailored to each project.

Among these were options for highlighting before/after imagery, elevation drawings, specialist build materials, multi-media functionality, the lead architect’s personal comments and a ‘featured in’ media ans awards logo section.

All of these features, and the flexibility they afford to ‘tell the story’ of how each project brief has been approached and delivered, is in stark contrast with many architect websites that typically rely on a carousel of static images.

Pull-out information about the project, quotes from media and clear design on the newly designed project pages.

Design features were highlighted describing why architectural decisions were made and showing the impact of these on the completed build.

Website Lead Generation

An essential part of the website project was to generate leads, whether from interested prospects at research phase or ready to commission an architect. It was imperative that we include clear calls-to-action at the bottom of the main pages, as well as a newsletter sign up ‘element’  that could be placed on any page to capture prospects’ email addresses for future marketing purposes.

Having plugged in Google Analytics for measurement and monitoring, we were able to compare the performance of the old and new websites immediately.

The new website for Essex-based Clear Architects achieved its objective of attracting more clients embarking on design-led builds across South East:

• London traffic increased by 78% and Chelmsford (Essex) traffic by a whopping 675%
• Overall users increased by 35%, and vital browsing “time on page” increased by 70%
• Direct traffic to new website increased by 20%, demonstrating an increase in brand awareness