How we created a website for Leeds mobile coffee stars

How we created a fresh website for Leeds mobile coffee stars

The ageing of a website is gradual. It might be working fine, but you start to notice the freshness has faded, the branding doesn’t pop, and the messaging is off in places. The navigation is clunky, and the design feels dated. Before you know it, the website no longer represents your business.

When it’s time for a new website, it’s useful to also check in with your branding. It makes practical sense to update both together, and a website development is a good opportunity to examine your brand and ask, “Does this still reflect us?”

This is the process we undertook with our longstanding client The Barista. We had developed the original website back in 2016. Since then, their business has grown significantly—both in terms of team size and revenue. A refresh was overdue.

The business had outgrown the brand

We have been The Barista’s marketing team since 2014. The previous website had performed exceptionally well, ranking first for the main keywords and attracting thousands of visitors and enquiries each month.

But The Barista had outgrown the previous website. It was visually outdated and no longer reflected the smart, seamless operation The Barista is known for. Their expanded services were not adequately represented. It was time for an upgrade.

Staying two steps ahead of the competition

Our first step was conducting competitor research. While The Barista’s website already surpassed competitors in search rankings and user experience, the goal was to create a wider gap between them and the competition.

Gathering brand perceptions

Next, we gathered data. We conducted a client and customer survey to assess brand perception and the vision for the future. We asked The Barista team their view of the brand, and where they see it going, to provide insight into the culture and brand personality.

We asked customers about their association with The Barista and how they use the website. This helped us understand the end user and what they needed from the new site. We combined this data to create a shared vision to inform the brief.

A fresh perspective

The decision was made to update the brand, which hadn’t been refreshed since its inception by co-founder Sam. Our approach was to keep recognisable elements while modernising with a revamped logo, new fonts, and an expanded colour palette.

Our design lead, Aymeelee, developed several iterations of the new logo, which we presented back to The Barista team. Despite attachments to the original logo, the team got behind the new ideas and recognised the need for a fresh look.

Once a direction was chosen, we refined the concept and demonstrated how the new brandmark would function in real-world scenarios. The updated logo maintained a connection to the old design, featuring a stacked ‘the’ and a sleeker, more sophisticated font.

BEFORE

AFTER

The website process

With the new brand guidelines in place, we were ready to start on the website development. Our objective was to preserve the domain authority and structure of the old site while completely overhauling its look and feel. Maintaining the SEO footprint was crucial.

While we knew much of the website content was performing well, we revisited The Barista’s strategy and sales process to ensure the new website supported relevant user journeys, both current and future.

Here’s how it happened:

1. Kick off meeting – we met with the client to discuss everything they wanted to get out of the build, their likes and dislikes, and hopes for the new design. We reviewed their customer sales journey to ensure effective lead capture.

2. Sitemap – we agreed on a new sitemap and pages, combining new content with updates from the existing site.

3. Search strategy – we developed an SEO map with key terms for each page, including meta information and a defined URL structure.

4. Wireframes – we agreed the content hierarchy and layout of each page, creating a bank of custom designed blocks for the site.

5. Design concepts – we presented initial design concepts and page layouts to The Barista, incorporating feedback and refining the designs.

6. Content creation – while the designs were being finalised, we gathered new content, audited existing images, and arranged a photoshoot. We wrote optimised copy and meta descriptions.

7. Population – we populated the new site with updated copy and images, migrated and audited previous blog articles, and removed outdated content.

8. Feedback – when we were happy with the test site, we presented it back to the client and made final tweaks.

9. Testing – we conducted detailed technical checks, making sure all redirects from the old site were correctly set up, and we proofed the website for launch.

10. Launch and post-live checks – after launching the website, we performed post-live tests to check functionality and resolve any issues before announcing the new site a few days later.

BEFORE

AFTER

How’s it performing?

It’s now been over a year since The Barista’s new website went live and, in that time, we’ve seen it grow visibility and increase enquiries for the business. The website is smarter and more reflective of the brand, its customers, and where the business is going.

Here are some results from the first six months:

• 15% more users across the website
• 81% of the total sessions from organic search
• 10% increase in sessions from organic search
• 23% increase in website conversions
• 83% more conversions from social

AFTER

What the client said

“We couldn’t be happier with our new website; Your Engine Room managed the project excellently. They were able to take our old website, elevate it to reflect our market leading position and represent our brand values.

“There was a clear structure to the website development and YER kept us in the loop throughout the process, with regular touch points with the chance to feedback. The website looks fresh, is on brand and a great depiction of us at The Barista.”

Elsie O’Dwyer, Marketing and Operations Project Manager, The Barista

When is it time to get a new website?

There’s no set timeline for a new website, and it depends on various factors like your marketing strategy, brand, design, functionality, age, and budget. The Barista were able to invest in a new website well before the decline of their previous one, which is the ideal situation!

But a new website is a big investment, and not always a simple decision. With proper maintenance and regular updating, an older website can still meet your needs. It might not look as smart, but if your customers are finding what they’re looking for, it’s doing its job.

Your marketing strategy comes first

Our top advice for businesses considering a new website is to first review their marketing strategy. The Barista had already done this, so we had the insights we needed to design a website tightly aligned with their target audience and business goals.

Think of it like building a house – without proper architect’s plans, you wouldn’t give your builders the go ahead. Your strategy is the blueprint for a website designed around the user that gets long term results.

Read more on this: ‘Planning a website? Don’t start without a marketing strategy.’