For this case study, I’ve picked a client we’ve been working with for several years, as they are a great example of how early investment into your website can save you money and stress in the long run. Their approach also demonstrates that a website is an ongoing project that is never completely perfect or finished, but something that grows and develops alongside your business. Finally, we loved their strong brand vision while remaining open-minded to our suggestions, which made for a fun and collaborative design process.
Introducing Ted & Dino
Ted & Dino is a baby accessory brand which mixes quality design with eco-friendly credentials. Founder Lucy Heather has a background in the fashion industry and understands the environmental impact of fast fashion. Baby items are quickly grown out of, and need to be gentle on delicate skin but tough enough to withstand frequent washes. Lucy decided to create a range of hard-wearing and ethically made accessories out of super-soft organic fabrics, with classic gender-neutral designs that could easily be passed on to siblings and friends.
When we first met Lucy, she was developing Ted & Dino as a side project. She had a few prototypes and a seed budget but lots of big ideas! She had already put together a basic design moodboard and colour palette for the site and had found several other websites that had a similar feel to what she wanted. Interestingly, most of these were not in the same niche; one major reference point was an organic wellness brand. However, what these design-inspo websites did have in common with Ted & Dino was a focus on sustainable, ethical and high-quality products. It was great to look through these with Lucy and clearly see the direction she envisioned for her brand.
Although Lucy had a strong vision for the Ted & Dino brand, she was also really open to our ideas for how to translate that into a website. We used our expertise in user experience to build on Lucy’s original plan, and by looking at brands with similar values rather than similar products for design inspiration, we were able to create a design that felt different and original to other babywear brands.
Problem Solving and Collaboration
A major problem faced by small business owners is costing a website; balancing the need to keep overheads down while also investing for future growth. Lucy understood the power of a good online presence, but also knew that she did not have the budget to make her ultimate vision for Ted & Dino’s site happen straight away. Money can always be a bit of a tricky topic to discuss, but by being upfront with the amount she had to spend, we were able to find several ways to keep costs down and within her budget. In our initial discussions with Lucy, we worked with her to identify several ‘must-have’ aspects of the site, and less vital features that could be added on later. With this in mind, we wanted to be sure whatever we built for the first launch was a good foundation for the future. We spent time looking at the online market for children’s and baby clothes, developing customer personas and mapping out user journeys so we could be confident in the long-term value of the site.
Another issue we dealt with at this stage was that the products were still in development so there was no data about online sales vs in-person sales. We decided to build the site in WordPress with the shop element using WooCommerce. This is free to use and charges only for transaction processing, meaning that there would be no additional costs if online sales were slow to get going. For the initial launch, the site consisted of a main landing page, with 5 products loaded into WooCommerce. By sticking to one page, the building costs were significantly reduced without having to compromise on the design elements. Ted & Dino’s initial products were all cotton baby accessories, so we were also able to use one product layout template for all products, which also kept time and costs under control.
The final hurdle before launch was site speed. One of the main design themes was textured backgrounds and digital illustrations. This looked great and gave the site a ‘hand-made’ feel that really fitted well with the Ted & Dino brand. However, it was very data-heavy and the initial build was slow to load, particularly on mobiles. We adjusted the background textures to load faster without too much compromise on the look, and replaced some of the geometric jpg digital illustrations that were being used as section borders with repeating SVG shapes instead. This helped us keep the collaged, overlapping design but loaded much quicker.
A Foundation For Growth
Since that initial launch, we’ve worked with Lucy regularly to upgrade and expand the site. We’ve reworked several elements of the site to accommodate updated branding and new product imagery, and connected the WooCommerce backend to the POS system used for in-person sales to streamline the stock management process. Most recently, we overhauled the product structure to showcase Ted & Dino’s wider range of designs, which also allowed us to expand the shop pages so customers can browse products by type or by collection.
As we had a good idea of Ted & Dino’s ‘big picture’ plan right from the start, all of this additional work has been compatible with the underlying foundation of the site. This has kept ongoing costs down and we can be more confident about the timescales for additional work as we know we won’t have to fiddle around with backend code. Lucy can also concentrate on the creative and sales side of her business, as she knows she can rely on us to keep the website up to date as her business evolves.
We’ve loved seeing Ted & Dino develop over the years, and can’t wait to see what the next chapter brings!
Top Website Buying Tips for Micro Enterprises and Small Businesses
- Before commissioning a website, check out other brands with similar values or that appeal to the same audience sector, rather than looking for inspiration from your direct competitors.
- Communicate any non-negotiable elements of your branding, such as colours or typography, but let your web team take care of the rest. This will help your designer create an effective and user-friendly website that showcases your brand and feels consistent with your other channels.
- Be upfront about your budget and open to compromise. This is useful for prioritising what you need right now and what can wait for later.
- Giving your web team an overview of your long-term plan, even if it’s vague (or crazily ambitious!), means they can build a site which will grow with you, saving you money in the long run.
If you are looking to build a website for your side hustle, micro-enterprise or start up, we’d love to help you get started. Book in for a free initial consultation, or drop us a message to find out more.
