Staying Current
Many of the clients we work with have an existing website, usually more than 5 years old and are seeking to establish themselves at the leading edge of the online stack with a new web presence, including refreshing their company's brand.
When the costs associated with a redevelopment are weighed up against the potential benefits associated with increased enquiries, more sales and referrals, the return on Investment can offer a compelling reason to upgrade.
The decision to redevelop is often triggered by a number of factors, some of the most common that we come across include:
- Taking advantage of new technology, like wide screens and smart devices, in order to take advantage of these display improvements, new approaches have been developed responsive themes as an example
- The requirement to maintain (add, edit and delete) content without the involvement of a technology company.
- New functional requirements driven by the business, integration with an ERP or accounting system as an example
Once the decision is made that a new website is warranted, there are choices to be made on the platform to use. As you will be aware from some of our previous posts we are strong advocates of Open Source platforms, we believe that as you invest in the development of a website the delivered product should belong to you.
Open Source content management systems also provide access to a large library of existing functionality that can be leveraged to enhance your development, this article provides some insight into the difference between Open Source platforms (like Drupal) and a proprietary CMS owned and maintained by a web development company.
Case Study
A good example of a recent redevelopment has been the launch of the Rich Lingerie website. Rich Lingerie is an established bricks and mortar and online retailer of quality lingerie to both the New Zealand and global market.
They were using a proprietary content management system that had been in place for a number of years, challenges they faced that prompted the redevelopment included:
- Cost associated with enhancements, as the proprietary CMS was shared by a number of customers costs associated with developing new functionality were disproportionately high
- Time to make changes was excessive
- The design was dated and the website was not mobile friendly
- The platform did not offer the user experience many online shoppers are seeking – especially when purchasing fashion items
Solution
The Koda team selected the Drupal platform coupled with Ubercart e-commerce engine for the new platform. Drupal offers significant features and flexibility allowing the team to deliver innovative functionality taking advantage of modern online development thinking
The Koda design team have created a user experience that while allowing for the display of high quality imagery allows the user to intuitively navigate the site.
Content was exported from the existing website database and loaded using scripts into Drupal, a relatively painless experience for the customer.
You can find out more about this upgrade project here