A manufacturer of store fixtures had an extranet website to sell
products exclusively to its major client. It wanted to add a
website to sell similar products to the retail public. The two
websites were similar but not identical. The goal: Split one
website into fraternal twins. So they came to StoneHenge
Partners.
The goal
The company's retail site, www.srcok.com, sells store
furniture to the general public, while the other website, www.srcfixtures.com, sells
only to dealers of Verizon Wireless, its primary client.
SRC wanted to manage both websites through a common content
management system so they could share some content and images and
have common user roles. But SRC also needed the SRCFixtures site to
be secure and accessible to only authenticated Verizon licensees,
and wanted the SRC OK site to offer custom fixtures.
And of course the solution must be cost-effective for a limited
budget, and must launch before Christmas.
The solution
StoneHenge Partners chose Umbraco, an open-source .NET content
management system, because of its flexibility for change,
adaptability to manage multiple sites, stability to run on the
Microsoft stack (.NET, C#, SQL Server, IIS) and security to handle
e-commerce transactions securely.
We designed a custom look & feel handcrafted to match SRC's
brand identity of quality online. We architected the CMS to manage
two sites, which shared master page templates (common elements such
as the header and footer) but contained brand-specific
sub-templates (unique elements such as log-in redirects and Contact
Us forms.) We authored, edited and published 120 pages and resized
and uploaded 240 images.
The result
SRC's new site was launched Christmas week - on time, on budget
and on target. Tony Ducato, President, said "our expectations were
fulfilled."
"We were informed every step of the way, so we knew what the end
product would be," he said. "And the website is esthetically
pleasing."
Website analytics show a continuing upward trend in visitors,
page views, and length of time on site. Two months after launch,
almost half of the traffic was coming from new visitors, who were
viewing an average of 12 pages and staying an average of 5 minutes
on the site.
Analytics also showed the most popular page was not the home page, but the Additional
Products page, which sells display accessories such as wall
hooks and brochure holders. Knowing his customers' buying interests
allows Ducato to make better informed marketing decisions.
"We definitely plan to enhance the sites in the future," Ducato
said. "My experience with StoneHenge Partners has been a good
one."