Web Design
Website Redesign with UX Visual Design Focus Supports Brand Image While Improving Functionality

Situation: A Design-Forward Company Whose Website Had Grown Stale

Not much had changed about the Auria website since the company was launched in 2017. After a few years, competitors’ websites were noticeably fresher and more dynamic. While customers and the automotive industry are aware that Auria is an innovative company, the website didn’t match that innovative brand image, and it was not effective as a “gut check” when visited by word-of-mouth referrals, whether prospective customers or prospective employees. The site was also difficult for the Auria team to manage, maintain, and update.

The Auria customer is typically in an engineering role with an automaker in North America or Europe, working through the development process for the next model of gas, hybrid, or electric vehicle. They likely are already aware of Auria’s products, but they are looking for a confirmation of the good things they’ve heard, as well as whether the company offers the breadth of services they’re looking for, uses rigorous quality control processes, already has a diversity of customers, and operates in locations near them.

Windmill Strategy was chosen to modernize the website to better reflect Auria as an innovative, design-forward company, while also being attentive to general analytics metrics such as page views and form conversions. Windmill’s development expertise would also make the new website’s functionality easier for the Auria team to manage, maintain, and update.

Solution: An Emphasis on Design Combined with Strong Development Support

Three pillars drive everything that Auria does: innovation, sustainability, and employees. In alignment with a website redesign strategy, this meant highlighting the breadth of innovation in Auria’s portfolio, their use of sustainable and recyclable materials, and their commitment to their employees, by means of striking imagery, rich UX features, and streamlined content strategy.

The three pillars served as the drivers for the information architecture of the website, clearly defining audience pathways and ideal conversion points. Revamped navigation now makes it easier for website visitors to grasp the full breadth of product and service offerings and to engage with the company.

Because Auria came to us with a distinctive set of goals—more of a focus on bolstering the site as a recruitment tool and showcasing the Auria brand image, less about producing website leads—we emphasized the design phase of the project and used more full-width, large imagery and video assets than might be the case with other B2B website redesign projects. Among the innovative design elements is interactive popup content on the homepage, made possible with a plugin called Vision.

To build a map that would allow prospective customers to grasp the breadth of Auria’s locations around the world, we created an editable locations map using Mapbox.com. Auria’s team can easily update the map and add locations.

To build the website, Windmill implemented the WordPress content management system with the core block editor serving as the primary tool for page and content creation. Windmill did bulk migration of all existing posts to the new website, and we also migrated the content from the Auria supplier portal, which can now be managed more easily through the core block editor within WordPress. Windmill used the Bug Herd tool to communicate content updates to the client throughout the development process.

Reaching prospective employees was as important as reaching prospective customers in the website redesign. Sophisticated UX and emphasis on values such as innovation and sustainability help to engage these job-focused website visitors, as well. However, another important element is a strong, information-rich careers page with improved integration to Auria’s list of open positions.

 

Services Utilized

  • Analytics and Insights
  • Branding & Visual Design
  • Client Training
  • Mood boards
  • SEO
  • UX Consulting
  • Web Design & Development

Project Information

Client:

Auria

Location:

Auria USA 26999 Central Park Blvd., Suite 300 Southfield, MI 48076

Date:

June 14, 2022

Website:

https://www.auriasolutions.com/

Interested