The client
Studio 3 Salon is a unisex hair and beauty boutique, in the historic market town of St Ives, Cambridgeshire. With the ground floor of their grade 2 listed property specialising in hair treatments, the upper floor provides a haven for massage, beauty and spa treatments.
The challenge
The business had grown its following from years of experience and word of mouth advertising. Having taken steps to break into the digital markets they had launched a website in 2015 with the help of Yell and their associated web builder. Having been disappointed with the service provided, rising costs, lack of control and repetitive design template, we were approached to build them a more bespoke platform that would allow them more control of their presence, whilst providing a stable and secure platform on which to grow the business.
The solution
We turned to WordPress as a simple but fully capable content management system. With the owner’s hands full with the day to day running of the business, they needed a smart but simple system that would allow all members of their team a chance to update the site and create blogs with minimal training and experience. By using WordPress, not only is a wealth of content and training videos available online, but restrictions can be enabled to ensure that users are only provided access to the elements they require, reducing the risk of any mishaps or damages to your digital platform.
Once set on a CMS, we set about creating a design as unique as the business and service they offer. Taking inspiration from their setting, we created a contemporary style site using pastel tones and white space to create a clean and elegant look. The new system also allows us to create service pages, highlighting any offers or new services the salon choose to offer, likewise removing any services as they become outdated. With this we are also able to create individual links for the business to use on social media, with trackable contact forms to speed up and simplify the booking process for all involved.
With the site built, we turned to optimisation to increase site speed, reduce load times and create more reliable performance for the business. By optimising images and site content, we were also able to tackle the basic elements of search engine optimisation, allowing us to make the site more readable, useable and most importantly findable!
The result
By increasing the usability and styling of the website, we have been able to create a much sleeker and smoother user journey. In turn, this has boosted user-trust and provided an increase in bookings through easily accessible forms.
Having a stable, but simple content management system, has allowed all the team to get to grips with the platform quickly and effectively, reducing outgoings usually associated with website management and allowing them to keep their site looking fresh and active.
With a single upfront design cost and on-going yearly subscription (to cover 24/7 hosting support and training) the new site not only looks and performs better but also runs more economically, providing the business with a much greater return on investment than previously experienced.
