Client Website Design

When we approached Canadian procurement software provider SpendMap, they were considering updating their website's structure, but we also presented them with plans to modernize the look and feel. This began with a wire frame of the homepage - my graphic designer and I drafted this on pen and paper. Working off of our notes and sketches, we designed a mock-up using the Adobe Creative Cloud.

After we reviewed and revised the concept, we included it in our proposal as an example of the new site's color, style, and format. SpendMap loved our ideas! The proposed project parameters were based on preliminary conversations with the point of contact - number of pages, number of sections per page, which parts of the old site would be updated and which would be replaced or edited out, as well as the amount of new content which would be created.

For next steps, we established a timeline, including milestones and deliverables, review stages, revision, and the project completion deadline. There were also deadline extension windows both parties agreed upon, should revisions exceed our original estimates. I created the content myself, basing it on a more SEO-friendly version of the original copy.

I kept in touch with our point of contact almost every day to go over current work, feedback, brand voice, logos, and new ideas (within scope). I also updated our supervisor - our parent company's CEO - multiple times per week. The development processes demanded that I stay in touch with our contractors in Europe, adjusting my schedule for their time zones. My team of internal marketers did the same. I led this project on top of managing others and running day-to-day internal marketing operations for the company.

Despite some technical setbacks and unexpected delays to accommodate the client's needs, we delivered before our previously agreed-upon extended deadlines. Not only was this project a redesign of the original main website, it was also an update to the company's software demo sub-site which included a high volume of informative landing pages. My team and I stayed late and worked weekends in order to perform data entry and complete both websites. We launched by pointing the domain name records at the new web server's location, making the site crawl-able by search engines, setting up email SMTP, and establishing redirects for pages which had not been replaced.

SpendMap still uses this website today. It includes a wide variety of pages with different section types, including contact forms, accordions, buyer's journey, testimonial sliders, and feature tabs. Most of the aesthetic style is a variation on flat design; raised icons were used to engage visitors and communicate functionality. Photography was found on Shutterstock and edited for publication.