When we were initially contacted by Clarissa Hulse, there was a major problem.
Their website was so slow that we couldn’t even run our audit tools (e.g. Screaming Frog and SEMRush) against it, much less see it for ourselves.
We’re talking slow. Each page took roughly two minutes to partially load, before eventually failing as the server experienced a script timeout on every attempt.
We were asked to investigate why this was happening, so we undertook a full technical audit of the code and a breakdown of what was wrong. Our results determined something extraordinary.
The previous web design agency had evidently put some strong and creative ideas forward in terms of delivering on the website, but had implemented it by hiring overseas developers, poorly written plugins and using sloppily written code. This trifecta of problems was causing the website to run at speeds which were so slow, a snail would seem like Usain Bolt in comparison. What’s worse, we came to realise the website had been hacked several times since 2017, when the website was built.
It’s fair to say that if totalsurf were doctors, we would have pronounced this website DOA at the time of enquiry. Nonetheless, we took it upon ourselves to resuscitate Clarissa Hulse…figuratively, of course!
One of the first red flags we spotted was a “Wish List”, that featured absolutely zero sanitation of input. Essentially, this meant that anyone who wanted to insert some code onto the site could do so by simply copying and pasting it into their “Wish List” description. This would then appear on the website.
This immense problem proved a bit of an easy target for spammers, hackers and bots, who could insert Javascript, redirects, PHP code or any other code that could allow them full database access (which included private customer data) therefore compromising the website. It reached a point where this designer homeware website was being used as a platform to, as an example, sell concert tickets worldwide. It was that easy for hackers.
The amount of posts that were being generated exceeded 80,000 per week. So shutting this down and performing a clean sweep of the records were our first missions.
After an analysis of the website code, it had become obvious that the platform Clarissa Hulse was using was not suitable if they wanted to move forward. The reality was that they needed to start from scratch, on a platform that would accommodate a freshly coded website where security and speed would be of paramount importance.
Both totalsurf and Clarissa Hulse agreed that the WordPress CMS with a WooCommerce integration would be suitable. Considering the several e-commerce systems we’ve worked with in the past, we knew fully well that this would meet the clients’ needs. We’ve developed our own e-commerce system as well as worked with Shopify, Jigoshop, Drupal, Joomla, Magento and WooCommerce, so this plugin was one that we were already experienced with. We know from experience that if a website is well-built, there is no reason for it to be insecure or slow. Our mindset going into creating this new website was not only ensuring it was structurally sound and secure but also ensuring it will be optimised for SEO purposes. We knew this fresh website was going to be better for Clarissa Hulse to rank high on Google and experience converting organic traffic.
To ensure all functionality was fully mapped out ahead of time, we set out by defining various technical specifications. This involved asking the client several pertinent questions, including:
Etcetera, etcetera.
It turns out the account system they used (Xero) needed integrating with the website for the purposes of stock levels, pricing and orders, which we ensured was working in the early stages of development.
Once we had defined the specifications, we went about wireframing the pages and the user experience (UX). Both of these facets are vital in helping e-commerce sites convert.
Once the specifications were signed off, we began the design process immediately. Within a short time frame, we were able to present working visuals to the client, which could be tweaked in order to match the Clarissa Hulse tone of voice and brand. As a professional designer herself, Clarissa knew exactly what she wanted and that was a wish that took precedence over anything else. It only made sense that the website needed to convey the same brand values as the shop, products and vision of the designer and brand creator herself.
Coinciding with our efforts building the website from the ground up, we utilised our deep keyword research tools to optimise the site for solid SEO performance when launched. Our research identified the specific products and colours that people were searching for, alongside related words and phrases. This meant we were able to ensure each category and product description were optimised to drive organic, converting traffic.
Within six months of the website relaunch, Clarissa Hulse’s organic traffic shot up from a poor 14% to 50%. Thanks to totalsurf, their organic traffic is still on the rise, to a point where now it remains the highest channel of driving converting visitors to the website.
In addition to the site rebuild and SEO that we completed for them, we also set up a detailed Google Data Studio report which gives Clarissa and her team a full breakdown of each purchase process, where people dropout. This allows both us and them to identify where the purchasing chain can be optimised further, so as to convert at the highest possible rate. Typically speaking, customers are converting at a rate five times above average for their sector, thanks in large part to the invaluable data and consultancy provided by ourselves.
To put this into perspective, here’s an example of just how much the website has improved. One keyword that the client now ranks higher for is “Clarissa Hulse wallpaper”. Despite this keyword including their own brand name, prior to the site rebuild this keyword was seeing the client languish at position 4 on Google, underneath the likes of John Lewis and Wallpaper Direct. Post-rebuild and optimisation, this keyword now earns the client positions 1 and 2, as well as hundreds of product-related searches on the first SERP. Talk about progress!
