Status Ceramics Website Design Case Study

The Problem

Website A had poor overall usability, outdated branding and content, and provided a frustrating manual process for customers to order samples. From the 10+ complaints we received every week, I identified the primary customer pain points:

• Sample ordering process

• Cumbersome navigation

• Inaccurate product offerings

Website B also had some constraints:

• Content must be editable by any employee

• Cost $30/month or less to host

The customer

Status had three tiers of customers:

• direct consumer

• wholesale distributor

• and industry professionals, which included interior designers, architects, and contractors

  The bulk of sales came through distributors and industry professionals, but the consumer was the customer whose needs would encompass those of the other two. The website functioned as a touchpoint for almost every consumer regardless of their purchasing journey, and was first experience with our tile for 50% of all consumers. Direct sales had the highest profit margin. So while we had three distinct personas to work with, it was the best decision to feature the direct consumer.

The process & Solution

1. Determined the Weebly web builder was best solution for building the site within constraints.

2. Re-photographed samples of the six highest-varying glaze colors we offered.

3. Tested different layouts (Img. 4):

   • Invited my manager and three of my coworkers who worked in production to sit at my desk and rate layouts by order of preference:

     • squares

     • vertical rectangles

     • horizontal rectangles

   • I assumed squares would win based on industry research, but horizontal was the unanimous choice because the way the glaze ran over the edges of our tiles during production was a unique detail.

   • With that data, moved forward with horizontal layout.

4. Re-photographed all samples for accuracy and consistency.

5. Set up store function on Weebly:

   • Created detail pages for each color: customers could view photos of finished installations (directly correlated to sales), read descriptions, and add samples to their carts

   • Customer data showed some preferred to browse all 120 colors by A-Z, but most were overwhelmed by the disorganization and wanted to shop by glaze finish (7 categories) and/or color

   • Weebly was limited in its ability to customize a sort dropdown, so I figured out how to map products to categories with metadata and tagging

     • Tagged the same color with multiple labels

     • Linked these category groups to landing pages

     • Created one top navigation link to “Order Samples” - this label was familiar to customers from Website A. From there, customers could select browsing a method from the dropdown to browse A-Z, by color, and by finish, each linked to different landing pages

6. For ease of product browsing and accuracy of offerings, I decided to also create non-purchase detail pages for tiles we offered, many of which were already listed on the old site as well:

   • I was already aware that dimensions of certain trim pieces were listed incorrectly on the old site, and I didn’t want to migrate inaccurate data. Since I was often fielding customer questions, I wanted to enable myself to have all this information at my fingertips anyway.

   • I collected samples of every trim piece we were producing at the time, and recorded measurements to add to the detail pages.

   • I also created line drawings - several were already existing and had proven to be strong customer aids for visualizing odd shaped pieces from different angles.

7. Tested functionality on desktop and mobile to confirm consistent experience

8. Soft-launched the site asked both distributors and direct consumers, with priority to those who had a history of frustration with Website A, to test Website B and provide feedback.

9. Once all interactions and processes seemed to be running consistently, I created a marketing campaign for email and social to announce the launch.

The Results

• 90% complaint reduction – most were payment bugs I troubleshooted and solved

• Anecdotal feedback: customers called in specifically to say how happy they were

• Streamlined order process for both consumers and staff without sacrificing human connection

• Used as a training resource for distributors – benefit additional to meeting goals

Status Ceramics

A handmade artisan tile manufacturer originally based in Seattle, WA.

Roles: Graphic/UX Designer, Photographer, Marketing Manager

• Completed full redesign of the company website (case study below)

• Designed print and web collateral including postcards, sales materials, presentations, and a complete new website layout

• Product photography and photo editing

• Management of all social media, sales, and marketing strategies