Designing a comprehensive digital platform for the brand and individual websites for their franchise stores that inspire and guide users in creating their dream kitchens and spaces.
Easylife Kitchens needed a modern digital transformation to showcase their extensive kitchen and living space designs, streamline lead generation and support their expanding franchise network. The project involved designing a main website with complex features like a Kitchen Cost Calculator, Visualiser and Product Ranges, while also deploying 32 regional franchise websites, all built on a WordPress multisite framework for easy scalability and management.
Results were immediate and impactful, and only possible with the help of my team at the time.
⬩Enhanced User Experience - The redesigned website offers a seamless and engaging experience.
⬩Increased Engagement - Interactive tools led to higher user engagement and time spent on the site.
⬩Brand Alignment - Effectively communicates Easylife Kitchens' commitment to quality and service.
⬩Improved Lead Generation - Location-based Search Engine Optimisation content.
Overall Goal
Create a user-friendly website that showcases their range of products and services while offering features that assist users in planning and visualising their ideal kitchen and living spaces. All while updating their brand tone and voice.
Key challenges included:
Plan of Action
Project Goals
Easylife Kitchens needed a digital platform that not only showcased their extensive range of kitchen designs but also provided interactive planning tools to guide customers in designing their dream kitchens.
Key challenges included:
⬩Ensuring an intuitive and visually appealing design that reflected the premium quality of Easylife Kitchens.
⬩Developing complex yet user-friendly features like a project cost calculator and an interactive digital showroom.
⬩Building a system that could scale efficiently to multiple franchise stores with minimal manual intervention.
Strategy & Discovery
⬩Competitive Analysis - Analysed competitor websites to identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities.
⬩Information Architecture - Structured the website's content to ensure easy navigation and accessibility of information.
Design & Development
Created a clean and modern aesthetic that reflects the quality and craftsmanship of Easylife Kitchens.
Interactive Tools:
⬩Digital Showroom - Integrated a kitchen design tool through a collaboration with Swedish-based company Spark Vision, allowing users to visualise various styles and colours, enhancing engagement and aiding decision-making.
⬩Project Calculator - Developed a tool to help users estimate the investment required for their kitchen projects.
⬩Content Development - Crafted informative and engaging copy that guides users through the design process, highlights product features and emphasises the brand's commitment to quality.
Testing & Launch
⬩Functional Testing - Conducted testing sessions to check for errors, content and mobility.
⬩Performance Optimisation - Ensured fast load times and responsiveness across devices..
With over 32 franchise locations, each store needed its own localised website while maintaining brand consistency. Building these manually would have been time-consuming and inefficient, so we needed a scalable solution.
The Strategy
⬩Built a Master WordPress Template – Designed a reusable theme incorporating all main site features.
⬩Configured WordPress Multisite – Allowed central control while enabling individual franchise sites.
⬩Enabled Easy Customisation – Store managers could edit localised content without affecting the core design.
⬩Optimised for Performance – Implemented caching, lazy loading and CDN distribution to ensure fast load times.
⬩SEO Best Practices – Dynamic metadata and structured data to boost search rankings for individual locations.
⬩Project Calculator: Allows users to estimate the value of their kitchen investment based on their home's worth, providing a tailored financial overview.
⬩Digital Showroom: Enables users to visualise their perfect kitchen by selecting from a wide range of styles and colours, with an auto-design feature to fit their space.
⬩Comprehensive Product Ranges: Showcases various kitchen designs, finishes and accessories, allowing users to explore and compare options that suit their preferences and budget.
⬩Inspiring Imagery: Features high-quality images of completed projects to inspire users and demonstrate the possibilities available through Easylife Kitchens.
⬩SEO-Optimised Content Strategy: Ensured each franchise ranked for local searches, ensuring there was no copy-pasting content across all the sites
⬩Created a WordPress Multisite Network: Allowed rapid deployment while maintaining centralised control.
⬩Brand Consistency vs. Local Customisation: Franchisees needed unique contact details and store-specific info.
Scaling 32 sites rapidly posed several challenges, including brand consistency vs. local customisation which was solved by developing a WordPress Multisite setup. But the biggest challenge was the time. It became an unreasonable delivery very quickly - but we were determined to deliver on our promises. So we knuckled down and got it done.
This project underscored the importance of teamwork. I may have led the project, doing 80% of the work but the deployment and testing was completed by my team and the project would not have been a success without them.
It's also a testament to the power of strategic planning, automation and scalable design. By combining high-quality UX/UI with powerful backend solutions, we enabled Easylife Kitchens to establish a strong digital presence and efficiently roll out 32 franchise websites in record time. 🚀