A WordPress solution for a leading IT firm
Thinc: A complex site map and navigation made simple for a leading business IT provider
Making complex simple
The Challenge
Thinc supports ambitious SME's to reach their full potential by helping them become intelligent through complete end-to-end IT ecosystems. Thinc required a solution that reflected its progressive values, creating a competitive advantage through technology.
The solution needed to account for Thinc’s complex sitemap, with a user-friendly navigation that clearly outlined the benefits of the company’s partner products and services to visitors. The new site needed to be easy to update and maintain (without coding knowledge) and incorporate various integrations with existing digital business tools. Thinc partnered with us to apply all these requirements to a flexible, WordPress-based solution to serve as a lead generation tool ultimately.
A user-friendly site that supports lead generation
The Solution
We partnered with branding agency, Bert, to develop a flexible WordPress content management system (CMS) for Thinc. Through the CMS, page content was easily updated, and new pages could be added. An essential part of the brief was communicating what Thinc offers regarding products and services, which involved organising information into easy-read dropdowns. To keep the navigation clean and uncluttered, Feel Created developed menus that dropped down when hovered over to ensure that users saw only the information they required at any given time.
A better user experience
Easy navigation of content, without duplication
The Thinc website required a relatively complex sitemap to highlight the services and partner products on offer. So, we broke up the admin to enable easy management, giving the option to easily pull content through multiple pages without duplication (single point of management).
The site required an in-depth navigation menu that highlighted various areas of the site. We developed a bespoke solution. When users hover over the product and service titles in the navigation, a dropdown menu appears, revealing more information relevant to what the user initially clicked. The solution follows through to the mobile version of the site for consistency. Having different content areas connected via the CMS (a product to a service and vice versa) created a user journey through the website that is never interrupted by backtracking. The user journey is enforced by advanced navigation, giving quick access to every area.
Feel Created's in-depth content management solution for Thinc incorporated multiple integrations with existing systems that are core to business success. The team's ability to integrate Calendly and Active Campaign within our website build was a key requirement upfront, and they delivered the required functionality seamlessly.
Paneesha Parmar, Head of Marketing at ThincBuilding user trust
Capturing more leads through gated content
We utilised a gated content feature to capture user email addresses aiding lead generation. Third-party integration, originally via MailChimp and switched across to Active Campaign to meet Thinc’s evolving needs, was required to capture email data on articles and downloadable documents. Users are required to enter a small amount of information in return for informative Thinc content. To ensure users are more willing to give up their data, we created an easy-to-use form that is quick to fill out. More leads are captured as a result of the improved user experience.
Retaining existing business tools
Integration with existing systems
As well as integrations with Mailchimp and Active Campaign for lead generation, we integrated the new solution with Calendly. The modern scheduling tool, Calendly, allows visitors to book consultations with Thinc directly at their preferred time slot. By adding Calendly as a service, the new solution enhances the user experience, making it simple for users to interact with the site and, therefore, building trust in the brand.
A WordPress-based solution
Easy maintenance as standard
We built the new solution using WordPress. WordPress as a CMS is beneficial to users because it is easily updated post-launch. Some level of maintenance is recommended to retain site performance. So, we design sites where maintenance is quick and straightforward to execute, cutting down on costs. The Thinc solution included block editing to ensure that future edits retain the look and feel of the brand.
Page builder option
Flexibility when adding content
Page builder features allowed for full flexibility. The original Thinc brief requested mainly fixed templates. Due to the complex nature of the sitemap, the team was concerned that too much freedom to create new pages could muddy the navigation. Page builder was initially implemented on a small section of the site. However, once the sitemap and interactive navigation were agreed upon, this section was expanded from news articles and case studies to include landing pages. Enabling page builder on these pages gave Thinc greater freedom to create landing pages to support Adwords campaigns and encourage organic SEO growth.
The result
In partnership with Bert, we created a user-friendly WordPress-based solution for Thinc that enhanced the user journey. By employing tools that created a better user experience, we developed an online environment that helped to foster brand loyalty and trust and, ultimately, generate more leads. The solution has helped cement Thinc’s status as a leading business IT provider and one of the UK’s choice SAP and Sage partners. As a result of the successful partnership, we continue to support Thinc with its development needs, including various third-party integrations.