Case Studies
AUTCOhome Appliances
Elevating User Experience: A Website & Brand Transformation
A website is more than just a digital footprint in the rapidly evolving digital landscape. It’s an essential tool for communication, brand expression, and business growth. Recognizing this, AUTCOhome Appliances came to Envision By Design to transform its online presence and refresh its brand identity to align more closely with the high-end appliances it sells.
This case study delves into their website redesign and brand refresh process. We took a collaborative approach, working closely with AUTCOhome to understand their vision, audience needs, and business goals.
Understanding the AUTCOhome’s Vision & Objectives
In an initial meeting with the AUTCOhome team, they expressed wanting a modern website with a new color palette. They also wished to incorporate several brand pictures of the appliances they sell from leading manufacturers and photographs of their team. Further, they wanted their new site to integrate new forms for visitor engagement that would make follow-up easier. Another request was for a clearance section for displaying appliances at discount prices. The creation of this page would move them away from relying on posting PDFs that weren’t mobile-friendly.
They also wanted to refresh their logo, retaining the roof structure customers have come to recognize and associate with the AUTCOhome brand since 1971.
After our meeting, we determined the project scope, and the following services were chosen to meet AUTCOhome’s needs and goals:
- Audience analysis and user demographics
- Keyword research, strategy, and technical website performance evaluation
- Content and messaging review
- Custom website redesign based on a new sitemap
- Content creation
- Photoshoot
- Logo and brand refresh
This project yielded transformative results. The custom website redesign with a new sitemap elevated the user experience and enhanced the brand’s digital presence. Our content creation efforts, augmented by a professional photoshoot and manufacturer brand images, brought a new level of engagement and authentic visual appeal to the site. Post-launch, the website has improved user engagement and overall brand perception. Complementing these efforts, the logo and brand refresh align more closely with AUTCOhome’s evolution and audience expectations.
Essential First Steps
Identifying the Target Audience,
Messaging Review, & Website
Performance Evaluation
With three showrooms in the St. Louis area, AUTCOhome Appliances offers a wide selection of luxury appliances, including refrigerators, cooking appliances, dishwashers, and more. Their target audience encompasses builders, designers, contractors, architects, and homeowners. And they offer three price points to fit a range of lifestyles and budgets:
- Premium – For those who seek luxury and innovation in their appliances
- Affordable luxury – For clients wanting a balance between advanced features and cost-effectiveness
- Economical – For budget-conscious consumers who prioritize essential functions and durability of reliable brands
We built out personas for each audience segment, including a profile and description of their needs/preferences and how AUTCOhome meets them. This detailed understanding of their target audience allowed us to tailor their new website and logo refresh to meet the specific needs of each customer segment.
Next, we ran a website performance evaluation. This step is critical to identify the site’s current effectiveness and areas for improvement. We examined page load times, user engagement, and search engine rankings to provide insights into user experience and technical efficiency. Because AUTCOhome had done some paid advertising in the past, we also looked at where traffic was directed, targeted keywords, and backlinks. Finally, we analyzed the website’s content for relevance, SEO optimization, and alignment with the brand’s current messaging and goals. This holistic evaluation helped inform strategy and design decisions for the new website, ensuring it was better aligned with business objectives and user expectations.
Planning the logo and brand refresh required a careful balance between maintaining brand recognition and infusing new life into the visual identity. AUTCOhome wanted to keep the roof symbol in their logo above their name but wanted to refine it and create a new, modern color palette that would resonate with their target audience.
Solutions Align With Goals
Branding & Identity Refresh
AUTCOhome’s original color palette consisted of burgundy, blue, and gray. We reimagined the brand and introduced gold as a new primary color to infuse warmth and elegance. Also, we updated their navy blue (symbolizing reliability) and a warm, neutral gray so all colors complemented one another. Further, we developed a secondary palette that included a lighter blue.
When refreshing the company’s original logo, we removed the stroke lines around the roof line to create a cleaner “home” representation that more easily reproduces across mediums. Finally, we updated the logo appearance further by implementing the new color scheme. The result is a modernized logo that fosters a cleaner, more refined aesthetic, demonstrating AUTCOhome’s commitment to luxurious, high-end appliances for every lifestyle.
Website Transformation
The website transformation began with a comprehensive strategy, including keyword research and a sitemap that followed a logical organization. AUTCOhome’s original website consisted of 24 pages, and its new one would grow to 33 pages. This expansion allowed for creating pages with targeted keywords for improved SEO and the opportunity to highlight the products AUTCOhome sells. Also, a custom website design ensured that AUTCOhome’s new site would fit alongside its competitors and the manufacturers whose appliances they sell.
A few of the new page highlights include the following:
- Manufacturers – Individual pages for each manufacturer showcase product diversity and a brand-centric shopping experience and allow a deep dive into unique features and benefits.
- Showrooms – Provide detailed information to help visitors plan for in-person visits.
- Owner Resources – Offers invaluable post-purchase support, enhancing customer satisfaction and long-term loyalty.
- Clearance – Allows easy (and mobile-friendly) product viewing with pricing and descriptions for budget-conscious shoppers.
- Promotions – Provides exclusive deals and savings from top appliance brands that AUTCOhome sells.
- Blog – Serves as a valuable resource and offers expert insights, tips, and more to help build trust and brand engagement.
UX & Content Creation
We also focused on user experience (UX) with streamlined navigation for intuitive user flow and implemented a response design to ensure seamless interaction across devices of all sizes. Further, we enriched the interface with visually appealing and functional elements that resonate with the target audience.
Besides the design, we also revitalized the site’s content, which enhances the website’s appeal and relevance. Our copywriting team developed a content strategy tailored to the AUTCOhome brand voice and audience needs. We closely examined the current keywords, keeping those still relevant while adding others. Also, our approach involved crafting engaging, SEO-optimized text that informs and helps turn readers into engaged visitors. We incorporated some existing content to maintain their established online presence and supplemented the content with high-quality, brand-aligned visuals, ensuring a dynamic user experience. When writing the content, we wanted to tell a story that makes a meaningful connection with the audience. Finally, we planned strategic calls to action to encourage visitors to take the next step, whether reaching out for inquiries, product information, or consultations.
The reimagined website boasts a fresh, modern aesthetic and provides an improved, user-centric experience. This thoughtful emphasis on strategy and UX has increased engagement and overall satisfaction, transforming how users interact with and perceive the brand online.
Photoshoot for Capturing the Brand in Action
To avoid using stock images on the new site, we held a photoshoot to capture the AUTCOhome team in action, selling appliances, talking to clients, and demonstrating product use. This strategy was used to help bring the brand to life visually in an authentic way that would resonate with the target audience.
Before the photoshoot with a skilled commercial photographer, we planned the series of shots to make the most efficient use of time. The resulting images were strategically placed throughout the website to enhance user engagement, illustrate content, and provide a visual journey that complements the textual information.
What AUTCOhome Says
“Envision By Design is terrific to work with, and they created a beautiful website for our company. Not only did they listen to our wants and needs, they produced! I appreciate their professionalism and their tenacity to ensure we are happy with the final product. We continue to use their services for our marketing needs and highly recommend their services.”
– Jean Herman
