A facelift for PlaceIQ.com
WEB DESIGN
PlaceIQ's website needed a complete redesign to better align with their professionalism, expertise, and the high standards expected by their clients. The existing site no longer represented the modern evolution of the PlaceIQ brand, nor did it meet the expectations for a top-tier marketing touchpoint or compete with the polished web presence of industry peers.
This project involved a full overhaul from both a visual and content perspective. I collaborated closely with the Marketing team, incorporating feedback and insights from Sales, Product, and Executive Leadership to ensure consistency in messaging, tone, and alignment with the company’s mission. The result was a website that more accurately reflects PlaceIQ’s authority in the industry while enhancing user experience and engagement.
Research
To kick off the website redesign, I conducted a comprehensive competitive analysis to identify strengths and opportunities within the industry. Key questions explored included:
How effective is competitor messaging?
Is their branding consistent and impactful across their site?
What meta descriptions and keywords are they using to optimize visibility?
This research provided valuable insights into our competitors' strategies and highlighted areas where PlaceIQ could improve. By identifying gaps and opportunities, we were able to refine our own positioning and set a clear direction for the redesign, ensuring a stronger competitive presence in the market.
Design needs
The redesign aimed to enhance the user experience and visual appeal by addressing several key design needs:
Stronger Hero Sections: Emphasize messaging with impactful hero sections and more contextually relevant imagery to engage visitors right from the start.
Improved Layout & Content Flow: Increase white space and streamline content layout for a cleaner, more intuitive user experience.
Consistent Typography & Clear Hierarchy: Establish a consistent typographic system with clear content hierarchy to improve readability and guide users through the site.
Stylized Forms: Customize embedded HubSpot forms using CSS to seamlessly align with PlaceIQ’s overall aesthetic.
Updated Visuals: Modernize the site's visuals with custom iconography, unique motifs and patterns, tailored illustrations to represent complex technology, and refreshed duotone photography for a contemporary feel.
Mobile Optimization: Ensure page layouts are fully optimized for mobile, providing a responsive and user-friendly experience across devices.
Brand Element Integration: Incorporate rounded corners throughout the design as a subtle nod to PlaceIQ’s logo, reinforcing brand identity across the site.
Content needs
The content strategy for the redesign focused on improving user navigation, engagement, and lead generation while streamlining the overall content structure:
Simplified Navigation: Restructure and simplify the website’s navigation to make it more intuitive and user-friendly.
Tracking & Integration: Implement necessary tracking pixels and integration scripts (Google Analytics, Facebook, LeadLander, HubSpot) to monitor performance and capture valuable data.
Strategic CTAs & Lead Capture: Incorporate relevant calls-to-action (CTAs) and HubSpot lead capture forms throughout the site to drive conversions.
Expandable Forms: Utilize HubSpot’s dependent fields feature to create less intrusive, expandable forms for better user engagement.
Enhanced Content Journey: Improve the user journey through related posts, categorized content, and gated webinars to provide value and guide visitors through the site.
Filterable Resource Library: Organize insights and resources into a filterable library, making it easy for users to find relevant content.
Updated Product Pages: Revamp product pages to clearly showcase PlaceIQ’s suite of offerings and emphasize key features and benefits.
Case Study Web Versions: Create web-friendly versions of case studies to support sales enablement and highlight successful client stories.
Footer Rework: Revise the footer to include social media links, contact information, clear navigation, privacy policies, partners, and copyright details for a more comprehensive, user-friendly footer.
Original footer design
Updated footer design
SEO needs
The SEO strategy focused on improving search engine visibility, optimizing site performance, and ensuring a seamless user experience:
Refined Page Titles & Headings: Optimize page titles and heading tags to improve search engine relevance and clarity.
Updated Meta Descriptions: Revise meta descriptions with better keyword usage to enhance click-through rates and search engine rankings.
Improved Site Performance: Enhance page load times and site performance through page caching, image compression, lazy loading, and minification of CSS/JavaScript files.
Image Alt Text: Ensure all images have descriptive alt text for improved accessibility and SEO.
Sitemap Implementation: Add a sitemap to facilitate search engine crawling and indexing.
Mobile Usability: Address mobile tap target issues to improve usability on mobile devices and ensure a responsive design.
Page Layout Stability: Minimize layout shifts to improve the user experience, particularly on mobile devices, ensuring a smoother page load.
Results
After completing the wireframing and design phases, I built and tested the fully mobile-responsive website using WordPress and the Divi theme. These updates had a significant impact on PlaceIQ's web presence, both visually and functionally.
Within the first year, the redesigned site yielded impressive results:
22.96% increase in new users
23.55% increase in returning users
22.96% increase in traffic sessions
Additionally, SEO performance improved dramatically, with PlaceIQ’s SEO score rising from 59/100 to 91/100 (via seositecheckup.com) and HubSpot’s website grade increasing from 60/100 to 87/100. These enhancements contributed to a more engaging user experience and increased site performance.
