Hampshire Flag Company

BACKGROUND

Hampshire Flag Company (HFC) offer a huge range of signage and printed products ranging from exhibition stands, flags, banners and they excel in bringing products, services and brands to life in spectacular colour and quality.

In the beginning, HFC had multiple e-commerce websites and approached Hewitt Matthews with the main objective of producing a new website that would unite their primary and sister websites into one.

HFC also wanted to be able to manage and update the product database centrally via an interface that internal teams would find easier to use.

THE CHALLENGE

With a total of 1,957 e-commerce products and over 1,000,000 possible variations, the current structure was overly complex & lacking functionality which was resulting in a poor and inconsistent user experience for both internal and external users.

Aside from the volume of products, the data was also spread across multiple custom databases with varying structures, all of which needed to be carefully handed and brought under one roof.

Internal processes were also being slowed down by the website not accurately integrating with all the required systems, resulting in manual work. So, this needed to be streamlined and resolved ASAP too!

SOLUTION

We rose to the challenge, sifted through the data, replatformed & centralised the websites, redesigned the entire look & feel, oh, and all while also building in brand new, time saving functionality… Phew!

Visitors to the new HFC website are now greeted with a well-structured layout where products are instantly visible and accessible. A more sophisticated ‘mega menu’ was implemented, enabling users to see all products and services at once, reducing time to reach products and enhancing browsing experiences.

To ensure a swifter process from order to delivery, the site now automatically sends new customer orders to an external server, which is connected to HFC’s in-house order management system. This integration facilitates quicker manufacturing and delivery of products than ever before.

In keeping with HFC’s focus on their audience, we moved away from their existing eCommerce platform to one that was more cost-effective and user-friendly. By integrating a storefront theme, we improved the functionality of WooCommerce, while the incorporation of a Divi plugin enabled the building of non-eCommerce pages by HFC’s internal teams by simplifying the backend.

SOFTWARE INTEGRATIONS

HFC’s site now includes several new functionalities designed to help users convert quicker and more easily. These include:

Smart Delivery Functionality: A significant game-changer, this plugin calculates delivery charges based on exact items ordered, providing accurate costs to the customer.
Swatch plugin: Customers can add product customisation options such as size and colour, with images adjusting in real-time as well as updating prices dynamically as changes are made.
Dynamic Search Box: Automatically scans the website for relevant search queries, this feature reduces the need for manually created search terms.
FAQs: A simple but effective change, designed with the audience in mind. This feature reduces the need for users to complete a contact form to get answers to their questions quickly.

More functionality is ready and waiting in the background to be rolled out over the next 12 months… So stay tuned!

RESULTS

Hampshire Flag Company’s journey with Hewitt Matthews from December to July was an intensive period of reinvention and growth. Through close collaboration with HFC, we transformed their digital presence, resulting in a website that caters far better to their vast product range and the varied needs of their audience.
From better integrating existing systems to implementing new functionality, we’ve ensured that HFC’s digital platform is truly reflective of their outstanding business, whilst incorporating all of their past brands under one site.