Summary
This project was undertaken for a client who runs his own driving school. His website is used primarily by students for booking lessons.
The ability to book online is the business' USP (unique selling point). As such, the redesign involved implementing a heavily customised booking functionality.
We also did a complete revamp of the site's outdated design and a handled the migration of domain and hosting from the previous site-builder.
The Brief
The stated aims of this redesign were as follows.
- Research and implement a cost-effective and customisable booking system that met client's needs better than the existing one.
- Give the site a more professional look and feel, on mobile as well as desktop.
- Improve the loading speed of the website.
- Manage the transition from Jimdo page builder to WordPress.
Now let's examine how we made it happen.
1. Improving The Booking System
The previous design used a third-party bookings system which was implemented via an iFrame. The issues with this system were:
- The iFrame solution was functional, but inelegant.
- There was sometimes a long delay before the booking form appeared.
- It didn't offer the granular control the client required. For example, being able to have different prices for certain time slots and calculating these automatically for the student.
- It was relatively pricey at €10 per month.
We conducted extensive research to find a booking system which could offer everything the existing one did, while solving the problems outlined above.
After trying out 10-15 different booking systems on our test website, we found a winner: WP Time Slots. The main benefits of this system are:
- Satisfies all of the client's requirements.
- Offers more control over the minute details of the booking system.
- Implemented directly as a part of the website build.
- Google Calendar integration
- Automated booking reminders to students
2. Creating A Professional Look
This was achieved in a number of ways:
- Used the brand logo to build a colour palette for the site.
- Consistent styling across pages.
- 'Clean' look suiting the utilitarian intentions of the website.
- Fully mobile-responsive.
- Clear path for site visitors to follow.
We also replaced the paid third-party live chat with the free Facebook Messenger live chat option. As the client mainly uses Facebook chat to interact with his students via his Facebook page, this was a much more elegant solution, and could be easily adapted to the site's branding.
3. Improving Loading Speed
- Site built to be as lightweight as possible.
- All assets, including images and booking system, hosted locally.
- Sparing use of large images.
- No unnecessary styling or functionality.
4. Managing The Transition
- Consulted on web hosting and domain management options.
- Assisted with creation of necessary accounts.
- Liaised with previous hosting provider and domain registrar to arrange transfer.
- Liaised with new hosting provider and domain registrar.
- Set up new SSL certificate for the site.
