IDEM Safety Switches is a company specialising in the production of high-quality safety switches. They approached us for assistance with their existing website, which was slow, difficult to navigate, and not user-friendly. A significant portion of the site was built using custom code, making it challenging for their team to update and maintain without extensive technical expertise.
The key objectives were to improve the website's speed, enhance accessibility, update tired styling and ensure that the IDEM team could manage content easily without requiring advanced coding knowledge.

One of the major challenges was the existence of a separate website for their US market. This setup required constant updates across two platforms, adding unnecessary workload for the IDEM team. To streamline this process, we aimed to integrate American visitors into the UK site, ensuring seamless access while reducing maintenance efforts.

Additionally, the distributor section required significant improvements. The existing format was a static list, which was not functional or user-friendly. We introduced an interactive global map, providing users with an intuitive way to locate distributors worldwide.

The product structure was complicated and users would have to navigate a few pages to get to their end goal. We built a custom plugin to allow for filtering of parent categories and then integrated another series of filters for easy organising of products making the user experience much simpler.

To achieve the project's goals, we focused on multiple areas of improvement:

Site Speed Enhancements: We identified performance bottlenecks, with a key issue being the homepage slider plugin, which significantly impacted load times. We replaced it with a more efficient solution, dramatically improving speed.

Design and Layout Refresh: The website's overall look was outdated, and the layouts were not optimised for user experience. We modernised the design, making it visually appealing and easier to navigate.

Improved Product Pages & Bespoke Filters: The product layout was confusing and difficult to navigate. We refined the product categorisation, ensuring a more intuitive browsing experience for users.

Enhanced Backend Usability: The previous setup was overly complex, making it difficult for the IDEM team to update product information and content. We restructured the backend to be more accessible, allowing easier management.

Geolocation Adjustments: To better serve US visitors, we implemented geolocation-based customisations, ensuring they received region-specific content where necessary.

Distributor Section Upgrade: The outdated distributor list was replaced with an interactive global map, improving usability and providing a more dynamic way to locate distributors.

History and News Pages: We improved the history and news sections, ensuring they were engaging and accessible to all users.

Product Landing Pages: To enhance product visibility, we created dedicated landing pages tailored for user engagement and improved search-ability.

The comprehensive website overhaul resulted in a significantly faster, more accessible, and user-friendly platform. IDEM's internal team can now easily manage and update content without technical barriers. The integration of the US market streamlined operations, reducing maintenance time and effort. The improved distributor section and enhanced product pages provided a better experience for customers, ultimately leading to increased engagement and usability.

By addressing both technical and design-related challenges, we delivered a solution that not only met IDEM's immediate needs but also positioned them for future growth and scalability.