gardener

Garden furniture made of passion for beauty

What is Gardener?

Gardener is a manufacturer of high-class garden furniture focusing on quality and customer satisfaction. The company operates mainly in Poland, but also sells by mail order outside the country. All products are made by hand, hence it is not an ordinary online store page. Gardener stands out from the competition in that the furniture structures are made of steel, unlike other manufacturers, i.e. aluminum.

The Problem

The problem is to distinguish the website from other similar producers. Most customers need to get an immediate estimate, without writing an e-mail asking for it, in order to decide whether it is worth continuing to be interested in the product. Architects, landscape and interior designers need access to 3D files to be able to use products in their projects. Currently, the site is too complicated, there are too many elements on it that are chaotically arranged.

Problem statement

  • Estimated pricing, the website contains only a graphical representation of the prices of sample products,

I have compiled some basic problem statements to better understand the pain points of actual webstie.

  • Access to 3D models, no access to the 3D model database for designers,

  • Intuitive product selection process, website sitemap is not intuitive, it should mainly focus on the product,

  • The colors do not refer to the brand's brandbook,

  • Accessibility, the website contains elements that are not legible for people with vision problems,

  • Too much text, too extensive section about the company,

  • Bottom menu not working,

  • Difficult to read the division of products into specific series, too extensive description, few elements distinguishing specific series,

  • RWD of the page does not include the tablet (Price button)

  • Typography, fonts do not match the product, which is simple, minimalist,

  • Partners subpage, lack of regularity in the size of partner logos.

Competitive research

3 competitors from the steel garden furniture industry were analyzed in terms of their responses to the problem statements. The aim of this project is to determine the motivators influencing the user to buy furniture, what elements evoke emotions in the customer and the willingness to familiarize themselves with the offer, which increases conversion. The main elements that focused on this study were:

  • Website intuitiveness,

  • Customer orientation towards the products,

  • Access to the database of 3D models,

  • Valuation method,

  • Color palette,

  • Number of products on offer,

Competing companies also do not meet all the previously set issues, but each of them does individual elements that do their job well.

Interviews

Taking advantage of my background in interior design, I used my personal client database to interview them about some aspects of the Gardener website.

Interviews were conducted with 6 people who had been involved in the construction of houses in the last 2 years.

Examples of statements made by people interviewed:

  • “Too much going on on this page.”

  • "Honestly, I don't know which collection name refers to which product."

  • “I think someone wrote his autobiography (subpage about us in contact).”

  • “This text is a bit unpleasant to read, I don't know what it is exactly, but I think it's the font.”

  • "This golden color is a bit out of sync with the rest."

Summing up all the statements of the people interviewed, it can be said that the problem statements were consistent with the expected observations of users and fit well into the problem that was posed at the initial stage.

Personas

Karolina Potocka

Pain point: She takes care of 2 children at home, does not like to waste time browsing the Internet and looking for the most important information about products.

Goal: Create simple sitemap and intuitive interface.

Artur Kukier

Pain point: He works a lot, manages the household budget. He has been building a house for two years, he buys items for interior and garden decoration online, because he likes to know the price of the product.

Goal: Presented product prices directly at the product presentation.

Sitemap

The main goal was to create the simplest possible sitemap for the site. Gardener's branding is minimalistic, so it's good that the layout of the website refers to this. In addition, it was important to minimize the number of subpages.