Case Study - Crane Merchandising Systems
Website redesign - Modern, clean and responsive
Crane MS – Branding and Core Values
From their European HQ in Chippenham, Wiltshire, Crane Merchandising Systems design and manufacture vending machines that are exported to over 26 countries across the world. In early 2019 Crane asked 4D Digital to redevelop their website to coincide with the launch of their new table-top vending machine LINEA.
Although the existing website was functional, Crane felt that the design and layout needed to much better reflect the company brand within an increasingly challenging marketplace. In addition, the company’s core values and employee responsibilities were to be given greater prominence.
Contemporary Design
4D Digital felt that a modern, clean and contemporary design for the website was key. Working closely with the Crane team in Chippenham, 4D Digital proposed a layout that utilised the photography being used for the LINEA launch and other recent projects. Placing the product in working environments would give prospective clients an immediate view on the benefits of the Crane vending machines.
Particular emphasis was also given to the layout of tablet and mobile designs. Analytics showed that over 40% of visitors to the existing website used mobile and smaller tablet devices, a high proportion for a business-to-business market.
Development process
After careful consideration of the needs of the website and with an eye to future scalability, 4D chose to use the WordPress platform for the Crane project. With its ease of use and flexibility, WordPress offered a good option for building and updating the website.
In addition to the main content of the website, a Training event calendar and booking facility was developed for the website, with full control of Training dates and bookings being given to the internal Crane team.
With large image files used on many pages of the website, special requirements for the website server were put in place via the Microsoft Azure cloud platform.
Launch – Training and Support
Successfully launched in early November 2019, the new Crane website has provided a modern and contemporary redesign. 4D Digital continues to work supporting the Crane team with training and on updating and maintaining the website.
Early analytics are encouraging and we look forward to working with Crane to ensure the success of the website in the coming years.
Client feedback
I found 4D Digital a pleasure to work with. After four months of hard work and dedication, we launched our newly designed, fresh website. Our customers shared only positive feedback with us about how modern and intuitive the new website feels. Since it’s the first time for me to work on such a project, having the expertise of 4D Digital around has put my mind at ease while we were going through some big changes. Chris is always polite, very responsive, open and honest. I have particularly appreciated his ability to take the time to understand our business needs and to implement solutions that are tailored to suit our needs. Creating a new website has never been easier! Thank you very much for all your support.