Expectations
ECC Test Lab (previously located in Blacksburg, VA — now in Richmond, VA) came to me for a logo refresh and total website overhaul.
ECC is an accredited analytical and microbial laboratory whose mission is to provide our customers with the highest quality results in the fastest time possible. When they approached me, they were just beginning to expand from primarily hemp testing into a full range of product safety and quality testing for a variety of industries. They can accommodate most requests with a wide array of specialized instrumentation and combined expertise in chemical and microbial analysis.
REFRESHED: They didn’t need to change anything creatively/aesthetically about their logo, they just needed it updated to reflect a slight name change.
ADAPTABLE: They needed their updated website to represent the business’ expansion of services into industries outside of hemp/cannabis.
OPTIMIZED: They wanted to rank higher in search engines.
EASY TO EDIT: They wanted to be able to easily make changes to the website themselves in the future.
Process & Results
1. Logo
Since we had an existing logo to work with and changes to the logo were small, I was able to charge a rate approximately 1/3 of the regular logo project price. The client felt limited by the original logo, so we provided them with some badge and icon variations.
Original Logo:
Updated Logo:
2. Website Re-Design
I helped the client systematically make decisions about the website’s layout and navigation by testing various ideas at once and allowing the client to see the work in progress and interact with pages.
They wanted a video or slideshow at the top of the page, so I created an video animation in Canva and used the video as the banner image at the top of the home page.
The client didn’t require a blog, but they needed a place for business announcements and a separate place for mentions of ECC in news media. I created two separate blog pages for “Announcements” and “News” to help organize these posts by date and topic.
The client wanted to made customer forms available on the website for download to help streamline the testing process. We’re hosting these documents on Google Drive and provided links on the website so they are easy to change/access. For customers that need help, there’s a form to help get the conversation started with the ECC Test Lab team.
3. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
The client was already aware that their SEO could be better and came prepared with some keywords for me to include. Through research and experimentation, there were some additional keywords that got worked into the mix to help the site rank higher.
I monitored the website for a couple months after launch to ensure that SEO impressions were improving and that the website was showing up for important keywords and phrases like “hemp testing virginia”. A year’s review of site analytics shows consistent growth over time. This growth is likely a result of both what I established for them as well as the client’s continued changes to the site.
Google Analytics for ECC Test Lab’s website
4. Squarespace Lesson
Most projects include tutorial time!
The post-project lesson is different for each and every client because they each have different understandings of technology. For this project, we went over how to make changes to the most commonly used blocks in Squarespace. Throughout the process, the client had access to the website, so they came prepared with questions and concerns regarding different parts of the site.
I followed up our short lesson with some links to helpful Squarespace tutorials.
Conclusions
This project was proof of concept of my new pricing model for website design — it was my first opportunity making a website of this size at new rates.
It was a great opportunity to be able to work on a project related to a new (to me) area of the hemp industry.
This projects was a satisfying exercise in the design of a fairly robust website. I enjoyed incorporating green accents without making it look overly bright or tacky (a design crime that many cannabis businesses commit).
REFRESHED: Although my creative muscles weren’t fully flexed during this logo refresh, this logo is a great example of the value of multiple dynamic variations throughout an organization’s brand.
ADAPTABLE: A review of the website’s impressions for certain search queries demonstrates that the site has been successful at obtaining impressions — not just for hemp testing, but for the other industries the client was hoping to expand into.
OPTIMIZED: The new site ranks higher for keyword phrases which include variations of the business’ name, the business’ services + location than the old site did. The client reported an uptick in average # of new customer inquiries and form submissions from the previous site.
EASY TO EDIT: The client has been able to make changes to all areas of the site without further assistance from me.
This project came with the additional challenge of moving the client’s existing email services to their new primary domain. When we first started discussing the client’s needs and I researched the transfer process, it was unclear exactly what needed to be done. I had confidence in my problem-solving skills, however, and we were able to complete the process smoothly with no hiccups nor missed emails.