amfori, a trailblazer in sustainability reporting, empowers businesses worldwide to elevate their sustainability practices. They offer a platform for members to comprehend, document, and enhance their sustainability initiatives, fostering a more sustainable and responsible business environment. In the face of a rapidly evolving business landscape where sustainability has taken center stage, amfori recognized the need to revamp its digital presence. They aimed to highlight the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) trend and enhance their website's user experience. amfori joined forces with icapps, to craft user-centric digital solutions to bring their vision to life.
It was apparent to the amfori team that their public website required restructuring and redesign. Over time amfori’s products, services, and knowledge included in the website grew exponentially. This meant that web pages were previously added without any clear strategy or structure. Furthermore, amfori's new aim was to revamp its website to highlight its current member offerings, spotlight the ESG trend, and restructure its website to enhance the user experience. The task was creating a new public website to meet these needs and provide a seamless user experience.
What we did
We offered amfori a range of services. We started our Strategy workshops by determining the different page types and information architecture. Once we had a clear idea of the new structure, we determined the objectives of each page type, the components per page, and the internal stakeholders for each page type. This allowed us to validate the designs quickly. We then created the wireframes so relevant stakeholders could review the concepts easily. All the above information also leads to the basis of requirements for the CMS. We built a CMS tailored to the needs of amfori, driven by weekly refinements to get everything fine-tuned. We worked with amfori's cloud partner to keep everything on an infrastructural level up and running, ensuring it was stable. We also imported data from their previous website and made it run seamlessly on the current website.
A successful project kickoff with strategy workshops
Our journey with amfori began with a series of Strategy workshops. The kick-off, designed to bring together the amfori project team, captured amfori’s 'hopes and fears' regarding this project. By proactively managing this process, we established a solid foundation for effective project and expectation management. By doing this, we handled the process and expectations proactively. So basically a retrospective before we started!
Following that, we delved into the realm of amfori and sustainability reporting. Our primary objectives were to gain a deep understanding of our target audience, their expectations when visiting amfori's website, and the key business objectives driving the launch of amfori.org.
In our following UX workshops, we aligned the Subject Matter Experts on the objectives of each page type. We established the information architecture and identified the components per page. This collaborative and strategic approach allowed us to validate the designs swiftly, ensuring that all stakeholders were on the same page and that the project was moving in the right direction.
After this co-creation phase, we transitioned to the UX phase, where we made wireframes in quick iterations and synced regularly with the concerned subject matter experts.
Redesigned User Experience and User Interface (UX & UI) for a better website
We began this project by conducting comprehensive keyword research, ensuring a solid foundation for our endeavors. By identifying key terms and phrases relevant to amfori's industry and audience, we gained crucial insights that guided our approach. We then significantly improved the amfori website by reorganizing its layout, carefully reviewing its structure, studying competitors' sites, and collaborating with various stakeholders. With this groundwork in place, we began crafting the initial screens. To ensure simplicity and ease of use, we used a small set of common design elements, making it easier for users to understand and developers to build efficiently.
Throughout the process, we sought feedback every week to refine the wireframes iteratively. Once these wireframes were finalized, our skilled UI designer worked on incorporating the brand's look and feel, resulting in perfectly polished designs. We focused on maintaining a clean, modern appearance while also considering accessibility aspects, such as color contrast and font sizes, to ensure that all visitors can easily use the website.
The outcome is an attractive and user-friendly interface that showcases the amfori brand beautifully while providing a top-notch user experience for everyone who visits the website.
Google Analytics
During our collaboration with amfori for their website launch, we supported the necessary online marketing tactics. Firstly, we facilitated the implementation of Google Analytics, ensuring precise data tracking for insightful analysis. This step empowered amfori with valuable insights into user behavior.
Secondly, our involvement extended to the co-creation of a streamlined redirect plan. Working closely with amfori's team, we devised a plan to seamlessly transition users from the previous website to the new one. This plan focused on user convenience and aimed to maintain search engine rankings, mitigating any disruptions during the migration process.
By providing technical support through Google Analytics implementation and offering strategic guidance in the redirect plan creation, we contributed to amfori's successful website launch. This collaborative effort set the stage for data-driven decision-making and a smooth user experience, aligning with amfori's commitment to excellence.
Tailoring a robust CMS for amfori's diverse offerings
We moved on to the development phase once the planning and design phases were complete. We constructed a CMS tailored to amfori's needs, refining it weekly to fine-tune every detail. This CMS was designed to be robust and flexible, supporting amfori's diverse offerings and the high traffic of their public website.
We also worked closely with amfori's cloud partner to ensure a stable infrastructure. This collaboration was crucial in providing that the website was well-designed but also high-performing and reliable. One of the critical tasks during the Build phase was importing data from amfori's previous website. We ensured a seamless transition, allowing the new website to run smoothly with the existing data.
A unique and purposeful initiative
This project was unique in its scope and objectives and how closely it aligned with icapps' sustainability ambition. Our shared commitment to sustainability created a strong synergy between our teams, fueling our motivation and passion for the project.
This alignment of values and goals made the collaboration with amfori not just a project but a shared journey toward a more sustainable future.
Stay tuned for Part 2 as we explore the fascinating developments and achievements during the build phase of amfori's CMS portal.
