Website development driven by CMS usability and end user experience

From enthusiasm to frustration

Although Netprofile had recently revamped its website and switched to HubSpot's publishing system, Maisa Enqvist, Netprofile's digital marketing director, stared in pain at the so-called easy-to-use page editor. Enthusiasm for an agile publishing platform had turned into frustration. “Instead of the site being easy to maintain and flexible, it didn’t bend to our needs. We also found that it did not serve our potential customers in the best possible way. The essential information was not easy to find and did not summarize what we as a company really are,” says Enqvist.

Netprofile set out to seek help to improve the flexibility and usability of the publishing platform interface. The goal was to find a partner with strong HubSpot technical expertise, so Kaks.io Labs was a natural choice to implement the project. Netprofile’s CEO, Juha Frey, has been pleased with the choice: “Website development can be purchased from anywhere, but really the most important thing is to find a partner who understands the client’s business goals. The work of Kaksio Labs combines HubSpot's deep expertise with a strong business orientation. This sets them apart from other players in the industry.”

Fast action without compromising on quality

The project was launched in February and the new site opened to the public in April 2020. The most critical definition phase took the form of two workshop days, during which customer journeys, buyer personas and key elements of the site were built. At the same time, a site map was created to guide the implementation. “We were convinced of the professionalism of Kaksio Labs already in the workshop phase. Each meeting was planned and facilitated extremely professionally,” Enqvist recalls.

Kaksio Labs implemented a website redesign project using the so-called Growth Driven Design, which enables fast and agile website development. The model is divided into three phases:

1. Processing a customer-oriented website strategy
2. MVP (minimum viable product) i.e. building the first version of the website and
3. continuous development through sprints.

“Compared to traditional site development, the GDD model reduces the risks associated with the project and thus the costs. The development is done strongly on the basis of data and customer-oriented thinking, ” says Daniel-José Hänninen from Kaksio Labs, who was responsible for implementing the strategy phase of the project.

Because of the covid19-situation, the project was transferred to remote implementation. Still there was no need to give in in terms of schedule and quality of the project, on the contrary. The project team kept in touch through a shared Slack channel and sought to respond to emerging questions as quickly as possible. “Every work step acted as a proof that the Kaksio Labs team strives for high quality in their work. Things are handled agilely, quickly and without compromising on quality,” says Enqvist.

"Kaksio Labs combines HubSpot's deep expertise with a strong business orientation. This sets them apart from other players in the industry."

The result is an easy-to-maintain website that serves the end user

The templates used in HubSpot make site management easy and allow for a flexible and branded site structure without the need for continuous development resources. “Tailor-made solutions are often a headache when you start editing and updating a site. Maintenance becomes more difficult if the elements and structures are not designed to be flexible to different needs and combinations. A suitable template was chosen for Netprofile's needs, which we set out to further develop through the definition of the customer journey, ”says Janne Haonperä from Kaksio Labs, who was responsible for the technical implementation of the project.

With the project, Netprofile's brand image was also sharpened and clarified. Improving maintainability was one of the main goals of the project, but Kaksio Labs challenged the customer to rethink the site from the perspective of end users as well so-called buyer personas. In terms of content, Enqvist considers the customer-orientation of the new page to be the most significant: “Together with the Kaksio Labs team, we dived really deep into the life, needs and browsing habits of the end users of the site. This is how we built a site that really serves our current and future customers at different stages of their purchase funnel.”

The ground work enables further development

According to Enqvist, the next stage of development is related to the wider utilization of existing tools and more efficient use. The easy-to-maintain system now provides a working platform for content creation. The goals set for the project were achieved, but Enqvist is surprised by one thing:

“The best thing about the project was that the end result not only met our expectations perfectly but exceeded them! The team at Kaksio Labs knows how to challenge and dig out the perspectives that are truly relevant to the end result.”