Andy Rowden is a Somerset-based financial adviser specialising in advice for the over 55s.
Andy already had a website but it wasn’t reaching its full potential. He asked We Make Media to design a website that would:
- Build trust with potential customers.
- Clearly explain the services provided.
- Encourage customers to call or email.
To build trust, Andy wanted to create a series of free educational videos. Key to the success of an advice section, is knowing the questions your customers want the answers to. What words and phrases would Andy’s customers put into a Google search to find the advice he is offering?
At We Make Media we prioritise SEO (search engine optimisation) from the start of any web design project because it provides crucial information. Jeff explains, “We discovered that ‘Financial Advice for over 55s’ was not searched for very frequently. We expanded the search to include other ages: over 50s, over 60s, etc. The results were similar. We needed to change tactics. Instead of focusing directly on age, we turned our attention to situations that we might face at those ages: financial advice for grandparents, for example. This was much more fruitful.” As a result of our research, Andy has a website structure and a list of topics to discuss in his videos.
Colour plays an important role in shaping a customer’s perception of a company – is it traditional and reserved or young and vibrant? “My first impression of Your Safe and Secure Will was a combination of both,” says Jeff. “Andy was smartly dressed and spoke with authority and experience, but he was also open and friendly. His idea to share advice as a series of video blogs is up-to-date.”
Olive green - a colour associated with wisdom, serenity, renewal and growth - was chosen as the principal colour of the new site. “I wanted to instil a sense of calm, follow our advice to remove the anxiety of unorganised finances,” Jeff explains.
Andy wasn’t a fan. The second iteration of the site: a combination of dark blue (calm, safe, authoritative), light blue (open-minded, optimistic) and gold (achievement, triumph, wealth) meet with Andy’s approval.
Designing a new website is a collaborative exercise – a blend of our website design skills and our customer’s knowledge of their industry and customers. “I’m pleased Andy questioned my first choice, the result is a perfect match,” says Jeff.
Andy had a logo that he was fairly happy with, but he was open to suggestions on how it could be improved. “A redesign wasn’t included in the cost of a website, but I took the opportunity to present an alternative that I thought would represent Andy better. I changed the font, restyled the distribution of the text and replaced the old fashioned quill and ink graphic with a newer alternative – a redesign in other words!” says Jeff.
The logo combines two fonts: Freight Text Pro and Freight Display Pro. They were designed in 2005 but are based on typefaces designed in the 1850s. The result is fresh and modern yet at the same time familiar and traditional. The fonts were used throughout the site’s headers, sub-headers and call-to-actions. The body copy is set in Proxima Nova, Jeff’s “go-to font” for many projects. “It's just so readable on screen and in print and works well in any size.”
Andy didn’t have imagery, and the budget did not stretch to a custom shoot, so Jeff sourced photos from a stock library. Typical legal and financial imagery (signing paperwork, piggy banks, etc) was avoided, so the website did not appear staid and boring. Instead, we focused on people enjoying themselves to reinforce the peace of mind that can be accomplished with sound financial affairs. Care was taken to find models that accurately represented Andy's typical customer.
The result is a friendly site, both welcoming and reassuring. It is a great example of how strong colour and typography can be used to create an interesting website in the absence of lots of images.
