Ecolicious Equestrian

Ecolicious Equestrian

Background

Ecolicious Equestrian is a web-based retailer and local producer of sustainable high-end ecologically friendly equine care products. Established in 2010, and launched in 2011, ecoliciousequestrian.com is the primary touchpoint for many of the company’s distributors and direct retail customers.

Problem

As mentioned above, Ecolicious Equestrian was launched in 2010. By January 2016 it was firmly established among the leading equine care product producers in the continent. With that said, times have changed and individual digital consumption habits are constantly evolving. Accordingly, what started as a contemporary design in 2011 was now outdated. Today’s customers expect a quality mobile shopping experience.

Solution

Develop a new site that incorporates existing brand elements and allows users a full shopping experience on mobile devices.

Challenges

This project had a number of logistical challenges. As an established site, it was critical to preserve the customer database. It was also equally important to minimize development costs. Operating as a small business competing against much larger companies, there was not an endless budget.
 
After some research, we presented the client with an assessment of available mobile friendly platforms and associated development costs. After some discussion, we made the decision to build the site using WordPress and Woo Commerce.
 
As with any transition of this size, there have been some bumps along the way. As it turns out, where your site is hosted, and who you share your server can have a huge effect on your site’s performance.
 
In addition, a stable end product at the time of launch does not eliminate the need for future maintenance. After some unexpected software challenges, we made changes to the payment gateway, the web host and upgraded the version of PHP. Today the site is now running smoothly.

What’s next for Ecolicious Equestrian?

As protocols and requirements continue to change, ongoing site maintenance should not be taken for granted. Whether you are printing off pdf invoices or incorporating US based pricing, everything requires ongoing maintenance. Our stretch goal with Ecolicious Equestrian is to transition away from 3rd party app dependencies. Having said that, it is also important to keep your design fresh. Essentially, as devices evolve, how they display information also evolves. As such, it is always important to keep an eye forward while staying true to your brand’s roots.