WEST LONDON BUSINESS
Powering a website for growth

Located in a growth region, West London Business is a fast-expanding business organisation representing over 800 companies. WLB commissioned Grain to redesign its website and make it more interactive, in order to serve existing members better, raise its profile in networking, lobbying and business support, and attract larger companies as members.

BRIEF
West London Business wanted the website redesign to raise its overall profile, and to make it more user-friendly with more traction in coverage of news and events. While maintaining WLB’s established appeal to entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized businesses, the site needed to communicate WLB’s strengths and engage larger corporates.

APPROACH
The previous website had a wealth of information but was confusing to navigate. Grain deconstructed the content and redeployed it in a simplified site architecture that is easily navigable. To improve functionality cost-effectively, we harnessed established software applications: WordPress for content management, EventBrite for the events calendar and bookings, PayPal for payment online.

Regarding design, the organisation’s logo was to remain unchanged, but Grain extended the use of typography and added bright blue to the navy and amber palette. We also photographed West London locations to provide background images which would give the site an authentic sense of place.

RESULT
West London Business launched its new website in November 2011. The search engine optimisation executed by Grain is expected to drive a significant increase in traffic from the previous 10,000 visits per month. The benefits of well-structured content, clear navigation and a stimulating look-and-feel were immediately apparent in user comments.

FEEDBACK
“Grain has been innovative and shown understanding of our business in delivering a website that matches our ambition – it will help build our presence, grow our membership, expand our network and strengthen our ability to meet our prime business objectives.”
Frank Wingate, Chief Executive, West London Business