project profile: communication center

one:ten customer since: May 2006

The Communication Center sells religious education books and materials to churches, schools and individuals across the country. In 2006 they decided to redesign their website and move to new e-commerce software in order to better serve their customers and capitalize on the growth trends in online sales.

project milestones

  1. May 2006: Planning begins for new e-commerce site for Communication Center.
  2. March 2007: one:ten delivers initial prototypes in anticipation of mid-summer release of new site
  3. July 2007: New website launches in time for the busiest months of the year.
  4. August-September 2007: In the first months of the new site, the number of orders placed online increases, customers place larger orders on average, and the time to complete an order is cut in half.
  5. December 2007: In its first five months, the website posts significant gains in sales each month compared with the same month in previous years.
  6. August 2008: The first large set of upgrades to the package is released, including support for coupons and promotions, expanded data interface options, a system for taking over orders for customers who encounter difficulties and enhancements to several other features.
  7. December 2008: In its first full year, the website posts record sales figures, again showing gains each month over previous years and more than doubling sales from 2006, the last full year for the previous website.
  8. March 2009: one:ten releases two more major upgrades to the e-commerce software: direct integration with UPS shipping and a ZIP-code based shipping calculator for the shopping cart.
  9. July 2009: After several months of study, a redesigned shopping cart launches in time for the busy season. The new design drastically reduces customer problems during checkout.

results

  • Website is now a major sales channel.
  • Customers consistently praise the website for its convenience and ease-of-use.
  • Web staff spend less time maintaining website, and customer service spend less time on the phone during busy months.

highlights

  • Assisted with information architecture and product categorization plan
  • Created overall appearance, designed layouts for each page, and planned and implemented user experience for the entire site
  • Built and set up e-commerce system to power the website
  • Configured the website to function according to existing Communication Center business rules
  • Programmed data interfaces between website and Communication Center IT systems
  • Migrated data from old website into new site database
  • Connected credit card processing service to shopping cart
  • HTML, CSS and JavaScript programming for entire site
  • Trained Communication Center staff in the use of the administrative system
  • Delivered upgrades to the package and customized existing features as needed
  • Conducted monthly status meetings and provided consistent support for the website.