MarineDepot.com Website Redesign a Success

PRLog (Press Release) – Nov 03, 2008 – ANAHEIM, CA — MarineDepot.com, an online marine and reef aquarium destination, recently underwent a dramatic website redesign that has boosted conversion rates and overall customer satisfaction. The new site offers many aesthetic and functional improvements designed to enhance the user experience and increase site stickiness.

But before they assigned the task of updating the site to their designers, MarineDepot.com’s management team was interested in finding out what customers really wanted to see on the site. They assembled a survey to ask shoppers for feedback on a variety of topics including overall site appearance, functionality, helpfulness and visibility of promotions.

“We have a very niche audience, so we wanted to cater specifically to their wants and needs,” explained Ben Ros, Director of Operations for MarineDepot.com. “The feedback we received from shoppers was invaluable. A lot of the comments validated best practices we already had in the pipeline, while others opened our eyes to ideas we hadn’t even considered.”

Beyond multiple choice questions, customers were asked how they thought MarineDepot.com could improve the website. They also had the option to provide contact information. MarineDepot.com’s marketing department correlated their customer database with respondents’ contact info to paint a clearer picture of those surveyed. They emailed personalized responses to every person who provided their contact information to thank them for their patronage and insights.

Recurring customer complaints and suggestions were given priority and the design team soon got to work. Product categories were refined to be more customer friendly, with additional photography added at the category and sub-category levels.

The product search box was updated to display keyword suggestions to customer queries in real-time. Now, customers can see what other users have searched for and worry less about spelling complicated aquarium jargon like “strontium & molybdenum solution” correctly. Search results pages were bolstered by new intuitive navigation that allows shoppers to narrow their search by selecting a brand, category, price range or other criteria.

Product pages were reorganized using a tabbed interface to encapsulate all of the information MarineDepot.com has on a product, such as detailed specs and customer reviews. They also hired a photographer to shoot new high-resolution, multi-angle product photos.

“We had many goals in mind when designing our new home page,” reveals Ken Wong, Chief Executive Officer of MarineDepot.com. “We wanted a more a more branded look that would instill trust in new visitors to the site. We also wanted to emphasize the breadth of products we carry and provide shoppers a way to dive right in.”

The hard works seems to have paid off. Within 90-days of launching their site redesign, MarineDepot.com has seen conversion rates rise and the average time on site increase dramatically. Perhaps most remarkable are the numbers MarineDepot.com has collected in their own site survey: since the redesign went live, 89% of respondents of reported that they would “absolutely recommend Marine Depot to others.”

“We’re definitely pleased with the results so far,” admits Wong, before adding, “But our work is far from over.”

To take a tour of the new and improved MarineDepot.com, visit http://www.marinedepot.com/md_sitetour.html.