Alkimi Products

#WeAreAlkmists

Alkimi Products manufacture safe, effective and non-toxic cleaning sprays. They’re a premium brand that utilise natural ingredients, such as teatree oil and ginger root to create eco-friendly solutions that target dirt and grime. As their strapline suggests; they’re engineering nature.

In 2018, as Alkimi prepared to launch their product range, they noted the time was right to take their business online. With social media channels already set up and active, they came to WDL looking for a brochure website that would provide their customers with all the information they would need on their cleaning products.

The user journey

As with any bespoke website, the information architecture is critical to a site’s design and build. What is the purpose of the site? Where do you want the users to go? The primary focus was determined as making information, and in particular, product information accessible to users, while still ‘selling’ the products. Alkimi customers would be looking for a straightforward and easy to follow approach, allowing them to get information quickly.

Accepting this challenge, WDL produced a detailed IA and simplistic site map that concisely allows users to reach their goal. With general pages sitting in one menu, the products are given their own eye-catching menu, utilising the striking imagery of Alkimi’s product packaging.

Implementing creative content

A crucial consideration of any design is the use of imagery and branding. As a relatively new business and a premium brand, Alkimi were able to invest in product photography and detailed branding. WDL were able to utilise these and create striking compositions, really showing off Alkimi’s cleaning products.

Despite featuring products, the Alkimi website does not have eCommerce functionality. Clear calls to action (CTA) were identified as the solution to creating an interaction with the user. Following the IA and implementing Alkimi’s brand assets allowed WDL to design conversion-driven CTAs that entice the user to make a connection. The website is packed with CTAs where users are able to establish a connection with Alkimi, whether that be through joining their mailing list, contacting them directly, or visiting their social media channels.

This is code engineered

A key aspect of this project, which became apparent early on from the discovery process was Alkimi’s desire for the website to be alive. When it came to the build, WDL had the opportunity to add a variety of finishing touches, ensuring a static website was at the opposite end of the scale. Collaboration between the design and development teams identified areas of animation and the like, with the finished Alkimi website featuring a wide range of hover state styles, animations and parallax scrolling. A premium website for a premium brand.

The functionality of the Alkimi site is built to last, no matter the content that is added or removed. While WDL were tasked with adding the launch content, we’ve given Alkimi the ingredients to add and change content in the future to match their campaigns and desires. There are all manner of ‘blocks’ that they are able to add and easily change, such as testimonials, videos, content blocks and imagery, all of which have been pre-coded with animation, making the client’s task a simple drag and drop exercise.

Shared principles

A company such as Alkimi rely on a relationship based on trust with their customer base. How is this relationship going to be established? Customers will see Alkimi’s cleaning sprays in nationwide stores. Alkimi’s principles on their own will produce a sense of trust with the customer, through their use of natural and safe ingredients. The next interaction will likely be on the website, with the customer hoping to find out more. A clear and methodical site map, along with CTAs ensure this is the case. The sense of caring and trust conveyed in the website’s content is reiterated with the fully functioning and coded extras. The website is fit for purpose and represents Alkimi and their principles in more ways than one.