Websites We Love
While our team are all pretty used to working remotely, we know that some of you will be making the most of your lockdown days at home spring cleaning, cooking, reading or perhaps wrapping up warm in a blanket and binge-watching your favourite shows on Netflix. Another option could be wasting time on the internet.
It’s rare that any of us get the chance to just sit and surf at our leisure these days. So, we thought we’d share with you a few of our favourite websites. Each has been selected for a different reason and is wonderful in its own right.
Lush
Lush specialise in fresh handmade cosmetics. You may have seen – or rather smelt – one of their stores on the UK high street. Founded by Mark Constantine and Liz Weir in Poole, England, the company sells natural hair and beauty products which are all handmade in their factory in Poole, Dorset. Lush pride themselves on their brand values, which include being 100% vegetarian, not testing on animals, ethical sourcing of their ingredients and naked products (minimising packaging where possible) to name just a few. Here’s why we love their website.
- The homepage of the website is always updated with seasonally relevant products and campaigns including beautiful videos of products in action!
- The design of the website is simple and clean which really maintains the focus on the products and makes the product imagery stand out.
- Brand values and messages are clearly communicated throughout the site helping instil brand identity and customer confidence.
- Information is shared but not in an overbearing way with snippets being shared throughout the site as you shop.
- Customers can shop by ingredient while learning about the natural benefits and qualities of each one!
- They have online exclusives to keep in-store shoppers engaged with their website too.
BuzzFeed
It’s highly unlikely that you haven’t stumbled across a BuzzFeed article in some way, shape or form by now. BuzzFeed is an independent digital media company delivering news and entertainment to people around the world via its website, apps and social media channels. The organisation claim, “We strive to connect deeply with our audience, and give them news and entertainment worth sharing with their friends, family, and the people who matter in their lives.” And that’s just why we like them! The perfect website for killing time on your mid-morning coffee break or learning things that you probably don’t really need to know, BuzzFeed is packed full of news, videos, quizzes, recipes and much more. Here’s what they do well.
- Light-hearted content. While you’ll find serious stuff on here too, if it’s a break from the doom and gloom of the world that you’re looking for, you’ve come to the right place.
- Cross channel integration. For BuzzFeed social media is an equally important way to reach people and they’ve got this down to a fine art.
- It reads like a newspaper. The simple journalistic design of the website makes headlines pop and encourages click-throughs to articles.
- They have a quiz called “Do You Actually Prefer Chocolate or Cheese?”!
Not on The High Street
If you’ve ever been looking for a one-of-a-kind gift for that friend or family member who is just so tricky to buy for the chances are that you’ve visited ‘Not on The High Street’. Founded ten years ago, the brand aims to bring together “unique, stylish and never-before-seen products that are hard to find anywhere else”. They are home to more than 5000 of the UK’s best creative business and have a fantastically functional website to showcase them.
- This website is particularly easy to shop with users being able to search by occasion, gift recipient, category or a specific key word search.
- An extensive range of filters allow users to narrow down their options easily by price, personalisation, colour, size and special features.
- The design is simple and doesn’t detract from the products.
- Product imagery is of the highest standard and stylistically consistent.
- Seasonal features on the homepage help plant new ideas for shoppers to consider, creating the opportunity for additional sales.
Magic Seaweed
Magic Seaweed has a very specific following. With surf reports, surf forecasts, web cams and surfing photos for spots around the globe, it’s the go-to place on the internet for the surfing community. While it’s a niche website tailored to a very specific interest, here’s why we think it works so well.
- The website design itself is simple and while it contains lots of different types of content it doesn’t feel cluttered.
- The menu is clear, always visible and easy to navigate, enabling users to find what they’re looking for quickly.
- Magic Seaweed have found a way to include informative content like weather charts and articles, alongside visual media like videos and photography, which somehow all work in harmony to create a great overview of the community and the sport.
- They have successfully included an eCommerce facility on their website which somehow feels like an extension of the website rather than a standard online shop.
The British Fashion Council
www.britishfashioncouncil.co.uk
The British Fashion Council (BFC) is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to further the interests of the British fashion industry and its designer businesses by harnessing and sharing collective knowledge, experience and resources of the sector. It focuses on business, reputation, education, digital and investment so it’s website needs to strike the right balance between visual content and information, as it serves as a resource for industry professionals as well as representing what’s currently happening creatively.
- The homepage of the site is instantly interesting and engages the user with a full screen video without compromising the navigation menu.
- The design is fit for purpose. Fashion was designed to be showcased on moving models and this has been captured in the website.
- Information is easy to find and resources are well organised.
Are you feeling inspired and thinking of setting up your own website? Perhaps you need to inject some fresh thinking into an existing one? Get in touch with our team and find out how we can help. Email info@limegreenmarketing.co.uk or call us on 01600 891525.