Chicago & Indianapolis Web Design Challenge

At Roundpeg, many of the small business websites we design are fairly simple, containing a limited number of pages, and few forms.  Those websites are fun, because we can focus on graphics which will attract our clients customers, SEO strategies to drive traffic, and blogging strategy to help the small business owner round out their content.Penn Graphic22

From time to time, however, we are presented with a more complex challenge.  For example, Penn Real Estate with offices in both Indy and Chicago wanted to keep the two markets separate, yet offer a consistent look and feel across the divisions.   The Chicago division had their own website, but the Indy office did not.  Neither office had an official logo.

We started by creating a simple text treatment which could be used on the web site, and printed collateral.  Once the branding was established we were ready to tackle the site design.

To create a gateway to the individual city sites, we started with a simple landing page. With just enough text to position the company for key terms, visitors are immediately directed deeper into the site, to the Indy or Chicago sections.

Our client expects few changes to the main landing page, so we designed that as a simple HTML page.   The individual city sites are each designed in their own WordPress sub directory.

Some of the advantages of building sites this way include:

  • The separate installations of WordPress allow us manage/edit the master landing page and sub-pages as if they were each individual sites.
  • It is easier to customize SEO language for each target market, which aids in search rankings
  • The two sites each have their own navigation and slightly different template

The use of multiple landing pages is something any company with more then one target markets should consider.  If your businesses are truly not interrelated, it helps compartmentalize your business.  This way you can deliver the most relevant information to visitors quickly.

Is this a good strategy for your next web redesign?  Call the web team at Roundpeg to find out!