Designing a modern, responsive website for a tech company founded on acceleration.
UX DESIGN
WEB DESIGN
GRAPHIC DESIGN
COPYWRITING
Replify is a WAN (wide area network) optimization specialist that has been reducing bandwidth consumption and improving application performance for over 15 years. As more companies rely on cloud services and remote teams, Replify technology is more relevant than ever. That's why it was essential that their website and identity adapted in a modern tech landscape.
We worked with the Replify team to make their website more impactful and accessible. The team wanted a polished first impression for new users, making their product offering clear and convincing, while elevating their brand aesthetic.
We were tasked with identifying issues with the existing site, and finding opportunities to create a more intuitive and appealing experience. This redesign extended from information and navigation design, to visual design, branding and copy.
Replify's existing site and branding had a clean, flat design that served it well, but this was an opportunity to generate impact through visuals that communicated everything Replify is about
- optimization and acceleration.
Replify has a strong relationship with their existing customers, and a recognisable logomark, so it was important to look for ways to enhance Replify's brand without disrupting it. We employed a sleek and subtly futuristic material aesthetic through gradients, glows, and a shift from greys and whites to blues and blacks - complimenting Replify's signature orange/yellow.
Replify also recently registered their trademark (yay) so their logo needed an update to reflect that.
Replify already had a strong and established logomark, so we wanted to leverage this symbol to create a cohesive and recognisable visual direction site-wide.
Through experimentation we discovered that the elements of the Replify logo were highly flexible, while still remaining disctinctly "Replify". This informed the creation of a brand new icon library, supporting technical explanation and improving readability while communicating a unified aesthetic.
Website development started with a 28 page document to evaluate user “first impressions”, “information retrieval”, “partner portal” and “contact” user flows. We measured usability across 11 categories:
Visibility of System Status
Match Between System & World
User Control & Freedom
Consistency & Standards
Error Prevention
Recognition Rather Than Recall
Flexibility & Efficiency of Use
Aesthetic & Minimalist Design
Help Users Recognize, Diagnose, & Recover from Errors
Help & Documentation
Accessibility & Inclusion
These recommendations informed feature requirements, information design, and user interface design, with low fidelity wireframes produced using Figma.
Wireframes were then adapted as live pages in WordPress. Copy was consolidated and redrafted with respect to end user needs, generating intrigue and buy-in, and providing clearer technical explanation and intuitive direction to keep users on the happy path.
Once content and layout was set, placeholder images and graphics were replaced with bespoke icons, and visuals were refined to create a consistent, professional, and recognisable brand image - site wide.
Creating a brand voice to make Replify an easy choice.
How you talk to your users says a lot about who you are, and what kind of service you provide. Speaking in confident terms using inclusive and encouraging language is important for user trust, and conversion.
Nowhere is this more important than the hero section. When you've only got one chance to make the best impression, there was room to make this more effective. So first let's understand what was missing.
"Flexible WAN Optimization and Application Acceleration -
The Replify Accelerator is a software-based WAN Optimization and Application Acceleration product that can be used standalone, white-labeled or deeply integrated into your own product."
What is Replify? You might be thinking it says it right there. But unless you know what "WAN Optimization" and "Application Acceleration" means, this explanation may not help much. And possibly most importantly, there's no urgency. Even if I know "what" Replify is, we're still missing the "why".
In a few short lines we communicated what Replify does, how it benefits users, and emphasised the ease of deployment
- reducing friction from potential user conversion, while adding a prominent CTA to direct users to their free trial immediately.
Good UX connects business goals with user needs.
We already know why this product is great, but when user conversion is the goal, it helps to take a step back.
At Frontman & Co. we are big on user advocacy - in short, fighting for the end user's needs. It's important to remember that someone who's never seen your product before may not think like you or process information the same way you do, and doesn't know how to navigate your site yet.
A seemingly intuitive technical explanation or navigation option may be alienating or confusing to a first-time user. To remedy this (without taking it personally) we ask bluntly - as a user, why should I care?
Working backwards from a user-centred perspective makes for intentional and equitable design. Whatever the user's goal, we always try to anticipate their needs and keep them on the happy path.
Rozy Corry.
CEO - Replify
"Patrick designed an updated website, providing refined copy, design elements, case study and whitepaper templates, and gave valuable recommendations throughout. Patrick was reactive and easy to work with. We are extremely pleased with the final result and would highly recommend Patrick’s work"
