Say Cheese! Custom eCommerce Website for Custom Photography Backdrop Company

Alba Backgrounds Puts Users First with New Online Store

Dedrick Dalgarno began in the world of photography backdrops well before technology took over that scene. He started by hand-painting custom backdrops on request, which, even then, was unusual in the industry.

Since starting Alba Backgrounds, Dedrick has continued to do his own custom creative work, though he’s pivoted more recently into digital-based design. His same dedication to quality and customer service remains, however, and recently his team came to us looking for a website refresh and a boost to the online store.

Our team designed and developed a custom website powered by both our own proprietary content management system, FusionCMS, and the powerful eCommerce platform, BigCommerce (and in the process learned that writing descriptions for backdrop product pages is probably a dream job).

But First, a New Logo

During the homepage design process, Alba tasked our team with designing a new logo to go with the new website. Inspired by Dedrick’s story of painting all his backdrops by hand for years when he started out, our designers opted for a script-like font for the name and created a simple brush stroke frame to give character and presence to the design.

As a secondary piece, they took the brush strokes and the “A” from the logo to create a simplified version of it which our team then used in the header—it appears off to the left of the main nav area upon scroll. By featuring a “shorter” logo on scroll, the header takes up less space, giving users a broader view of each page as they navigate.

Making User Experience a Number One Priority

Search

One of the primary goals for the Alba Backgrounds website redesign was to make the user experience as seamless as possible. Knowing that most visitors to the Alba site would immediately want to search the product offerings, Dedrick requested quick and persistent access to a product search field.

Our designers incorporated this search option in the masthead on the homepage as well as in the header itself: As users scroll down, the main navigation items collapse into a hamburger menu on the side while a sticky category listing and search bar appear front and center on the main nav area. This helps users “Find the perfect backdrop” at any time, on any page.

Navigation

The navigation menus feature an eye-catching design flourish; acting as a “megamenu” with a full category listing and promotional side image, the “Backdrops” and “Categories” drop-down menus give users a quick at-a-glance view of different themes available for perusal. This not only helps users locate what they’re currently looking for, it may inspire them to think about opportunities for future events, as well.

Mobile Responsivity

Having the site look good on mobile was key, since many of Alba’s shoppers—busy photographers and event planners out at meetings with clients to discuss ideas—are likely to be away from a desktop computer when visiting the site. The search field is sticky on mobile just as it is on desktop, though the main hamburger menu is a simplified version; while it does not replicate the full megamenu of the desktop layout, it allows for fewer taps between the homepage and product pages.

Upselling Opportunities

On the eCommerce end, BigCommerce not only offers infinite scalability and SEO-friendly store set ups, it also makes it easy to cross-sell items and showcase all product options. In the backdrop photography world, it only makes sense that users would want to see what accessories—stands, clamps, and more—are available for purchase to go with their new backdrops. The Alba team can now show visitors what additional products are relevant to the backdrop they’re interested in, creating a better user experience for visitors and more opportunities for Alba to upsell.

Custom Order Page

Finally, a secondary priority was to establish a better way for the Alba team to promote and explain their custom order process. The efelle team designed and developed an order page featuring a variety of user-friendly elements: a columned layout to give a comprehensive view into the design process without having to showcase this info as one long block of text; tabs for frequently asked questions that can open and collapse, adding visual interest to the page while keeping the scroll length down; and a file upload field on the order form so users can send hi-res photos to Dedrick and his team which they can then transform into a background sized to the purchaser’s preference.

Check out more about this design on our portfolio!

Boost Sales with a Bold New eCommerce Website Designed and Developed by the efelle creative Team

At efelle creative, helping brands grow their digital presence is our passion. As elite-level partners with BigCommerce, we are well equipped to take on the task of transforming your online store. Contact us today to learn how we can help boost eCommerce sales and provide you with a rebranded website that not only looks great, it speaks to who you are and what you do.