a digital glow-up for one of Estonia’s top furniture retailers

Background

ON24, one of Estonia’s first and largest furniture retailers, is known for their wide collection of furniture and home decor items. Notably, their website attracts very high traffic since people trust ON24 for their commitment to providing quality products at affordable prices, solidifying their position as a preferred option in the Estonian market.

Recognizing the increasing popularity of online shopping, ON24 realized the importance of improving their digital presence. Their existing website, which had separate versions for mobile and desktop, presented challenges in terms of development resources and user experience. With more customers accessing their website via mobile devices, it became important for ON24 to provide a responsive website, offering a seamless and unified experience across all devices.

To address the named goals, ON24 approached us to bring them to life. Our task was to focus on the visual and interactive aspects of the website while ensuring compatibility with both mobile and desktop devices. The goal was to create a modern and user-friendly online shopping experience for the people visiting the ON24 online store. Our friends from NOPE Creative came to help with the design in this project. 

Process

We kicked off the project in February 2023, and right from the start, the collaboration with the ON24 team was excellent. Important goals were set at the first meeting, and the process proceeded smoothly based on the agreed-upon plan for the following months. ON24’s own development team also played an important role in this project, implementing various back-end functionalities on the website since their team was responsible for the business logic during this project. 

Since our goal was to create a very responsive website, we considered a wide range of screen sizes to cover the entire user base of ON24, from narrow mobile screens to ultrawide desktop monitors. Our approach involved more than simply resizing components and modules; we also adapted interactions to better suit the device or screen size. 

Extraordinary attention was given to the transaction process, as it includes the most critical stages of the customer journey. It was essential to provide customers with only necessary checkout information while avoiding information overload. To address this, we implemented a hideable section that allows customers to hide certain information if needed. We also had to be mindful of ON24’s long-time customers and their familiarity with the transaction process which had been in use for years. Our goal was to ensure that any changes we made to this process would still feel comfortable and familiar to them, as we wanted to keep things feeling the same while making them better.

The first launch of the website took place in September 2023, and in April 2024, the project was complete.

Challenges During the Project

Throughout the process, we faced several hurdles that required us to be creative and agile. One of the key challenges was ensuring that the new website aligned with ON24’s initial vision, which aimed to create a cleaner and more elaborate version of their brand. When we started the development, we had a design from the client that upon closer examination turned out to be more of a guideline for what the future design of the ON24 online store should be. At that point, one of NOPE’s designers was included in this project. Initially planned for just two weeks, the designer quickly finalized the guidelines, enabling the development team to start their work. 

Given the high workload of the client’s in-house designer and their satisfaction with our designer’s results, they wanted to prolong her involvement in this project beyond the original scope. This allowed for a thorough examination of each component and their responsiveness across different screen sizes. The challenge here was striking a balance between micro-animations and other elements—enhancing user experience without overwhelming the user. For instance, we experimented with adding icons or text to buttons on hover but ultimately decided to streamline these features to maintain simplicity.

Collaborating closely with the development team, NOPE’s designer played a crucial role in bridging the gap between design and development. This involved standardizing component styles, providing UX advice, and ensuring that the design seamlessly adapted to various screen sizes and devices. So the designer did some very technical work and on the other hand, she also thought through the user and design aspects.

During the development process, we also encountered some technical challenges, such as integrating the front-end design with the back-end API interface. This required us to mock certain functionalities until the API was ready to provide the necessary data. 

results

• A new online store for ON24 which features a clean and intuitive interface, characterized by modern design elements and seamless navigation.
• A responsive website that works well across various screen sizes.
• An optimized checkout process that ensures clarity and efficiency, enhancing overall customer satisfaction.

Together, we accomplished a beautiful result

In my eyes, the cooperation was smooth and it was pleasant to do the project with you. Communication was also great and things were constantly moving. We were also satisfied with the technical result. Together, we accomplished a beautiful result, which is now successfully live.

Silver Saul

IT Lead at ON24

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