Rapidly building new project websites
Every year, Heijmans embarks on numerous housing projects, each defined by its unique foundation and concept. Creating individual websites for these projects posed a significant challenge due to the substantial time and cost involved. To address this, Heijmans turned to ROX to develop a scalable solution that could streamline the website creation process while preserving each project's distinct identity.
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Problem statement
The main challenge was twofold. From a design perspective, we needed to find a way to reflect the unique identities of various projects within a single unified design system. On the technical side, it was essential to optimize processes to significantly reduce costs and time to deploy new project websites.
Research
To address these challenges, we analyzed a wide range of existing projects to identify both their commonalities and their differences, which helped us scope our solution. Additionally, we cataloged all the content types required for the websites, ensuring our solution would accommodate every possible need.
Finally, it became clear that Heijmans’ marketeers would create websites themselves. This emphasized the need to create a system that is flexible, quick and easy to set up project websites with.
Design Approach
For the design, a modular design system has been created that offers both flexibility and efficiency. A customizable base system was developed, enabling the adaptation of colors, fonts, and block styling to create a unique website that matched the project’s brand identity. This system was designed to be expandable, making it easy to iterate and create new content blocks when new requirements arise.
On core functionality we introduced was an integrated plot map, which allows visitors to explore housing availability through a visual map. By doing so, we enhanced the user experience by both making it easy to discover your ideal house, as well as helping the visitor to imagine living in the new built area.
Results
The new system drastically improved Heijmans' approach to website creation. By adopting this solution, the cost of developing project websites was reduced by an impressive 80%. The timeline for launching a website shrank from four weeks to just three days. Furthermore, the technical integration enabled continuous improvement across all websites, allowing iterative updates and ensuring the system remains effective as new needs arise.
