Dytch
A webshop to sell bike standards for racing bikes.
Webshop
For this project, I was responsible for setting up the webshop as I was the only one in the group with a background in IT. To build this webshop, I used the WordPress CMS.
While I have some experience with WordPress, I rarely use it for web projects these days. Luckily I was able to complete the setup fairly easily using web and database hosting provided by FHICT. With the setup complete, I added a theme that fit our concept and used the Elementor plugin for future content changes.
Dytch - Webshop - Home
Brand Manual
To solidify our brand and create a good baseline for styles that can be used throughout the project, I created a Brand Manual that contained styles of our brand colors, typography, mission, visuals, and the logo. I designed this Brand Manual in Adobe XD.
The Brand Manual can be found below (drag images to scroll) or you can visit the full Brand Manual as a PDF file here .
AI Content
After a short workshop about AI tools, I used Midjourney and Dall-E to generate some conceptual images for this project. Since I felt like the Dall-E results were very bland, I decided to use Midjourney for most of these images.
Analytics
After setting up the WordPress website, I created a Google Analytics project and connected it to the website using the MonsterInsights plugin, which is a simple way to use Google Analytics on WordPress.
Since I didn't have any experience with Google Analytics, I decided to study some of their features by following a basic course provided by Google.
We used these analytics to gather insights into how our website is being used and how we can improve it.
Dytch - Webshop - Analytics
SEO
A big part of our project was to make sure our website was optimized for search engines, using modern techniques such as providing valuable keywords and making sure the entire website has corresponding meta tags for content. Before doing lots of SEO configuration, the website got an AIOSEO score of 69, and a LightHouse SEO score of 91.
AIOSEO Plugin
To optimalize our WordPress website, I installed the AIOSEO WordPress plugin to receive useful tips and insights in our website's best practices for SEO. After a quick setup, the AIOSEO score went from 69 to 72.
The full process of optimalizing the website for SEO is documented here .
Keyword Analysis
For the written content, a keyword analysis was performed by me and some group members to find out which keywords we should be referring to throughout the website. We analysed terms that we thought were important for our product and used Google Trends to compare keyword popularity.
Dytch - SEO - Score
Feedback received
Throughout the project, feedback from assessors and teachers was positive. We were able to stay on track from the start and never really had any time crunch issues. Individually, the feedback on the project's brand, website, SEO and analytics - which I was responsible for was also all positive, basically giving me the green light to continue what I was doing every week.
My project group mentioned that they enjoyed working with me and liked having someone that was able to help them with the more technical side of things during this project.
What went well?
The entire project went pretty smoothly, and we were able to meet expectations for our end product. The set-up for the website that I was responsible for went well, and although I had experience with wordpress before, I learned a lot about the ins and outs of the platform.
The technology side of things (website, analytics, SEO) went well and was up to standards. We were also able to write a lot of meaningful content for SEO purposes rather quickly.
What could've gone better?
While SEO and website performance optimization did go well, the end score in Google LightHouse was 82. There are still improvements to be made if we want to dominate the search engines.
We were able to make a couple Instagram posts, but I would've liked to use the Midjourney AI for more useful images that we could have used throughout the project, instead of using conceptual images.
What did I learn?
During this project I learned a lot of things. I got to know what it was like marketing a product, how to build a brand, and how to optimalize technologies to make sure my product reaches its audience.
I refreshed my knowledge of the WordPress system, and I learned how to connect tools like Google Analytics, SEO plugins, and analytics plugins to gather useful insights from users visiting my website.