Seen it already? The new Schwalm website went online on September 16, 2019. Since then, schwalm-kanal.de, schwalm-kanal-sanierung.de and schwalm-robotic.de have improved functions and more content in a new design.
In an interview, Sven Rantke, Project Manager at Schwalm, explains the course of the complex relaunch project and highlights the advantages of a close collaboration between customer and agency.
Editor: The latest German internet presence of Schwalm Kanalsanierung and Schwalm Robot recently went live. How would you present the “Relaunch 2019” project in just a few words?
Sven Rantke: Hmm. I think “challenging”, “creative” and “agile” describe the collaboration with our agency Russi Design from Cologne and the complex project overall very well.
Editor: When did the project start, and how did it go?
Sven Rantke: The basis of the project was a meeting between Russi Design, Nicole Russi and Alex Becker, and ourselves at the beginning of 2019. I still remember it very well. We actually only wanted to talk about how we could achieve the entry into responsible web design. But quickly, the discussion developed into the idea of thinking about a modern design and a better way of visualizing our content through new, technical options. This convinced us. And there was the starting pistol for our web relaunch. From this point forward, Russi Design took on the complete planning, new layout and the implementation of our new internet presence, always in close communication and cooperation with us.
Editor:What were the requirements of the new company presence, and which new functions were particularly important?
Sven Rantke: The first challenge was already apparent in thinking about an overarching company presence for Kanalsanierung and Robotic, including all the existing content, and in creating new components. There was also a particular focus on the needs of our customers: It wasn’t just the modernity of the new website in responsive design which was important to us in the redesign, but also an easy-to-understand structure to guarantee a particular level of user-friendliness.
Editor: Which new components stand out in particular?
Sven Rantke: The presentation of the Schwalm Robotic products was completely renewed. Now everything is much clearer. Above all, the aim was to develop a visually attractive and, at the same time, informative version. Our customers frequently asked us, for example, what combination of axle extensions they could fit onto their Schwalm robot Talpa FSR 2060 for certain pipe sizes. You can now find all this detailed in image form on the robot product page, or under axle extensions. New customers can now also visualize the interplay of the individual SCHWALM SYSTEM components. How are the robots operated via the digital control joystick in detail? Which additional accessories, which tools belong to which robot? We have created absolute transparency for our customers by using new, high-quality image material and a multitude of moving images, and assistance at the click of a mouse. Many functions of our products are described in detail and explained using images. Easy to use with a clean structure and additional information packed into content boxes.
Editor: You already mentioned the visually attractive design of the web page. What was the focus here?
Sven Rantke: We placed a lot of value on visually high-quality images and videos to place our products and services in the scene perfectly, and also to be able to offer our customers an attractive experience when looking for information. We made this extensive media content, photographed and sometimes animated, from Frankfurt-based photographer Alex Becker, available to Russi Design. They then provided the final touch when incorporating the back-end processes, meaning that our image and video material adapts dynamically to the width of the screen used and sometimes also comes into its own with animations.
Editor: The visually appealing treatment of your product and services range was successful in any case. Were there any other details which positively influenced the relaunch?
Sven Rantke: Looking back over the last nine months, the creative and close collaboration with Russi Design did, of course, greatly benefit the project. We are pleased that we brought Russi Design on board again this time – we had collaborated successfully already during our first relaunch in 2012. I think that this kind of cooperation definitely has a positive influence on the project and the other work.
Alex Becker, Russi Design:We can only confirm this. For us too, it was an exciting and challenging project, and a pleasant collaboration. Thank you very much.
Sven Rantke: To round off the discussion, I would like to ask the readers of this article to do one thing: Take a look around our new websites and be impressed by the new user-friendly structure. Of course, we would be delighted to receive any feedback and are just as grateful for suggestions and comments as we are for praise or criticism.
Bildhinweis: Mockup psd created by freepik - www.freepik.com
