Last month Lireo Design launched the redesigned mobile-friendly website for Copi Properties.
An off-campus student housing company, Copi Properties offers house and apartment rentals to University of Michigan students in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Why Redesign?
When the Copi Properties website launched five years ago, creating a mobile-friendly site was not a top priority.
It was their first website. Their main goals were to provide a simple search function for their rental properties as well as information about their company and services.
Five years later, the existing website didn’t perform well for users on mobile devices.
Text was too small, menu links couldn’t be easily selected, and content on all the web pages had to be zoomed and pinched in order to be read on mobile devices.
Given the continued increase in mobile users on the site and Google’s mobile-friendly ranking announcement earlier this year, I contacted Sam at Copi Properties to discuss the reasons to redesign their website.
Sam knew the site was due for a refresh and was excited to start planning the site redesign with a focus on a better user experience for people using mobile devices.
Goals for the Redesign
For the site redesign, Sam wanted the minimalist design maintained. In addition, the goals were to ensure:
- Text could be read without zooming
- Visitors wouldn’t need to swipe left to right to read content
- Menu links could be easily selected on a touch device
He also wanted to continue using WordPress for their site, since it allowed staff to quickly add or update content on their site.
Redesigning the Site
Based on their goals, I created a custom WordPress child theme built on the Genesis framework. The new site features a responsive web design that displays well across devices.
Font type, color, and sizes were chosen specifically to display well for mobile and desktop users.
Other style changes were made to headings and line height for better readability.
Since many students would be expected to view the site outside on their smartphone, color contrast was tested to ensure the site could be displayed and viewed under harsh sunlight.
The property search form on the Home page and Property Listings page was recreated using modern coding methods. Color transitions were added to enhance the property search listing buttons on the home page.
To ensure property listings and searches would be integrated correctly in the redesigned site, I worked with RentLinx, their third-party online property listing company.
Summary
Sam at Copi Properties was very pleased with the redesigned site and focus on mobile. It was a pleasure to work with him to create a better mobile web experience for their customers.
If you’re looking for student housing near the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, visit the Copi Properties website.
Website features: WordPress, Genesis, custom website design, responsive design, mobile-friendly user experience, third-party integration.
