To coincide with its move to Coventry, the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) website has had a complete makeover.
The colourful new website, which features the red and blue of the BMF’s new corporate identity, is designed for ease of use on any computer platform, whether desktop, laptop or mobile.
The brief focused on clarity and ease of navigation for users, and a back-end system that makes it simple for BMF staff to update news, events and other key information. The homepage is also designed with video and social media compatibility, which will be developed in the coming weeks.
The new navigation system incorporates small punch and text containers making it easy for users to quickly access relevant information in a digestible format. The secure member-only area of the site, which will contain a downloadable archive of BMF guides and other information, is also being updated with ease of use in mind. Members will be able to undertake a keyword search for information contained, either within the site itself or within one of the downloadable PDF documents.
While the functionality is slick, the look and feel of the site reflects the BMF’s standing as a modern professional organisation and is designed to appeal to its wide-ranging membership.
Web designer Zac Bham of Imperial GB said: “This was very much a team effort and the designers worked hand in glove with BMF staff throughout. Apart from a fresh visual design, our main task was to devise a system that allows users to access the precise information they want in bite-sized chunks without having to scroll through dense paragraphs to get there. But at the same time, we had to ensure that by reducing the page load we didn’t compromise the site’s search engine optimisation.”
BMF managing director John Newcomb said: “Our new website reflects both our new corporate identity and the brand image of the BMF in 2013. We are a dynamic organisation working on behalf of the whole industry. Our new online presence reinforces this, enabling users to quickly access information on services, download latest reports and to find out about upcoming events.”
The site is now live at www.bmf.org.uk.
