SFS Architecture modernizes its marketing with a renovated website

SFS Architecture (SFS) has been a cornerstone of the Kansas City community focused on public sector projects that shape the local landscape. Started with a commitment to excellent customer service and local and regional projects, SFS continues to strengthen community relationships to this day.

Over the years, SFS has built an impressive portfolio of local collaborative design projects that stimulate economic growth through renovation, reuse, and new construction. While the firm's real-world impact was undeniable, SFS's online presence lagged behind. At the time of its 50-year anniversary, the firm decided to make a change to its online presence that ultimately strengthened its standing and pride of place in the community.

SFS's emphasis on projects that enrich the local economy was reflected in its valuable trove of project information and photos. Located in OpenAsset, a cloud-based data hub, the SFS team relied on this project data to tell compelling stories to future clients.

Yet, the significant disconnect between the quality of the firm's work and its presentation online frustrated both sales and marketing efforts.

The firm's outdated Wordpress website could not effectively showcase SFS's impressive body of work. For example, the legacy website could not support an integration with OpenAsset that would have provided an online home for SFS’s extensive project history.

Needing to solve the problem of how to display the firm’s project portfolio, and frustrated by a clunky and costly website that was patched together with outdated plugins, SFS knew it needed to make a change.

Seeing the potential of an updated website, marketing leaders convinced SFS founders that renovating the website was a smart move. In an era where most people naturally seek information on a website as often as talking to a sales representative, highlighting the quality of the firm's work to the world was imperative.

A new website would enable marketing and sales teams to showcase SFS's impressive portfolio more easily and connect with potential clients. That's where Foster Commerce stepped in to help SFS celebrate its 50th anniversary with a modern, dynamic website.

Several factors influenced the decision to hire Foster Commerce: its reasonable cost, its "midwestern sensibilities," and a past positive experience with a member of the Foster Commerce team all played a role.

OpenAsset is a cloud-based data hub management system where SFS stores all of its project photos, narratives, and descriptions. Using OpenAsset saves team members from searching drives and networks for valuable project information.

To help SFS leverage this valuable trove of project information, Foster Commerce recommended migrating the website to Craft CMS. A modern website built on the flexible Craft platform would allow seamless integration with OpenAsset, giving new life to the firm's extensive portfolio.

Today, SFS website administrators can easily manage the firm's extensive project data, including images, descriptions, and involved team members. As new projects are completed, adding them to the website is simple; all staff have to do is add project data once to OpenAsset, and automation does the rest.

Foster Commerce prides itself on understanding marketers' needs and saw a fantastic opportunity to improve SFS's marketing team's experience. Foster Commerce developed several new page builders that empower the SFS marketing team with increased creativity and flexibility.

Today, marketers can build pages quickly and make a variety of creative choices about how to display content while staying true to the brand’s design.

A better user experience with attractive, updated designs has also strengthened the brand and improved the sales experience overall. The new website's key benefits include enabling the sales team to showcase projects, incorporate project data into sales pitches, and allow users to search for projects themselves.

The website incorporates brand signals like the dot grid, reinforcing SFS Architecture's identity. It also has a project filtering feature with a map so users can view projects by location.

• Craft 5 Implementation: Built on Craft 5, SFS has an impressive, up-to-date website that will serve them well for years.

• OpenAsset Integration: The seamless integration with OpenAsset streamlined data management and ensured that project information was readily available.

• Extensive Page-Building Options: Foster Commerce provided SFS with a wide range of page-building options, giving them flexibility in presenting their content.

• Project Filtering with Map: Foster Commerce implemented a project filtering feature, allowing users to filter projects by market and view their locations on a map.

• Engaging Scroll Effects: The "About" page features scroll effects using CSS-only scroll-driven animations, enhancing the user experience without affecting mobile performance.

• Brand Integration: The design incorporated brand signals like the dot grid, reinforcing SFS Architecture's identity.

The implementation process went smoothly, and the SFS team praised Foster Commerce's responsiveness and design and development work.

The new website was met with overwhelming positivity. Leadership was "ecstatic," and SFS staff felt a renewed sense of pride in their work. The website effectively showcased their projects, improved their marketing capabilities, and empowered them to tell their stories.

The collaboration between SFS Architecture and Foster Commerce resulted in a successful website transformation. SFS now has a modern platform that effectively showcases its work, supports its marketing efforts, and instills pride in its team. It's a testament to the power of a well-designed website to elevate a business and connect with its audience.