Project Goal: Collars’ n Cuffs, a local menswear shop in Wilmington, DE, contacted me to help them update their website in 2019. When I surveyed the website, I noticed that it was somewhat outdated and used an older version of WordPress, so it was vulnerable to spam and malware. I proposed to the owner that we start fresh and create a whole new website using content and data from the original. Our goal was to increase website traffic, connect current social media accounts to the page, and allow for more features to connect to the menswear fans of the Delaware area.

Below are a couple of examples of what the website looked like before the full redesign in 2019.

Design Process: I began the project by researching menswear stores in the immediate area and across the United States in a competitive audit. I wanted to see what their websites looked like to establish what was needed and what I could improve. I also conducted a few user interviews to get an idea of what they would like to see on a local menswear website.

Armed with the research I needed, I came up with a wireframe using Balsamiq and presented it to the owner. Following his approval, I started building the website. You can view some of the wireframes below.

The original plan was finalized in 2019, but further revisions were made in 2022 to reflect some new user research. We had received several questions about services, so that was one area we decided to focus on in the update.

Instead of going back to Balsamiq, I decided to go with my tried and true favorite, Figma. Some of the changes we added in 2022 included changing the home page to have the most important content, such as services, products, testimonials, etc., and updating the contact form to connect to the owner’s email. I had to get a new plugin for this as the old one only sent some of the submissions to the email, and we wanted to make sure every customer’s message was addressed.

Because I was not only designing but building this website, I ran into a few issues with the translation of my design into code. Luckily WordPress does have a lot of templates to work from, but I couldn’t do everything I wanted in the final design because I was not adept at coding Javascript. The calendar had to be adapted, so it looks a bit different than it does in the prototype, but otherwise it all worked out okay!

Outcome: The website was a vast improvement on the older version, which hadn’t been updated since the early 2000s. I was happy to create a new, fresher website, that wasn’t worn down by the spam or malfunctioning features. The new site has allowed the team at Collars’ n Cuffs to add in events, client photos, and more! We have noticed a sharp increase in traffic and contact form submissions too. To access the live website, click here: Collars’ n Cuffs Website.