Approach

Dogs of Design Studios redesigned the AJ Fernandez website with the cigar enthusiast (end user) in mind. The new website design incorporates rich colors, elegant accents and evokes a rich, luxurious atmosphere reminiscent of a high-end cigar shop with a unique spin.

Not only highly stylized, the site is built with functionality at the forefront. All navigation is organized to access products within two clicks. In order to increase website traffic, the site structure is set-up with a search engine friendly hierarchy.

Goals

• To build the AJ Fernandez web presence as an established, traditional cigar maker offering high-quality yet attainable goods.
• To educate prospective customers regarding the quality characteristics of an AJ Fernandez cigar and emphasize their superiority above other makers. This was done in a clear, concise manner for the benefit of the viewer and the search engines.
• To build a search engine friendly site with the best possible site structure, which supports strategically targeted keywords.
• Site content will be easily updated (copy and images) with a WordPress CMS so anyone with basic computer skills can contribute once securely logged in.

Scope of Work

Site Development

Research: The Dogs of Design reviewed what AJ Fernandez had in terms of web presence and then learned their business to decipher and employ the most effective means for building a successful site. DOD Studios performed market research analyzed the sites of all viable competition. We also researched and deployed the highest searched keywords for the cigar market.

Page Structure: After reviewing the research we built a site map (hierarchy tree) so we can configure the site to be easily updated as new information and new categories or products are added. The site map also eliminates any redundancy of data.

Navigation Structure: We developed the main navigation of the home page and secondary pages so users always have full access to any page within two clicks and never have to use the back button.  The main site home page and navigation uses standard HTML (PHP) to allow all viewers to browse the site and keep the site search engine friendly. We also use a content management system (CMS) to organize all data and allow for easy updates by non web-trained contributors (writers and the AJ Fernandez staff if appropriate).

Web Site Design

This is the “look and feel” of the site, including all of the site architecture and navigational styles.

Dogs of Design created a look that is highly-structured, clear-cut and aesthetically refined. Its style is meant to be luxurious and polished, making it an appropriate fit for the mid to high end cigar markets.

Two styles were submitted to AJ Fernandez Cigars. Upon approval of the most effective design, the site was fine-tuned for final approval.

Web Site Production

The site was built so that all major sections that can be expanded as the company adds products. This includes all navigation setup, the building of all PHP/HTML pages, linking all images, sizing all images, and uploading of all the files to the server. DOD will up-load all text and images to the site.

The structure of the content management site allows the AJ Fernandez company to manage hundreds of pages easily with a central library for images and downloads, facilitating easy updating and eliminating duplications. The CMS supports editing navigation constructs, which can grow and expand with the site and can be managed by AJ Fernandez's non-web trained personnel.

The media page consists of advertisements and youtube videos, some of the advertisements we have designed here at the Dogs of Design. You should check these advertisements out over on this page, they're pretty awesome.

Forms and Data Base Setup 

The Dogs team set up an info request page with required fields for capturing information from online forms. This information is useful for collecting phone numbers and email addresses of viewers as well as qualifying inquirers. This will also be useful for building contacts for an e-newsletter. The use of a form reduces cyber hacking such as ‘scraping’ or email spam which can otherwise occur with a displayed email address. 

SEO Keyword Setup (5 Pages)

Generate Keywords – Conduct research to select appropriate keywords used by the target audience in order to generate the highest amount of traffic. 

Target keywords to each specific, potential market on (5) product pages.

Each page will include five targeted keywords after calculating the optimum keywords for potential markets.

Identifying titles will be included on all pages in order to entice searchers on search engine results pages.

Photography and Retouching (Full Day Photo Shoot)

Dogs of Design uses the latest photographic technology to capture high quality images of AJ Fernandez's product. The benefit of professional photography is the ability to show prospective customers precisely the quality of AJ Fernandez's product through large, close-up photography which shows texture and detail. Professional photography greatly increases the look and feel of the site and also increases the perceived value of the product. 

This cost includes a full day of shooting in our state of the art studio as well as professional retouching.

Copywriting 

Our professional copywriters worked hand in hand with the design of the site to create a high-quality web presence. Professional copywriting works to create elaborate descriptions of the product which not only inform the consumer about the cigar but create a rich atmosphere within the web presence which increases the strength of AJ Fernandez branding.   

Training

The Dogs team orchestrated a meeting with key contributors to show how the Graphic User Interface (GUI) works.