Shutters in many parts of the world are used as decorations on homes and buildings by bringing unique textures and pops of color. However, in areas like Florida, shutters are used to protect homes and families from natural disasters. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, tropical storms cause on average $21.5 billion in damage per event in the US. They have also caused over 6,500 deaths between 1980 and 2020. The damage these storms cause creates a massive demand for high-quality hurricane shutters in the region.
Located in Jacksonville, FL, First Coast Hurricane Shutters is one of the companies bringing safety to local homeowners and businesses. They offer a large selection of hurricane, security, and decorative shutters including installation and yearly maintenance.
First Coast Hurricane Shutters came to Meyers + Partners (M+) with the challenge of developing a new website. They needed to help their customers find their website and communicate with them better online. First Coast also needed to display its products in a way that was easy to navigate and see on many devices.
The first change was moving the website to a more user-friendly Content Management System, or CMS. This was crucial because First Coast wanted to be able to manage and update the website on its own. They can update their website’s images, blog posts, and products whenever they need to. According to BrightEdge, 53.3% of website traffic is a result of organic searches and according to Think with Google, 49% of users say they use Google to find new products or businesses they want to use. This transition will help First Coast stay competitive with SEO, especially for finding products and businesses on Google.
M+ also helped make First Coast’s website more mobile-friendly. According to SEMRush, by 2025 86.7% of Americans will use a smartphone to search the internet. This is also important because 61% of smartphone users are more likely to contact a business if their website is mobile-friendly, said HubSpot. These statistics show that the need for modern, easy-to-navigate, mobile-friendly websites are increasing and First Coast wanted to be able to provide that experience to their customers.
Next, Meyers + Partners wanted to update the design of the website to match current trends, opting for a cleaner and more minimal design to highlight product imagery and First Coast’s brand colors. The copy was also cut down to provide more room for images and products, making it easier for prospects to quickly browse the site. Each product page also has an image of the shutters installed and then deployed, to help customers visualize their options. Customers will also have an enhanced user experience on their website, which will help increase conversions through their “Schedule a Free Estimate” form on the bottom of each page. These changes will help customers be more educated about the products and services First Coast offers before ever contacting them personally.
Lastly, it was important to highlight First Coast’s motto of “Better people. Better projects.” on the homepage and the navigation bar. This is achieved in two parts. First, they only work with the highest quality materials and updated technology. Second, they make sure that their employees have a good work-life balance by increasing PTO and making sure they are paid for 40 hours each week. Customers can always be confident that the business they’re putting their money into, puts the same amount of effort into taking care of their employees. Since this is important to First Coast’s business model, it’s now highlighted throughout their website.
Overall, this was a successful transition from their past site to their new site. These enhancements will help increase SEO and local search traffic through Google to the First Coast Hurricane Shutters website. Their new site will now be able to compete with other local businesses in the B2C and B2B markets and bring safe shutters to their customers.