The Loft

The Loft is a multipurpose space in Folkestone with an eclectic audience and a growing range of offerings, including movement classes, a photography studio, and corporate hire, gigs, and workshops. Less than a year from launch, however, it became clear that their Squarespace website, the endpoint of all their paid and organic marketing, wasn't serving its users. So Cairo and Nathan, founders of The Loft, hired me to help.

Problem

The initial user research I conducted showed two main problems: we were dealing with ambiguous messaging and a gap between the user understanding the offerings and taking action.

Messaging-wise, the site was failing to address visitors' pain points and offer clear solutions. Pages were thin where they needed depth, or front-loaded with disclaimers in places that should have been quick to move past.

The aforementioned gap showed up as a conversion barrier at the narrowest part of the funnel: even if visitors found their way to the 'correct' part of the site, they'd be dropped straight into the booking process before they knew what they were booking.

Approach

I developed a StoryBrand redesign that flipped the job of the website from transactional to nurturing, with the visitor as the hero of their story and the brand as the guide that offers them a clear path to follow.

That also meant fixing the navigation. I introduced a more restrained structure: from the homepage, you're presented with three possible paths — Ritual (their movement studio), Events, and Hire. Everything else was folded inside the structure of each page.

Take the "Ritual" page (Ritual is their yoga and movement studio slash sub-brand), for instance. This is nine sections long, allowing us to answer every possible question while explaining how Ritual stacks up against local competition: the "why here and not somewhere else?" element that is so important to conversions. The other pages follow a similar same arc, walking the user from "I have questions" at the top to "I'm at peace and I know what to do next" down at the end.

When it comes to how the brand spoke of itself, the original copy seemed to highlight the venue's challenges and limitations and barely touched on the unique things it has to offer. The rewrite fixes that, and wherever weaknesses have silver linings, I framed them as such. For example, The Loft is on the top floor of an old department store, right in the heart of Folkestone: there are no lifts, and guests really need to read the access instructions to find the venue. In return, that location lets them host classes and events with considerably louder music than most independent studios in town.

Solution

A redesign only holds up if the client trusts what's been built, can maintain it, and isn't going to break anything. So I consulted closely with Cairo throughout the entire process and made him familiar with the logic behind every change. Before I handed over the keys, I also provided extensive documentation and training videos.

What he took ownership of was a new visual identity with a versatile redesign of their original logotype and a four-page website, cut down from fourteen, that looks more youthful and makes a stronger case for The Loft.

In spite of the trimming and the limitations of Squarespace as a site builder, the full scope of the offer remains, only now we're telling a far more compelling story and guiding users to book or enquire directly without forcing their hand. The site stopped being something "to sort out at some point" and it now does the one job it was always meant to do: reassure people that The Loft is exactly where they want to be... and then get out of their way.

Here's what Cairo, co-founder of The Loft, had to say:

"I have never worked with someone so deeply reliable, who has gone above and beyond my expectations. The sheer detail, diligence and attention Fran has to his work is worth its weight in gold, tenfold!

Fran managed to take a multipurpose, three tiered studio that was scattered across 14+ pages and amalgamate them smoothly, coherently and simply into just four. The creativity, design, the story, everything from start to finish has been so incredible Fran’s communication has always been warm, agreeable and forthcoming.

Do you know how good it feels to have someone you can deeply trust? Fran turned the weight on my shoulders into air."