Just as Hire A Hubby renovates homes, Sandfield's Edge team completely revamped their website. A comprehensive redesign and rebuild of the Hire A Hubby website for Green Acres Franchise Group Ltd recently went live. Only weeks post-launch, significant year-over-year improvements are already evident.
Hire A Hubby is well-known for their property maintenance and repair work, but found their old website held them back. Even though their handy work was top-notch, their online presence wasn't keeping up. Hire A Hubby wanted their website to:
Highlight franchisees as the experts to attract new clients searching for home renovation and improvement services.
Clearly showcase services, quality, and process.
For the internal team, the outdated site was being managed on an old Silverstripe system. Updating information, creating new pages, or making simple adjustments became a constant struggle. The technical debt they accumulated was costing Hire A Hubby time and money, making it hard to keep their audience updated with relevant and engaging content.
The “Hubbies” themselves (the franchisees) also needed a better way to show off their specific skills and services in their local areas, so potential clients could easily see what each Hubby brought to the table.
Reviewing their site visitor demographic, Edge found out that 57% were over 65 and mostly looking at the site on their phones. The small text and challenging button sizes created usability issues for users, which potentially impacted conversion rates and business opportunities. The goal for Jade Lim, UX/UI Designer, was to keep the familiar Hire A Hubby look and feel, but evolve it into a more modern and user-friendly experience.
Together the Hire A Hubby and Edge teams started laying out a clear plan and strategy, really getting to grips with who their customers were and what the Hubbies themselves needed to run things smoothly.
The goal was to build a website that looked great and worked well for customers looking for a "Hubby" and for the Hire A Hubby team managing it.
Super easy to read: The new site design prioritises ease of use for everyone. The design process addressed common annoyances like tiny buttons or small text, focusing on clarity and legibility. This means anyone, no matter their age or tech skills, can effortlessly navigate the site and locate needed information.
Simple to manage: The Edge team replaced the outdated Content Management System by moving everything over to Umbraco CMS. On this new platform, they built easy-to-use drag-and-drop tools and page templates. This allows the Hire A Hubby team to publish new content quickly and easily without constantly needing developer support for every little tweak. It's made them much faster and more efficient at getting their message out.
All about the customer: Feedback from the franchisees was carefully considered, leading to the development of the "Find your local Hubby" feature. This isn't just a simple list; it's a powerful tool where each Hubby can show off their special skills, display awards, share great reviews, and even present examples of their fantastic work. Now, Hubbies can promote themselves and guide potential customers straight to their own personalised pages, making it much easier for them to get seen and land more jobs.
In the crucial week leading up to launch, Edge welcomed Janalle and Stefa from the client team to work directly from the Sandfield office. This close collaboration was instrumental as they updated messaging and content across all pages, integrated new professional imagery, and conducted thorough User Acceptance Testing (UAT). Working hand-in-hand with Edge’s Senior Developers, they fine-tuned every aspect of the website, ensuring it was perfectly aligned with their vision for launch. This deep level of direct partnership is a cornerstone of our approach, ensuring clients are fully involved and empowered throughout the process.
Since the new website launched, things have really changed for Hire A Hubby, both in how operations run and how customers are connected with:
People are sticking around longer: A big jump in website engagement with 40% more time spent on the site per user, and 10% more interactions. This indicates visitors are genuinely interested and digging deeper into what's offered.
More loyal customers: There's been a 13% increase in returning users. That shows people are finding value and remembering Hire A Hubby.
Easier to manage everything: The new Umbraco CMS has made handling website content much smoother. Teams can now update information and publish new content easily, freeing up time for other important tasks.
Hubbies are getting more work: The "Find your local Hubby" feature has given franchisees a great way to market themselves.
The Hire A Hubby team was genuinely surprised by "just how simple everything was" once the new site was up and running and the team started using the streamlined system. Expert help made the switch to the new platform seem effortless.
Hire A Hubby is now set up for even more growth, thanks to a strong digital base. Their commitment to keeping their online presence top-notch will be key as the respected brand continues to be built across New Zealand.
