WINNER

Best Website

Judging Criteria: creativity, content, innovation, impact to target market and objectives, visual design, copywriting, and use of medium.

Espire by Ampersand

WEBSITE OVERVIEW: Espire, a building and remodeling company in Southeastern Wisconsin, needed a new website that would better tell its story and serve clients and prospects. In partnership with the Espire team, Ampersand overhauled their website, resulting in a large-scale measurable impact.
The primary objective of the redesign was to communicate Espire’s company structure in a clear, cohesive way. Espire has three divisions: Espire Homes, NuPath Homes, and Renovations Group. We helped Espire retell its brand story, crafting copy and visual assets that united the sub-brands but allowed each to remain distinct and memorable. The new website’s functionality gravitates around the brand structure. Examples include unique contact forms for each division, filtering capabilities, and intuitive navigation.
From a technical standpoint, the new website is a major upgrade. It was built with search engine optimization in mind, even adopting an SEO-friendly URL: EspireHomeBuilders.com. Previously built with Wix, the new site was created with WordPress. This allows for greater flexibility, such as quickly adding a pop-up window with COVID policies, and increased functionality like downloadable resources, virtual model tours, and multiple photo galleries for a floor plan. Website maintenance is now much simpler too.
When the website launched in January 2020, Espire was getting approximately 7,000 monthly visits. This figure nearly tripled year over year, with 19,000 visits in January 2021. Meaningful actions, such as filling out a contact form or getting directions to a model, are 5x what they were pre-launch. These measures of the website redesign’s success continue to grow over time.

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Questions? Contact WBA Director of Operations Joan Olson, or WBA Director of Communications Alicia Naleid.