Walnes Seeds
Independent agricultural seed specialist and merchant in Suffolk
Industry: Seed Merchant
Location: Earl Soham, Suffolk
Replacement Corporate and Ecommerce sites
FULL
Redesign
REPLACEMENT
Corporate & Ecomms sites
OPTION TO BUY
Directly from landiing pages
SHOWCASES
Extensive seed range
The Challenge
To replace Walnes Seeds’ ageing corporate and ecommerce websites while addressing urgent issues with the existing corporate site. Ongoing difficulties with updating and maintaining the old platform meant a rapid solution was essential, with the business unable to wait for a full website redevelopment before resolving the immediate problem.
To meet this need, the project was divided into two phases. The first priority was to deliver a reliable temporary corporate website quickly, providing continuity while the wider redevelopment progressed. The second phase would then build on this foundation, introducing a fresh visual design and fully integrated ecommerce functionality to create a longer-term digital platform.
Our Solution
Rade delivered the project in two carefully managed phases, balancing speed with the need for a robust long-term solution.
Phase one rapidly restored Walnes Seeds’ online presence using Umbraco and recovered content, with the new site live within days to minimise disruption and protect search visibility.
Phase two introduced a clean, image-led design, refreshed content and a flexible structure organised around seed seasons and product categories.
An Ecwid ecommerce store was seamlessly integrated into Umbraco, bringing the Walnes Shop into the main website while keeping management straightforward.
SEO was also thoroughly reviewed, strengthening visibility and helping the site climb Google rankings for relevant searches.
The Result
A faster, more effective and future-ready digital presence that restored Walnes Seeds’ online visibility within days, minimising disruption and protecting its Google presence.
The second phase transformed this temporary solution into a clean, engaging website with a flexible structure that can easily accommodate new seed varieties and changing product ranges.
Integrating the Ecwid shop into the main website has created a seamless customer journey and a straightforward ecommerce experience, while making product management easier for the Walnes team.
A comprehensive SEO review has also delivered stronger search visibility, with the new website climbing Google rankings for relevant search terms and attracting greater opportunities for customers to discover Walnes Seeds.
Walnes Seeds
Independent agricultural seed specialist and merchant in Suffolk
Project Scope
Walnes Seeds approached Rade with a requirement to replace their existing corporate and ecommerce websites.
Due to updating issues with the old corporate site, the need for an expedited delivery was paramount so the project was split into two phases, the first to deliver a new temporary corporate website and the second phase to enhance this site with a fresh design and ecommerce capabilities.
Solution
It is never wise to rush the website development process, however due to unforeseen circumstances, Walnes were forced to create a new corporate website at very short notice and approached Rade for help with the project.
For phase one, Rade provided a simple site within a tight timeframe minimising the time that the business had no representation on the internet and reducing the negative affect on Google rankings. Using a simple deployment of the Umbraco CMS and utilising existing content and pages recovered from the old site, a new site was ready to go live in a matter of days.
Having reinstated a web presence, phase two of the project consisted of creating a fresh design, reviewing the content and integrating an ecommerce platform to allow the amalgamation of the Walnes Shop into the main corporate website.
The Client requested a clean and simple design with strong images and the flexibility to allow for change as new seed varieties are launched and older varieties phased out. The site was organised by season for arable seed, and then into organic, grass seed, game cover and fertiliser.
The Walnes shop utilises an Ecwid ecommerce store, which integrates seamlessly with Umbraco. Ecwid provides the perfect solution for Walnes modest range of lawn and agricultural grass seed mixtures, wild flower mixes and fertiliser and offers a straightforward shopping experience for users as well as easy management for the Walnes team.
The new website provides improved visibility to Google and with a thorough review of SEO meta data, the new site is climbing the Google rankings for relevant search terms.
Profile
Walnes Seeds is an independent agricultural seed specialist and merchant operating from a production facility in Earl Soham, Suffolk. Walnes Seeds carries on a tradition of seed production that started over 70 years ago.