XAAR PLC
Comprehensive Umbraco CMS based brochure site, separate Investors site + Versatex microsite
Leading global manufacturer of industrial digital inkjet printheads
UMBRACO 17
Latest LTS version
DESIGN UPDATE
led by a very able client
NEW FEATURES
as part of the upgrade
1 MONTH
for the complete process
The Challenge
Xaar’s digital presence was ready for a step change. The project focused on creating a clearer, more engaging website experience, bringing products to life through richer layouts, dynamic content and responsive components.
Behind the scenes, the Umbraco CMS was streamlined to give content teams greater flexibility and control, making everyday updates faster and more efficient. From navigation and promotional content to events, careers and calls to action, the new approach was designed around the needs of both users and editors.
A dedicated Versatex experience further strengthened the proposition, delivering a distinctive journey and impactful homepage tailored to its audience.
Our Solution
Rade transformed Xaar’s website into a more engaging, flexible and conversion-focused digital experience. A completely rebuilt mega menu simplified navigation and made product discovery more intuitive, while dynamic hero banners, video and responsive content brought key product pages to life.
A dedicated Versatex microsite created a distinctive brand experience without sacrificing shared CMS functionality. Across the site, events, careers, news and resources were redesigned to make content easier to discover and act upon.
Enhanced calls to action, Salesforce integration and streamlined content management also strengthened the journey from browsing to enquiry, while giving Xaar greater control to evolve the experience.
The Result
Xaar now has a digital platform built to turn more visitors into engaged prospects. Simplified navigation gets customers to the right products faster, while richer product pages and stronger visual content make complex technology easier to understand and explore.
Prominent, strategically placed calls to action create clearer routes into enquiry, supporting lead generation and product conversations. For Xaar’s marketing team, improved CMS control means campaigns, events, products and content can be updated quickly without relying on development support, reducing time to market.
A scalable component framework also makes future launches faster, more consistent and cost-effective, supporting continued growth across Xaar’s digital ecosystem.
"Their expertise and technical knowledge proved invaluable..."
Emma Barry | Digital Marketing Communications Specialist
XAAR PLC
Xaar develops industrial inkjet technology enabling precise, digital application of inks, coatings and fluids across manufacturing and production processes.
Project Scope
The project brought together a wide-ranging set of improvements to the Xaar website in a single development programme. The first tranche of work was an upgrade from Umbraco 13 to Umbraco 17 which gave us the perfect platform to implement a raft of design, layout and functionality changes.
Work included a redesigned global navigation, modernised product landing pages, enhanced banner components, a redesigned footer and a dedicated Xaar Versatex microsite to provide the perfect landing spot for some future marketing activities.
Further developments improved the way visitors interact with events, careers, their extensive resource centre and content. A new combined News, Blog and Case Studies hub also provides a more unified route into Xaar’s latest content. The emphasis for the project was focused on a cleaner front-end experience alongside greater flexibility and control within the Umbraco CMS.
Challenge
Xaar’s existing website required a broad set of improvements rather than a single isolated change. The navigation needed to be made easier to understand and use, product pages required a more visual, dynamic and structured approach, and existing components needed to evolve to support richer content presentation and responsive behaviour.
A critical part of the project was to improve the administration experience. Editors required efficient control over a more complex main navigation, banners, footer content, events, careers information, calls to action and content categorisation, while new functionality had to work within the existing Umbraco environment.
The plan also needed to accommodate a distinct Versatex experience, with its own navigation and eye-catching homepage.
Solution
The client had some very fixed (and good) ideas about what they wanted and how they needed to look; it was up to Rade to achieve those goals. We completely rebuilt the global navigation as a full-width mega menu, simplifying the product structure and removing the previous secondary breakout navigation. The navigation remains CMS managed and was engineered to maintain responsive behaviour.
Primary product landing pages were modernised around full-width hero banners, with CMS-selectable imagery or video and a row of product navigation cards. The enhanced banner component introduced a responsive split-banner carousel supporting multiple slides, optional text overlays, gradient treatments and editable calls to action, with separate desktop and mobile imagery to keep the new experience intact.
A standalone Xaar Versatex microsite was also developed as a separate site experience, with independent navigation and homepage while retaining the ability to use shared Xaar CMS functionality such as news, downloads and reusable components if required in the future.
A redesign of the website footer was also undertaken with multiple editable content columns and a more modern look and feel.
Events were redesigned as image-led cards with summaries, modal detail views and Add to Calendar functionality supporting a variety of different platforms. A floating Contact Us button was introduced to remain visible during scrolling and route visitors to the appropriate Salesforce form where there was a contact form at the bottom of the page to encourage product enquiries.
The careers experience was rebuilt around structured job listings and dedicated job detail pages, with location and category filtering and direct application links. A reusable Job Alerts CTA was added to connect visitors directly with the Xaar job-alert system.
News, Blog and Case Studies were brought together into a single content hub. The new structure uses standardised categories, a dynamically changing hero article, filter tabs, six-article pagination and category flags, supported by a consolidated article content type and migration of existing content.
Finally, the Resource Centre, which is a huge part of the site giving more in-depth information, white papers, videos etc, underwent a thorough rationalisation and redesign.
Outcome
The completed update provides Xaar with a more modern and consistent website experience, with clearer navigation, stronger visual presentation across product areas and improved responsive behaviour.
The enhancements also give the Xaar team more efficient control over day-to-day content management, including navigation, banners, footer links, events, careers information, calls to action and article categorisation.
The work establishes a more flexible platform for future development, including the dedicated Versatex experience and reusable components that can support the continued evolution of the website.
Key takeaways
The Xaar project demonstrates how a well-coordinated program of front-end design improvements and CMS development can breathe new life into an established website without replacing its underlying platform. By combining a stronger navigation, richer product presentation and more structured content experiences with practical editor controls, the finished article creates a stronger digital foundation for both website users and the team managing the site.
Profile
Operating globally, Xaar plc develops piezoelectric drop-on-demand inkjet technologies and is a leading manufacturer of industrial digital inkjet printheads.