Creating a Modern Website for the Polish Mint
Mennica Polska
Updating the Mint's image with a responsive new website
14 Sep 2015
The official website of Mennica Polska with a full product repository? We have never done something like this before! That's why the design created by e-point SA for Mennica Polska was an exciting experience for all who took part in it.
Our cooperation started last year. The client came to e-point indicating the need to build a website based on an entirely new functional and visual philosophy. The employees of Mennica Polska responsible for the support of the website have been complaining about numerous limitations, which prevented the further development of the platform and made the website itself unavailable to mobile devices.
- The need to redesign the website was closely associated with our marketing strategy. We wanted to move beyond the perception that Mennica Polska is an entity engaged only in coinage. We wanted to present the different business areas of the Group, which are developing dynamically and make our brand take on a new, broader meaning. The aim of the new portal was to present the content in a modern and ergonomic way, while at the same time maintaining the elements referring to our 250-year tradition - says Marta Wolicka, Project Manager of Mennica Polska.
Rebranding
New functional and visual philosophy
Rebranding
Presentation of various business areas of the Group
Rebranding
New portal presents the content in a modern and ergonomic way, while at the same time maintaining the elements referring to Mennica's 250-year tradition
Our job included the following elements:
- Design of the entire information architecture for a new Internet ecosystem consisting of several websites for Mennica Polska
- Graphic design development
- Creation of a new website in Responsive Web Design, so it can be viewed on mobile devices
- Implementation of e-point CMS, our in-house developed CMS tool allowing to create RWD websites and the training of the Mennica Polska personnel in the use of the tool
- Hosting and maintenance services provided after launching the website
The client also entrusted us with the task of developing the so-called ‘product catalogue’ concept. Our job was to fully aggregate and organise the product descriptions, and to allow the client to administer the product offers of Mennica Polska. Before, the products were dispersed and managed from a number of different levels, which further complicated the sales process. The aim of the concept was to allow visitors to find the offers more easily, thus increasing the conversion rate of the website.
Following the discussion with the client, we also found that during the creation of both content and form of the new website, it was worth highlighting some of the little-known facts that Mennica Polska could be proud of. The institution has been operating since 1766 and currently produces not only Polish circulation coins, but also numismatic items as well as state and departmental awards. Mennica Polska has one of the most modern coinage machine parks in the world. As a result (which hardly anyone knows ), it fulfils orders for central banks on several continents. The institution is also engaged in the production, sales and storage of investment gold, real estate development activity, servicing of ticket vending machines and travel cards, and processing of precious metals. The aim of having stronger communication relating to these segments of its business activity was to streamline the sales processes
Part of our task was to build a proper ‘investor relations’ section within the structure of the website.
"We wanted to ensure that our customers perceive Mennica Polska as a whole, not as dozens of smaller, specialised companies, but as a capital group. Therefore, it was necessary to organise and refresh the content".
The process — how did we do it?
We were engaged in the project to such an extent that eventually we provided the client with much more IA (information architecture) and GUI (graphical user interface) projects than we originally planned.
We started with thorough studies of visitor statistics of the existing website in order to learn more about the typical visitor to the website of Mennica Polska. What were they looking for? How long did they stay on the website? What tools did they use? At the same time, we identified the target groups on the client side. We met with representatives of individual companies from the Mennica Polska group in order to analyse their needs.
As a result of the analysis, we proposed the following solutions to the client:
- focusing on the company offer rather than the description of the company
- categorising the menus
- breaking down the product navigation into different areas, so that the visitor can more easily find the necessary information
For the product catalogue, we proposed the following solutions:
- modern navigation with tags and facet filters
- product cards - a standard solution used in e-commerce
- highlights (“You may also be interested in...”)
Following the analysis, we also assumed that the website should be minimalistic and bright colours should be used. The composition and overall message were to be as modest as possible, even somewhat conservative. We used a very simple, classic menu (the so-called ‘flat design’) without rounding, ornaments or shadows. We also decided to use serif fonts and a multi-storey layout to the website.
We have never worked for a client with such a rich history. That's why it was important to skilfully combine tradition and modernity, that are elements typically associated with coin production and a modern layout of the website that would meet today's design standards - says Łukasz Franczuk, Head of UX design at e-point.
At the same time, we have been working to implement the solution to the e-point CMS platform — our CMS tool allowing us to create responsive websites. Our job was not only to ‘translate’ the new portal to the content manager, but also to integrate it with Notoria — a tool allowing for the presentation of financial statements of companies listed on the Stock Exchange in Warsaw. We have also integrated the e-point CMS platform with the internal SAP transactional system of Mennica Polska, which provides data, among others, to present the current gold and currency exchange rates.
Technology used
e-point CMS
e-point CMS supports Responsive Web Design, which is an approach to web design in which all pages are automatically adjusted to the size of the device screen and to the web browser used.
e-point’s proprietary CMS solution enables effective and comfortable content management and editing. The website’s pages are compiled with ready-to-use components that resemble building blocks. An extensive authorization system, in turn, makes it possible for numerous editors to work on different parts of the website, or to order the selected tasks from outside agencies.
Read MoreThe project was implemented in SCRUM methodology. What's more important, the client's representatives took part in the meetings summarising the individual stages of the project.
Due to the fact that we were able to regularly meet with the representatives of Mennica Polska they were kept up to date with the work’s progress, and were able to influence its course and scope. Thanks to systematic reporting, the client was given access to the test environment much earlier than usually happens in similar such projects. This certainly had a positive impact on both sides. The client had more time to get used to the new content presentation system, and we had confidence that we would act in accordance with the vision adopted by the client.
The project came to life in September 2015. The new and modern image of Mennica Polska is visible at first sight. The agreement between Mennica Polska and e-point also includes hosting and maintenance services provided after the launch of the website — we are happy to announce that this is not the end, but only the beginning of our cooperation.
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