Website Design - Abigail's Collection
Abigail's Collection is an award winning bridal shop located in Colchester High Street, Essex. Featuring 2,500 square feet spread over four floors, Abigail's Collection has a department designed specifically for each member of a wedding party including the Bride, Groom, Best Man, Ushers, Bridesmaids, Flower Girls, Mother of the Bride and the Mother of the Groom. Their one-to-one and award winning private appointments ensure that customers can enjoy an individual fitting and shopping experience.
Abi Neill approached Mackman with the need for a new bridal website. The existing Abigail's Collection website was enormous, which made it difficult to content manage and didn’t portray the level of service that the shop is known for. Users couldn't browse the site easily and the personal experience that customers experience in the shop was not replicated online.
- Abigail's Collection offer an exclusively private, totally special and personalised wedding dress shopping experience.
- Guests can be pampered and relaxed in complete privacy with their own style adviser and complimentary refreshments.
- The boutique is situated in a Georgian Property close by the Castle and Castle Park Gardens.
- Abi Neill approached Mackman to provide a new website as a virtual shop window for both Abigail's Collection and The Groom's Room.
- Both aspects of the business needed to have synchronicity while retaining their unique elements, such as the humorous approach of The Groom's Room.
The Results
We developed a new bridal website using WordPress in order to make the new site easier to update for the client, as well as being a really solid foundation for web design in general. We then took two different approaches to the site, split between Abigail's Collection and the newly developed 'The Groom's Room'. To meet the expected tone of the bridal wear section of the site, we embellished and feminised the original branding and created a scrap book feel to reflect how brides want to collect images when they browse for a dress for themselves and their bridesmaids. The Groom's Room area was connected with the site but had a more masculine and humorous approach, reflecting the wants of a groom undergoing the experience of renting or buying a suit. The Groom's Room page then developed into a microsite as the range increased.
So many businesses underestimate the importance of professional design input, thank goodness we do not! All of our customers say our new shop front looks fabulous (staff too) and we are all really proud of the local brand, image and shop that you have helped us to develop and grow over the last few years. Once again thank you Bruce. You are a star and should get a raise! Great work!
Abi Neill, Director – Abigail's Collection
