Paul Thomas Chocolates
Overview
Paul Thomas Chocolates (PTC) is an independently-owned candy store located in Dahlonega, GA. PTC came to BARTA Media Group in need of a new website with an updated design that could provide them greater flexibility for displaying and selling their products online. To accomplish this, we had to build their new website from scratch using an entirely different e-commerce platform.
Website Design
PTC wanted the home page of their new website to immediately entice customers while showing off a bit of the store’s personality. To do this, we used a full-screen video background on the very first section of the site that shows their chocolate-making process. The next section features some of PTC’s top-selling products to encourage users to quickly begin adding products to their cart. Below that is a 50/50 split section that directs users to either build their own box of chocolates or to shop PTC’s current selection of specialty products.
As a design principle, the website uses plenty of whitespace to make product photos and banner images the main focus of every page. We felt that keeping flashy graphics or complex layouts off the site would help make the shopping experience simple and easy.
Enhanced Browsing Experience
To make product browsing as simple as possible, we sorted every product into 3 categories: Chocolates, Bagged Goodies, and Gifts. On the left-hand side of each category page, we placed checkboxes that allow users to filter their search by subcategories. This would allow customers to view the types of products they’re interested in while hiding the rest.
If users already know what they’re looking for, then they can use the smart-search bar located in the top right corner of the header navigation. As they begin typing out the name of a product, matching results will appear below the search bar. Users can then click on the product they’d like to view and be taken directly to the product page.
Product Pages
Many of the products PTC offers come in a variety of size options and chocolate types. We wanted to make sure their customers could customize their orders so that they could get exactly what they want, just as if they were shopping in the store. To achieve this, many of the product pages have dropdown menus that allow customers to select different sizing options and the chocolate type they want. Customers can also find related products near the bottom of the page to encourage them to add more to their cart.
Build Your Own Box
A very important feature of the website is the Build Your Own Box product. This product allows users to select up to six different chocolates to create their own assortment of treats. Users can browse individual chocolates in an organized menu and filter their search using checkboxes that sort chocolates by category and flavor. Once a customer has made their chocolate selection, they can add the Build Your Own Box product to the cart and proceed to checkout.
Development
PTC’s new website was built on WordPress using the WooCommerce e-commerce platform. This gave us unlimited freedom to design every page exactly how our client wanted while offering greater flexibility when developing the shopping experience. The website also uses responsive design, giving it the ability to automatically adjust its appearance to perfectly display on any device.
Before & After
After months of work, we were able to deliver Paul Thomas Chocolates a new website just before the holiday season. We’re confident that this new site will offer their customers a better, more enjoyable shopping experience for years to come.
