About the Client
Sage Pay is one of the world's most trusted payment solutions providers. Sage Pay has earned a reputation for security and good service. From startups to major brands, fifty thousand business of all sizes rely on Sage Pay to successfully processes customer payments.
Client Goals
Sage Pay approached Code Positive to re-build the main corporate platform from which all Sage Pay country websites are built and maintained. Our brief was to create a platform which could be used to build and maintain a website for each of the countries Sage Pay operates in, supporting existing customers and promoting Sage Pay services in those countries.
We worked with Sage Pay to clarify the objectives for the new site which was then broken down to a number of separate project areas.
The Marketing objectives were to present fresh new branding and make it possible for Sage Pay customers, partners, and developers to more quickly find solutions and information. They also wanted to be able to build flexible pages to suit different creative needs but also to have a rigid architecture to allow for ease of use and consistency. The marketing team made extensive use of different media such as images, video and downloadable pdfs and so needed an easy way to manage this.
The support team required a support area where it was easy for the various audiences to find the information that they needed in a timely manner.
Throughout the site Sage Pay also needed a better way to manage and maintain lots of pieces of information, like telephone numbers and prices, across multiple pages.
What We Did
Marketing
The Payment Solutions section features visually rich explanations of the advantages of Sage Pay products, step-by-step guides on how to switch to Sage Pay, and information for startups and corporates. Each page has a clear call to action to connect the visitor to the sage Pay sales team.
The Partner and Developer section of the site provides information on becoming a partner, and helps partners and developers find developer resources and information about 3rd party integrations. Similar to the Solutions section, navigation is visually driven and there is a good balance of imagery and content on the pages with strong call to actions in the form of buttons, teasers with icons and customer logos linked to case studies.
Customer and partner case studies highlight how different Sage Pay solutions have solved problems and met the needs of customers and partners - two different audiences for Sage Pay. The case studies grab the attention of the reader with quotes and logos from prominent customers and partners. Case studies are promoted throughout the site with case study carousels and lists of linked logo thumbnails.
Content Strategy
The client's brief had two almost contradictory requirements for the site's content strategy:
- Flexibility to add a completely different mix of content to each page
- Rigidly defined content fields that would guide staff in entering content
A flexible content system would enable the marketing department to create whatever message was appropriate for each page. Rigid content fields would maintain consistency across the site, and allow content parts to be reused on other pages, or hidden on mobile devices.
We met this challenge by analysing the planned site content to find common repeating patterns. We then built a component for each of these patterns, that could be used to add structured content to any page in any order. The components included flexible configuration options that empowered Sage Pay to control the layout, styling and order of the content as it is added to a page.
After a few weeks of use, feedback from the client enabled us to refine the user interface of the component system, to provide a system that is flexible, powerful, and easy to use.
Media Management
The website makes extensive use of images, videos, and downloadable documents as part of it’s marketing and support features.
We used Media module to implement a media management system that enables the client to add media to the site's asset library, reuse them across multiple pages, and track which pages each asset is used on.
The system also allows the client to update a media asset, such as a new image of a product, and have the site display the new version everywhere it used the old version.
Support
The support section makes it quick and easy for Sage Pay's various audiences to find the help that they need.
It features support articles on various topics, integration guides explaining how Sage Pay products can be used with other applications, online shoppers FAQ for anyone making payments through Sage Pay services, and contact details for 24/7 support services through which clients and partners can get more information.
Also available in the support section are logo downloads that can be added to a website to show it's using Sage Pay services, a beta testing programme registration, a glossary with definitions of terminology used on the site, and explanations of error codes and their suggested solutions.
One of the most important features of the site is the system monitor which provides up to the moment information on the status of Sage Pay services.
The support section has a search facility, including the option to search specifically in error codes so that integrators can quickly diagnose problems and find solutions.
The Sage Pay forum is hosted externally on Stack Overflow which has excellent tools for technical support and a large and active developer community.
Tokens
One of the challenges was to make it easy for Sage Pay to manage and maintain lots of pieces of information, like telephone numbers and prices, across multiple pages.
To solve this problem, we implemented a token system that enable the client to use placeholder tokens anywhere in their copy, which are automatically filled in with information before being displayed on the web page.
The client can easily create new tokens as required, and updating the information associated with a token updates the information across the website.
Results
The site has exceeded the client's expectations for flexibility and ease of use in adding content. Sage Pay's marketing and support teams are excited about the positive feedback from customers, developers and partners.
Code Positive provided consultancy, project planning, project management, development, and ongoing support for the project.