What you’ll read:
- Forthglade Natural Pet Food’s web evolution from underwhelming to ‘tail-wagging good.’
If you take a look at past articles in PostFunnel’s popular Wayback series, you’ll notice we tend to focus on how larger, more established companies have made their way in the world of ecommerce.
Today, we’re going to flip the script.
We’ll look at how Forthglade Natural Pet Foods – a relatively small UK-based company – evolved its web presence over the years. While it did take some time for the team to iron out their approach to ecommerce, their more recent efforts have been responsible for a massive spike in exposure and sales over the last few years.
Without further ado, let’s dive in.
Forthglade.com in 2002: A Valiant Starting Effort
At first glance, the initial version of Forthglade’s website feels underwhelming.
Odd color scheme and font choice aside, though, the site is easily navigable — with the sidebar appearing uniformly on most of the site’s pages.
That said, some on-site paths lead to deadends, with no on-page way of navigating back.
As for content, Forthglade was already on the right track here:
Some key pieces of information provided on-site:
- Product and nutritional info
- Feeding guides for cats and dogs of various ages and sizes
- Company news, press releases, and other such updates
And, as shown above, customers could also request additional information from Forthglade’s team via email and other means.
At the time, Forthglade did not support ecommerce. In fact, it would be another 13 or so years before they finally take the plunge.
Still, considering the relatively small size of the business, Forthglade’s first foray into the digital realm was at least on-par with the efforts we’ve seen from massive corporations around the same time period.
Forthglade.com in 2007: New – But Maybe Not Improved
Though Forthglade’s website had undergone a bit of a makeover since 2002, this newer version didn’t add too much to their online experience.
The site’s appearance is quite basic across the board. From the abundant use of plaintext, to the random smattering of images, to the color scheme, there’s very little branded personality to the site at all.
That said, the site is still easy to navigate.
The sidebar remains static throughout most pages on the site. The team has also added dropdown menus on some pages to display information quickly and dynamically.
This, to be sure, is another sign that Forthglade’s design team was heading in the right direction even back then.
On that note, the site offers a bit more informational content in some areas — and a bit less in others.
To the team’s credit, the site also provides a number of external links and resources to help pet owners take even better care of their furry friends.
Though, ecommerce functionality is still a ways off for Forthglade,. They make up for it in later versions.
Forthglade.com in 2012: This is More Like It
The next iteration of Forthglade’s website is shows just how much they improved over the past five years.
A few quick things to notice:
- The full use of enriched text throughout the site
- More intentional use of images and branded logos
- A much more aesthetically pleasing color scheme and overall appearance
Site navigation has also improved. By this time, Forthglade had dropped the use of a sidebar — instead opting for a static, comprehensive dropdown header:
Pages and site content are also much more organized, navigable, and digestible.
The site’s content has grown in both quantity and quality, too. As shown above, dedicated product pages dive deep to give customers a complete understanding of Forthglade’s selection of pet food. The site also offers more information regarding the organization, company policies, and the like.
Forthglade has also started focusing more on creating content to enhance their customers’ branded experiences.
These added touches show the Forthglade team has moved beyond their rather haphazard approach to site design — and are now focused on creating the engaging digital experience their customers are expecting in 2012 and beyond.
While the team would still be a few years away from implementing true ecommerce functionality, dedicated pages for each of their products pave the way for future success.
Forthglade.com in 2017: Finally, Ecommerce!
By 2017, Forthglade’s digital marketing team found their stride.
The site’s overgone a substantial facelift.
The more modern, longform homepage has become a bit of a staple for ecommerce sites by this time — and Forthglade clearly got the memo.
This new approach allowed them to pack the homepage with tons of content and calls-to-action, while also keeping each section organized and easy to engage with. The use of image carousels helped pack even more content onto the homepage without creating clutter.
The navigational header is still intact — and is even more user-friendly at this point.
As we’d expected, Forthglade’s content strategy continues to evolve in a number of ways:
- A much more regularly- and frequently-updated blog
- In-depth information on healthy pet diets
- Further explanations of company policies and organizational vision
One thing to note here is that, while the brand’s content has evolved over time, the themes said content has focused on have remained steady since the beginning. In other words, the team has both stuck to their guns and taken cues from their audience as to how to build on this foundation.
Forthglade has also improved their multichannel marketing initiatives — and are showing signs of “going omnichannel” in the near future. The brand is now not only active on social media, but has actually integrated their social content within their website.
Finally, Forthglade has by now gotten into the ecommerce game.
As shown above, customers can browse Forthglade’s product catalog with ease. Using the accompanying dropdown menu and other filtering options, visitors can quickly find the exact product(s) they’re looking for in just a few clicks. They can then add their chosen products to their shopping cart directly from overarching category pages.
there’s no arguing that this is the best version of Forthglade’s website thus far.
Forthglade.com in Today: The Evolution Continues
…and it only continues to get better.
Overall, the site’s structure, appearance, and functionality haven’t changed all that much — and that’s a good thing. At this point, it seems Forthglade has figured out what works best, and is now focused on making minor tweaks and changes over time.
Forthglade’s approach to content continues to improve and become more interconnected, as well.
This serves to provide a more cohesive on-site journey for visitors looking to learn more about Forthglade as a company and provider, and about pet care in general.
Last but not least, we can finally see all that Forthglade has to offer in the form of ecommerce.
And it’s nothing short of impressive.
On just a single product page, Forthglade presents:
- In-depth product information — from ingredients and feeding guides to social proof and delivery info
- Multimedia content featuring and discussing the product in question
- Product recommendations and suggestions for further reading/guidance
Top this all off with an incredibly user-friendly ordering process — complete with step-by-step instructions for ordering based on the customer’s specific needs — and you’ve got a clear recipe for ecommerce success.
Here’s hoping this is only the beginning of Forthglade’s journey.