Key Books is one of the leading publishing houses in Greece and operates what is considered the best online bookstore in the country, selling physical books. The client sought a complete revamp of their existing WordPress and WooCommerce website to modernize its design and improve its functionality.
We aimed to create a fully responsive, high-performance eShop that reflects the brand’s identity and offers a seamless and efficient shopping experience for book lovers across Greece. This project resulted from our close collaboration with Key Books, ensuring the new design and functionality met their specific needs, focusing on usability, speed, and a streamlined customer shopping experience. Additionally, we developed custom solutions to present Key Books’ roster of authors in a dynamic and user-friendly way.
Project Goals:
The primary objective was to transform the Key Books website into a modern, engaging eShop that showcases the company’s role as a leading publishing house while offering a superior user experience. We aimed to improve the functionality of WooCommerce to handle the extensive catalogue of physical books efficiently, incorporating Ajax-based filtering and search to enhance usability and navigation.
A significant part of the project was creating a custom post type for Key Books’ authors, making it easy for users to search and learn more about individual authors through an Ajax-powered search feature. This functionality was paired with advanced layouts, allowing Key Books to present each author uniquely and visually strikingly. In addition to the design and functionality upgrades, we sought to ensure that the site was fully responsive, performed at optimal speeds, and was SEO-optimized to increase visibility in the competitive Greek market. Streamlining the checkout process was another key focus aimed at reducing cart abandonment and boosting conversion rates.
Key Features Implemented:
We designed a custom WordPress theme that aligns with Key Books’ modern brand aesthetic, offering users a clean, intuitive interface. One of the standout features of the redesign was creating a custom post type to showcase Key Books’ authors. This feature, powered by an Ajax-based search tool, allows users to find and explore detailed profiles of individual authors quickly, displayed in unique layouts highlighting their works and contributions.
For the eShop, we implemented an advanced, Ajax-based filtering system that enhances the user experience by allowing visitors to browse the extensive collection of physical books without reloading pages. The site was built with a mobile-first approach, ensuring it is fully responsive and provides a seamless experience across all devices, from desktops to smartphones. The WooCommerce platform was properly customized to manage the sale of physical books efficiently, streamlining the checkout process to be fast, secure, and user-friendly while supporting various payment methods. We also integrated SEO best practices to ensure higher rankings in Greek search engines and boost organic traffic. Image compression, caching, and lazy loading were used to improve load times and overall site performance.
The revamped KeyBooks.gr website has transformed the user experience, with a 25% increase in the average time visitors spend on the site. The implementation of the Ajax-based filtering and search tools significantly improved site navigation, making it easier for users to browse books and locate authors. This contributed to an overall smoother shopping experience, which, combined with the improved checkout process, led to a 15% reduction in cart abandonment and a 20% increase in conversion rates.
On the technical side, site performance improved by 40%, with faster load times contributing to a more enjoyable user experience. The SEO enhancements we introduced boosted the website’s rankings in local search results, driving more organic traffic and strengthening Key Books’ presence as the top book eShop in Greece. The custom author post type has also given Key Books an elegant way to showcase its authors, elevating its profile as a premier publishing house. The new website offers a powerful, flexible platform that supports Key Books’ business goals, delivering a refined shopping experience that reflects the brand’s stature in the Greek literary market.