Creating a corporate website for a property investment & development company

Located in Liverpool, the Downing Group approached us to discuss creating a new, distinctive yet corporate website. They wanted the business to stand out in the commercial property development sector. Their goal was to transform spaces into thriving, sustainable communities. These spaces would be for people to live, work and play.

Downing specialises in mixed-use development, property management and construction. This full turnkey approach ensures a thriving and growing investment portfolio. Their student accommodation portfolio makes up the majority of their property holdings, worth approximately £1 billion.

With extensive property sector experience already, we ensured we were fully prepared for the project. We took the time to research the market context for the new website. Additionally, we looked in-depth at the probable user journeys.

Combining this context with initial user research, we defined the primary goals of the site for the main target audiences. These goals are:

• To drive awareness.
• Inform.
• Convert anyone looking at a commercial space.
• Keep up to date and challenge the perception of Downing.

With the main target audiences of:

• Blue chip companies, central government, universities, public sector, SMEs.
• Landowners.
• Local authorities.
• Local communities.

Anticipated audience interaction

• Enquire.
• Download.
• Read.
• Find articles about initiatives, impact and local economic benefit.

Expected audience reaction

We expect the audience to be excited by new office, retail and educational property developments across the UK. This excitement will be communicated in a highly experienced, professional and genuine tone. Downing is passionate about sustainable development in locations to work and play with a proud family history.

As well as creating a distinctive and engaging corporate website, we communicated that all content needed to be exciting, enthusiastic, passionate and professional. We achieved this through various forms of media, including written content, videos, photography, illustrations, and animations. Property developers who excel in this approach include the Berkeley Group, Urban Splash and Salboy.

With much of the initial work done at proposal stage, we were able to move to stage 2 of our 5 stage website process.

Stage two is defined in our proposals as user journey planning, to ensure we get all the correct information in the right areas. For the Downing site, we produced wireframes for 23 individual pages, across three iterations. This stage helps us fully define and scope any additional work. We compare this to the original proposal to ensure alignment.

After approving the wireframes, we discussed the creative brief in more detail. The main challenge was the lack of corporate identity for the Downing Group. The client shared examples of what they thought was appropriate. Using these examples, we created five different designs, ranging from corporate to creative.

Once approved, we moved to development, content population and eventually, deployment.

The website launched in December 2023 and we have continued to support Downing with technical SEO services on a monthly basis. They also have a support contract for further development in place.