Outpost General Store wanted to establish itself as a store synonymous with Manitoulin Island and push itself as a one-stop shop for anything uniquely Manitoulin. They came to us with a simple goal for the website: extend the selling season past summer.
The General Store in your pocket
A primary goal for Outpost General Store was allowing their customers to shop their one-of-a-kind products from anywhere. We worked with Outpost to create a simple and user-friendly e-commerce experience that allows their customers to have island time, anytime. We developed the website with a mobile-first approach so that the site would render quickly on even the smallest devices. Subtle design elements were used to infuse personality into the design, while maintaining a canvas-like simplicity to allow products to stand out in the design.
WordPress and Shopify Hybrid e-Commerce
The Outpost General Store was focussed on promoting their unique makers as much as their products. After reviewing the pros and cons of different technology options, we decided to make a hybrid WordPress and Shopify site. This was done because WordPress is still the powerhouse of driving content. It allows for different content types to be databased, and then cross referenced to deliver related and relevant content to users. This is what we needed! We wanted makers to be connected to products so user’s could have that locally-crafted general store experience online. We then integrated the WordPress install with Shopify so the Outpost could take advantage of Shopify’s ease-of-use for managing the orders. This approach gave them the best of both words – a great CMS for pushing content and out out-of-the-box e-commerce backend.
A Space for their Makers
Outpost features items from over 30 makers, with many of them local to Manitoulin. We created a space for their makers to introduce themselves and allow their customers to learn more about the makers behind the products they love. Then, by connecting the maker profiles to the e-commerce store, we created a seamless user flow from quality storytelling content to the shop where users can complete the sale.
Accessible Anywhere
It was essential to the Outpost to allow their customers to access their website, makers and one-of-a-kind products from anywhere. We worked hard to create a consistent and fluid web experience across all devices, including quick orders right from your mobile phone.