AccuServ Heating

● SERVICE PROVIDED

Digital Strategy
UX / UI Design
Web Development

AccuServ Heating

● SERVICE PROVIDED

Digital Strategy
UX / UI Design
Web Development

Background

AccuServ is a leading HVAC company in East York, Toronto. After inheriting the business from his father in 2012, James Memiji grew the company into a local staple with numerous awards and various media features. However, their digital presence hadn't kept pace with their growth. The legacy site was cluttered with 50 pages of repetitive copy and a lackluster visual style that made them fade into the background against their competitors.

The site was built in 2021 and took a total of 4 months to complete. During this time, I managed the entire lifecycle of the project, acting as the Lead Designer, Project Manager, and Developer. I took the project from the initial strategy, design and ideation, development, to launch.

Challenges

Massive Content Overload

The original site had over 50 single-spaced pages of copy combined. It was impossible for users to scan the page or find what they needed quickly. Going through the original site was a very confusing and frustrating experience for customers.

Building Trust in a Pandemic

The site was overhauled during the midst of the pandemic (2021). During this time, it was highly encouraged for people avoid going out or inviting people over. However, with HVAC services which needs at-home access, we needed to create a professional, "safe" online presence during a time when homeowners were hesitant to let technicians into their homes.

Full-Cycle Ownership

As the sole lead on this project, I was responsible for everything from the initial discovery and content audit to the final coding and deployment. This required balancing the business's goals with the technical reality of the build to ensure a seamless launch.

Strategy
& Content Overhaul

The goal was to drive more leads by building real credibility across the site. We started from the ground up by collaborating with a copywriter to streamline the site from 50 pages of copy to 17, while keeping optimized with SEO keywords. By cutting down 65% of the text, it made it easier for the pages to breathe and reducing the strain for customers to find what they were looking for.

One of the key things we wanted to highlight was Accuserv's outstanding commitment to customer service with their over 500+ reviews on Google with a 4.6 star rating. As this site was being built during the pandemic, it was important to humanize the brand by featuring behind-the-scenes photography so customers could feel comfortable booking a service during the pandemic.

Photography by Mike Lao

Visual Direction

In order to make the AccuServ website stand out against their competitors, I realized that the key was to create a site that looked nothing like them. By pulling inspiration from SaaS websites and fusing them together with existing elements of the AccuServ logo. I created visual direction that not only looked unique to AccuServ, but felt distinctly like them too. These elements were reinforced throughout their site, marketing materials, and digital touchpoints. This helped to not only build visual consistency, but brand recognition as well.

Results

By managing both the design and the technical execution, I was able to transform AccuServ’s digital presence from a cluttered archive into a high-performing lead generator. The final site finally matches the high quality of service and professionalism that AccuServ is known for in the Toronto community.