Beuchat — Original Design, Development & Copy.

New Territory did a complete overhaul of this site, including design, development, and copy. For insight into how we approach large-scale, ambitious builds, we’ll take you on a deep dive through the process of creating Beuchat NZ’s new platform.

The brief for Beuchat NZ’s new website was to create an independent digital identity while retaining its connection to the wider Beuchat brand. Improving user experience and engagement throughout the site was a key focus and an area that was lacking in the previous website. As a relatively large-scale site, ensuring that the platform was navigable, with a clear user flow was essential in achieving this.

In keeping with the global Beuchat brand, the site map was to remain primarily the same. Likewise, existing content and products were to be transferred across, but with refreshed copy on all pages and products. The intention with the new copy was to create a sense of cohesion throughout the site, using punchy, engaging content, whilst incorporating SEO strategies and compliance.

We wanted to go big with this site, using cutting-edge, visually striking features to match Beuchat’s game-changing philosophy and passion for the underwater world.

With the brief in mind, let’s dive into design.

The design process began by creating a smarter system for product categorisation, to improve site navigation and user flow. Given Beuchat NZ’s extensive catalogue of products, from wetsuit hoods to speargun bags, designing a solution that allowed customers to filter through to their desired range of products was a key element in improving the overall UX. We adapted the Nav into three categories - scuba diving, spearfishing, and snorkelling - to encourage users to navigate between the core offerings as soon as they enter the site.

As mentioned in the brief, creating a visually striking site was also a core focus. We collaborated with Pacific Blue Sport to incorporate high quality underwater footage into a reel on the homepage. In doing so, visitors to the site are instantly catapulted into Beuchat’s underwater world; simultaneously selling the experience, lifestyle and products.

Engaging features are scattered throughout the site, including an interactive timeline and dealer locator map. However, the area of the site that best showcases the use of interactivity is the product page.

The product page was a main component of the site’s design, with a particular focus on the way users would explore the features, details and sizing. The aim was to elevate the typical features of a product page, optimise the informative elements, and create a unique and effective UX. To achieve this we incorporated a variety of interactive elements, product imagery and lifestyle content.

A hero image and product description head up the page. As you scroll down past the fold, a vertical image carousel and feature list is revealed. This is followed by an interactive image display with hover effects, used to highlight key features. Below the interactive image is a block of close up product imagery, comprehensively detailing the benefits of certain product features.

These design elements not only make the product pages more engaging to explore but provide customers with an in-depth analysis of the product’s features; in a manner more digestible than one long list.

Copywriting tied in closely with the design, by incorporating a new structure for the product copy. Unlike the previous site, all product descriptions on the new platform adhere to the same format, resulting in greater cohesion and allowing copy to be easily repurposed for use in other formats such as social media or in-store merchandising.

Implementing a uniform structure across all product copy allows customers to easily find and compare features between seemingly similar products. This improves both UX and brand transparency.

Given the scope of Beuchat NZ’s new platform, we built the site on Sanity; confident that Sanity’s cutting edge technology would accommodate the ambitious elements of the design. There were several elements of the development process that tie in closely with improved UX, most notably the product categorisations.

Beuchat NZ have a vast range of products across multiple sporting disciples, for both adults and children, professional divers and amateur enthusiasts.

As UX is a key component to the site, we implemented multiple product filters to allow users to easily browse products suited to their needs. These filters vary depending on the search intention, allowing users to sort products via activity, experience level, product collection, or material. So whether you’re new and want to search for entry-level gear or are solely interested in spearfishing equipment, the product filters allow you to head straight to the specific products that are relevant to you.

Due to Beuchat’s extensive product range, there is significant discrepancy in the amount of content required for each individual product. For example, their most advanced speargun requires all elements of the aforementioned product page design, whereas a simple spearfishing accessory may need little more than a one-sentence product description. Therefore, the backend needed to be able to accommodate products with extensive feature lists as well as those with next to none.

Building the site in Sanity allowed us to create a highly customisable backend. Feature blocks within individual product pages can be added or removed easily, making every page customisable. This not only streamlines content population, but helps to future proof the site; ensuring the backend is able to adapt with Beuchat as its range changes and grows. Making the CMS user-friendly also allows Pacific Blue Sports to independently update products with ease and ensure the site remains up to date.

New Territory are proud to have worked with Pacific Blue Sports and the industry-leading Beuchat brand to create Beuchat NZ’s new digital platform. This website gave us the opportunity to utilise the full expertise and skills of our team and is a prime example of our passion for cutting edge design and development.

For more examples of Sanity Builds, or cutting edge interactive features, explore some of our other blogs.

UX: User Experience

PDP: Product Detail Page

E-commerce: Electronic Commerce

CMS: Content Management System