The value of visuals: how we used imagery to communicate complex coating services

Refining its craft over four decades, FP Advanced Coatings uses advanced technology to deliver a number of surface finishing services to clients including Jaguar Land Rover, BMW, JCB and more.

But how do you put all of this knowledge and experience into a website that not only looks great but is easy for all to understand?

That’s where Barques came in.

‍

The challenge

The previous website of the Coventry-based coating and finishing company was minimal in its single-page layout, and was in desperate need of a new look - it was simply not doing justice to the expertise of its incredibly experienced team.

Lacking both visual and written content, the site was failing to showcase the variety and technicality of the company’s services, not to mention its enviable range of equipment which includes three e-coat lines, two powder coat lines and on-site support processes.

‍

Without detailed content and SEO maintenance, the website was a hindrance that prevented potential clients from learning about the high-tech work undertaken by the company.

After FP Advanced Coatings installed a new shot blasting facility in August 2021, the team decided its next investment needed to be its website and approached Barques upon recommendation to rejuvenate it.

‍

A picture truly does say a thousand words

When it comes to complicated technologies and services, photographs and video offer an easier and faster way of showcasing a product or service. With this in mind, the Barques team visited the headquarters of FP Advanced Coatings to explore and understand the equipment and processes used by the company.

Witnessing the skill and knowledge that went into e-coating or shot blasting was an eye-opener and helped us to deliver a new site map which accurately encompassed the company’s broad menu of services and technologies.

‍

From there, we decided to make photographs of the company’s machinery and facilities a central feature of the website, arranging for a professional photographer to capture footage and images of the equipment and team in action.

This visual content was then framed by the newly designed pages, offering behind-the-scenes insight for the site’s visitors to engage with.

‍

In-keeping with the existing branding, our design team also ensured the web design was bold and refrained from over-complication, allowing the company services to be the star of the show.

To reinforce the visual content, in-depth pieces of copy were then produced by our content team in collaboration with the FP Advanced Coatings experts and provided an alternative way for clients to digest the website’s information.

‍

The result

Not only does FP Advanced Coatings have a website which simplifies its offering without losing the quality of its work, its ongoing SEO maintenance package is helping it to continue reaping the rewards.

With a 74% increase in impressions on search results, the site is ranking significantly higher for relevant keywords than ever before.

‍

Not only are more people seeing the site in search results, they’re also clicking through to the website too, with average clicks having increased by 28%, leading to more inbound enquiries.

Katie French, digital project director at Barques said: “The team at FP Advanced Coatings were a dream to work with because they trusted our judgement implicitly and allowed us to be part of all aspects of the project from photography to SEO. Our involvement in every step of the process led to this project being such a resounding success.”

‍