Appdrawn project named Global eCommerce Website of the Year
We won! That’s right – the Appdrawn team had cause to celebrate this month when one of our projects was awarded eCommerce Website of the Year at the Global eCommerce Awards 2021. There mightn’t have been a glitzy ceremony and a three-course dinner, but we do have our trophy, which we’ve added to our cabinet alongside a number of other awards we’ve scooped in recent years.
Better than the trophy, of course, was the sense of pride that we’ve taken from the win: in our solid team work, our technical skill, our client relations, and our commitment to creating mobile app and software development projects that really deliver for the business and end user.
As with any awards acceptance, thanks to those involved are a must. So, in addition to thanking all of the Appdrawn team, I want to extend thanks to Airlinen, our client and the company for which we delivered the new website. Airlinen partners with Airbnb landlords, aggregate operator companies and other short-term let operators to provide services that support their operations, such as linen, cleaning and consumables.
The company came to us as it wanted to create an intuitive and stylish website that provided online ordering with validation, accepted up-front card payments, and allowed its customer base to edit orders up to the night before delivery. At Appdrawn, we’re well used to working with a broad scope of clients with differing needs and challenges. We were working with Airlinen through Covid times and they used this time to innovate and expand during the pandemic. Covid restrictions had resulted in a unique challenges that Airlinen met with new product lines, so they were able to expand their reach even when their clients had reduced bookings at points. The company’s legacy technology required complicated and timely manual processes, preventing company growth and stifling profits. Airlinen needed to scale, to deliver optimum services for its customers and to capitalise on new post-restrictions growth: it needed Appdrawn as its partner.
Our team first visited Airlinen’s operations centre to consult and accurately assess what was needed to really tackle its challenges. After a thorough evaluation and consultation process, we set about researching, designing, building and finally delivering an elegant solution that really hit the mark – for both Airlinen and its customers.
The online ordering system now features interfaces that guide users through the ordering process with an appropriate level of validation. This was carefully designed to keep friction to a minimum. The new platform takes up-front card payments as well as accommodating multiple ordering interfaces that are easy to use by both beginners and pros. Our development team structured the architecture of this system with growth in mind, ensuring Airlinen continues to evolve and expand without setback or overhaul. In short: we created a sustainable solution that future-proofs the business.
In addition, by integrating with a third-party fleet management system via APIs, the solution now provides complete clarity for the customer. This means that they can see every stage of the order process, and intervene to cancel or amend at any point.
Finally, any app or bespoke software build is not all about the tech. It’s also about the aesthetic. Fresh linens and sleek and calming interfaces drew out the luxury aesthetics associated with the Airlinen brand. This meant that we were able to parallel the intuitive nature of the Airbnb industry without mislaying the Airlinen brand identity.
As for the judges’ verdict: they were impressed to see how we reacted to Airlinen’s business opportunities that arose due to Covid, by improving its tools. They were particularly impressed to see how we were able to take complex business needs and turn them into a simple UI design. Finally, the panel described the platform as a very user-oriented design, driving process efficiencies and benefitting a niche audience.
It was a real pleasure to work on this project – and it delivered great results for Airlinen, too. The platform has resulted in increased traffic and has secured a wider reach of clients for the business, increasing Airlinen’s profitability and allowing it to re-invest and scale further.
So, thanks to the Appdrawn team members who worked on the project, thanks to Airlinen and thanks to the judging panel – and hopefully this time next year we’ll be able to celebrate another award win with a glitzy ceremony.