Cafédirect

Creating a low-carbon site for Cafédirect

Project overview

Founded in 1991, Cafédirect began as a business based on trust, a partnership between four UK companies and three smallholder farmer co-operatives. They were one of early pioneers of the ‘business with purpose’ movement, pre-dating the B Corp movement by over a decade.

In was an honour to work with Cafédirect – the first UK coffee company to be awarded B Corp certification – in 2023, to create a sustainable new website more in line with their vision for a more sustainable world.

 

Features

  • Custom design led by competitive analysis
  • Streamlined mega navigation
  • Complex product post type
  • Adimo integration

0.08g

C02 per page view

91%

Homepage Lighthouse Accessibility score

97%

Homepage Lighthouse Performance score

Competitive custom design 

Following our discovery process with Cafédirect, we were led by an in-depth competitive analysis of brands they admired, to create the design and functionality of the new website. Our challenge was to design an online presence at the same level, with less impact on the environment. 

To achieve this, we focussed on the Information Architecture (IA) phase, to ensure that we stripped away any unnecessary functionality and ensured the highest level of performance for that which we kept. 

This attention to detail at the early stages resulted in the development of a streamlined ‘mega’ navigation menu that breaks down Cafédirect’s core offerings so that that visitors to their website can easily find what they need. 

Mobile First

As a high percentage of Cafédirect customers would be accessing the site via their mobile devices, we needed to ensure first class mobile design.

We followed mobile first design principles in an attempt to make the pages as engaging as possible. Our goal was to create an enjoyable user experience and simultaneously keep the page weight light, to ensure we made the website fast-loading and therefore more accessible to customers on slower internet connections.

Showcasing complex product types

Our team enjoyed the challenge of creating the complex product pages for the new website. These key pages needed to allow for the wide variation of products available, taking into account the different variations of weight, range, roast type, grind and package sizing.

Giving customers more choice with Adimo integration

We enjoyed working with the Adimo team for this project, to integrate their technology.

This third party technology allows for links directly to retailers’ websites, offering users various options when they click on the ‘Buy Now’ button for a product they’re interested in.

Instead of immediately taking you to a shopping basket/checkout, customers can choose the option to find their nearest store, find out which Cafédirect products are available from which retailers and even add them to their next food shop. These were key user requirements identified in our discovery phase, based on real user data submitted through a survey.

We also worked to define the QR codes on all new packaging, ensuring that they all link through to the correct product pages.

A sustainable success

We’re really proud of the new Cafédirect website, which offers customers a first class user experience.

We were pleased to have improved its accessibility and performance, making the new website cleaner, faster (with a page loading time of 1.5 seconds, down from 18.7 seconds) and greener. As a result, the site’s carbon emissions fell from from 2.69g CO2 per page view for the old website homepage, to just 0.08g.

Image showing the reduced C02 per page view for the new site's homepage, product page and About page, compared to the old website

It’s fantastic to work with companies who are making a positive impact when it comes to digital sustainability and beyond.

We’re proud to be a small part of the positive social and environmental impact Cafédirect continue to make, using their new website to inspire more action on some of the world’s most pressing issues, such as poverty and climate change.