The TeamUp website got a facelift, and we’re taking you behind the scenes to share not only why we redesigned the site but also the process behind it.
This involved a redesign and gaining more clarity into our messaging and positioning around who we help and how we help them hire direct.
In this post, we're sharing a behind-the-scenes perspective of the entire website redesign process.
Our original website got us up to this point, but it no longer represented our point of view (POV) and the incredible process and work we do for the accounting firms we help.
We originally thought we needed to persuade accountants about the benefits of hiring accountants in The Philippines.
After more than 117 calls with accounting firms and many many happy clients, we suspected we were onto something.
Over that time, the conversations all started to be quite similar. They all had the same questions, and we ended up discussing the same things, often even in the same order.
Every now and then, I'd bring up the website, and I'd think "Eeew, is that what we're talking about? That's not at all what we should be saying about this..." The message was off and didn't reflect the real conversations and what was actually important to firm owners.
So, I wanted to update the website to address the issues and concerns of the people I'd spent so much time talking with over the prior year.
I also wanted to take a stronger stance and be louder with our message. We're talking about people, and I felt like the outsourcing/offshoring industry treated staff like dirt and their clients like transactions. That’s why we wrote a manifesto. (More on that later in this post)
So, we took all of what we had learned and put it on our new website.
One of the goals for the site was to make it abundantly clear what TeamUp does, who it is for, how we help, and the results we get.
With the help of our copywriter, Jessica, and our designer, Francois, we started with an outline for our messaging and positioning approach and then what pages needed to be on the site.
We used Figma to initially think through the site content and UX.
Another key component of this redesign was to migrate off our original content management software (CMS), Squarespace, that we outgrew and over to a more robust platform, Webflow. On Webflow, we have more flexibility for what the site can look like along with better marketing capabilities.
We initially started with the homepage. One of the challenges is we wanted to convey all of the things an accounting firm owner would need to know if they were considering a direct hire in one page.
In addition, we needed to convey why we were not only different than BPOs but also delivered a much better experience both for the accounting firm as well as for their new hires.
We did this through a mix of communicating about our process, who we help, and lots of social proof.
Then, we included a bunch of links to other pages on our site for people who aren’t quite ready to jump on a free consulting call.
Key Takeaway: It is not just about your service and how you help. You also need to communicate why you are different than the alternatives.
We didn’t initially start out thinking we’d create a manifesto page, but after conversations between Isaac, Meryl, and Jessica, it was clear that TeamUp’s approach is not only different but also could be summed in a more compelling way than this just a simple homepage and about page.
Our manifesto is a rallying cry for accounting teams to create unified global accounting firms. We start out talking about why ethical hiring is a low bar and doesn’t achieve this. Then, we name our common enemy - those evil BPOs.
Then, list many ways that accounting firms and their BPO “team members” aren’t being served / treated well by BPOs.
From there, we introduce our process and solution and communicate why hiring direct isn’t just the right thing but it is also good for business.
This section had two distinct parts: our blog and our success stories.
Just like with the site UX, we started with a ton of examples of resource sections we liked, along with Figma mockups for what we wanted for the following:
Just like every other part of this redesign, this was a project that was super collaborative between Meryl, Isaac, Jessica and Francois.
For the success stories, we made some changes to the individual stories, including:
When you run a service business, you are nothing without your people. And it turns out many prospects and clients really want to learn more about your team and if you’ll vibe well.
This was all about unlocking and sharing more of our company's story and our team’s background and personality.
So, we added headshots and a fun snippet about each team member directly on this page, which also shows we are living out our values and showcasing our own team in the Philippines. We are a global team rather than an offshore and onshore team.
Normally, a careers page is all about showcasing your company culture to recruit more internal team members.
However, as a direct hire service, our careers page is different. This page isn’t for working at TeamUp. Instead, it is a page to communicate to candidates why they should apply to work with our clients’ firms.
As part of this redesign, we also gave a facelift to our newsletter and contact pages.
With the newsletter signup page, it was all about communicating what you can expect each week and why you should sign up. We know we’re biased, but if you own an accounting firm, you should sign up. Isaac has so many valuable tips and stories that can help accounting firm owners not only hire better but also onboard and manage their teams.
Whether you are creating your first website or doing your 5th website redesign, I thought I would wrap up with some key takeaways.
1. Talk to your customers - It can be tempting to take shortcuts or think you know what they want and why they choose your firm. But you’ll learn so much if you talk to customers regularly, which may surprise you in a good way.
2. Communicate what makes you unique - If you want to stand out and attract your ideal customers, you need to have a consistent and clear message and also explain why you are different (and hopefully better) than your alternatives.
3. Invest in design - Your messaging and POV aren't just your copy. It is also how your site is laid out.
Hire top accountants in The Philippines with TeamUp DirectHire.
