Avanti Bikes, which celebrated its 25th birthday last year, is renowned as a design-led company, as evidenced by the gold it won at the Best Awards this year for its sexy Corsa DR. And that focus on design is helping it move into other overseas markets. Now it’s added another technology-driven advantage to its arsenal in the form of its multi-lingual, responsive website, which was built by Auckland digital agency Salt Interactive.
Responsive websites (like StopPress and, as announced yesterday, the new version of The Listener) automatically adjust to different screen sizes and the way people interact with the content on different devices. So if you’re viewing the site on a laptop, a tablet or a smart phone, you’ll get an experience optimised for that device.
Salt Interactive managing creative partner Stephen Hurdley says the site is one of the most ambitious responsive sites produced in New Zealand. It has full screen responsive imagery, 120 bike pages, easy product comparisons, 360 degree bike rotations, video content, social integration, parallax animation and a fully editable CMS. It also has the key content in four different languages.
“It was a huge amount of work but the result is definitely worth it. Avanti now have a site that delivers compelling brand engagement on every device and lets Avanti’s world-leading bikes sell themselves.”
He believes responsive web design is now essential for all companies with an eye on the future.
“In the US, one out of four web users only use a smartphone or tablet and the same is happening everywhere. Building a responsive website is the best way to plan cost-effectively for the future.”
Avanti’s marketing co-ordinator Mark Jagger says the brief to re-design and develop the website was a competitive pitch and the decision to go with Salt Interactive was based on their experience and shared passions.
“Like Avanti, Salt Interactive is obsessive about ‘human-design’. It was great to find such a like-minded company. The whole way we pushed each other to create the best possible experience for cyclists online. Of course, it didn’t hurt that they all ride to work too. We definitely liked that.”
Salt was also behind the Orcon Business Banner, The Block’s Facebook app and Hyundai’s enterprise iPad apps.
