In today’s video, I’m gonna talk about case studies. Now we all know that case studies are essentially an in-depth look at existing projects that you’ve worked on and your process from A-Z.
As a web design agency owner and entrepreneur, I’m gonna walk you through the process that you need to create your own case study. I’m gonna provide you with a worksheet template to get that done, and I’m gonna show you real life samples of how you can use case studies in your site to get more business.
So let’s dive in, let’s get this done, and let’s do this.
So let me show you our first example: this is our web design agency website. As you can see here, I’m on the homepage, and we have basic information about our projects—and we always showcase case studies on the homepage.
So if you have a website, you always wanna show your testimonials, social proof, or case studies to potential prospects. It’s going to help them be able to make more important decisions on what you can do.
Now, the way we structure case studies is, we always have a headline basically framing how we help them. We have the name of that business, and then we have the details of the project, so they can get a quick overview of the type of client we’re working with and the collaborations. And I’m gonna use Manomi as an example here.
So when I click Case Studies—we built separate landing pages for each of these. Right under the case study, you have the title, you can also have some tags, like Web Design, UI/UX—which is what we worked on with this client—and then I like to have some screenshots at a bird’s eye view. So that way they can see everything, an overview with the design aesthetics, the overall cohesiveness of that brand guideline, and just showcase the work without them having to go through and scroll the entire page.
Now when you’re framing your case study, what you wanna start with is the challenge: what would be the challenge that the client presented you with and how you’re going to rectify the issues.
So the problem and challenge that Manomi had was they were looking to connect black farmers with consumers to provide fresh produce and products for all. And by creating this website, it would help them facilitate that by integrating with a mobile app and having people be able to connect via that mobile app. So that was the challenge.
Next, you wanna talk about your plan or the approach to rectifying that problem. Now what we like to do is bullet point this out because, as you know, most folks are going to skim this content. And so we talked about the approach we had: we wanted to have a clear Call-To-Action, a How It Works Section to explain the process, FAQs that he gets from a lot of the farmers, as well as Testimonials.
And then we also want to go through our process in regards to how we want to build this out: we did a Brand Discovery, we worked on UX Design, we did Project Planning, and so forth. So bullet point that out and really define your pros and showcase how you came to the verdict you’re at today.
The last piece is the process: how it launched, the steps you took to initiate that—we ideate, we come up with the concept, we sketch, then we wireframe, and then we develop the site. Of course, this is a very simplified version, but ultimately we want to get people enough info so that they can understand our process and the ideas that we have.
Then, of course, we have additional screenshots, and toward the end we’ll have results. So the results were a custom CMS for multi-page items, we also had brand and guideline design and development for them as well. And so it’s a really quick and easy way to showcase projects that you worked on.
I also like to include a link to the live website, so anyone can go visit it and see it in real time, check it out at the different base points or device types like mobile, tablet, and desktop. And it just gives them, overall, everything that they need to make an informed decision.
And I’ll tell y’all now: case studies are one of the top pages that drive traffic to our site. It’s one of the first pages that people go to once they get to the site, because you’ve already established that trust factor, and now it’s time for them to see the work that you’ve done, and be able to look, in real time, at the work that you’ve completed.
Another one of the agencies that I really like is called Purple, Rock, Scissors. They’ve been around for a while, and I just love the way that they showcase their case studies as well. So, as you can see, the website’s really clean: they basically have an About, Approach, Work, and Careers.
So let’s go straight to Work. This will essentially showcase the projects that they’ve worked on. As you can see, a lot of case study pages have the same kind of format: they have the name of the brand, then they have a brief description of the project that they worked on, and then you can click inside to see more.
So when I hit Explore, now it’s gonna give me the overview. So ultimately, they have a Project Brief, right, which is almost like the problem that they’re solving. Then they have The Experience, which could essentially be the approach that they took to make a character builder, add integrations like Story Questionnaire, Printed Comic Book, and then they go through the process.
Then of course, the Development part, and it’s a great way to showcase how you perform tasks as a team, and how you work with other clients to get it done. And of course, here you can see the data, the results. People wanna see what they come in with, what did you do, and what will be the result of this process.
And this is just an amazing way to showcase what you’re working on. As always, at the end of each case study, we have a link to another one, just because it creates a continuous flow in your case study breakdown. And I’ll include that in the checklist, as well as on the worksheet that I’ll provide you with, but ultimately this is just a great way to get the job done.
Another studio that I really like—and this is the last one that I’ll show you all—but it’s just to give you a visual and an idea of how they do it. This is Raw Studio, so they’re a strategy-driven UX agency for legendary companies. Love that.
So if I go here, you can see that they have case studies here. I’m gonna click the main page, as you can see, similar to the others, they have the name, they have an overview, and they have, actually, what they worked on here.
So if I hit View case study, I can see the results right here—this is actually really good, now you can see the results right on top before you go scrolling. Of course, they have screenshots of what that dashboard looks like. They have The Challenge (like we talked about), The Proposal, the steps that they took to get it done.
They also showcase their design systems and things that they worked on, and then The Results. And then, of course, you can see more case studies. So as you can see, it follows the same kind of structure.
I’ve created a Google Doc here that you can access. It’s open: you don’t even need an email to opt-in.
I talk about the Intro Page, which is essentially the page that guides you to the specific case studies—like this one. And you can use the checklist to get it done: write your headline, do your client name, do your overview. And then, on the Main Page, you have a segment to add The Challenge, The Approach, Images, The Process, Results, and any links that you have there.
So feel free to take this. All you gotta do is hit File, then Make a Copy, copy it to your Drive, and use this doc to create your amazing case studies. Share your pages in the comments, and I hope this helps you on your journey.
