Copy or Steal These Five Web Design Tips From Deplace Maison

Deplace Maison is a cool site and we mean that literally. Any e-commerce website should steal these five things from Aldo and team at Deplace Maison (linked in Resources at bottom of the page).

  • Seasonality - Homepage images should speak to the web's Infinite NOW.
  • Clean Cool - Web design doesn't get much cleaner, understated, or cooler than Deplace Maison.
  • Unfinished Edges - We love the old tape included with their Spring Summer hero.
  • Image Copy Consistency - The team at Deplace Maison write like they look and look like they write.
  • Mobile First - Deplace is tuned to mobile and their audience possibly to a fault.

Sesonality

The web lives in an infinite now, so nothing kills conversions faster than Christmas images on the day after. If you are smart, like Replace Maison, you'll use the calendar that most applies. Deplace Maison is an aspirational fashion website, albeit on the streetwear side of things. I'm writing this in March. Note how they collapse Spring and Summer, thus creating a unique sense of time. Bet their unique sense of time results from business issues such as inventory or web maintenance costs. Convert more visitors to buyers when, like Deplace Maison, your images, copy, and website speak to what is happening now.

Clean Cool

We love e-commerce sites that understand how simple converts more than complex online. We bet more than half of Deplace's sales come from mobile devices. Demographics and psychographics are probably eighteen to thirty-five (on the long end), so an audience will understand how to use their site better than older visitors. Clean lines become crucial when you use so much motion and that inky trail cursor. That's another good lesson. Complex graphics need balance from clean designs and good copy.

Exposed Edges

I could never integrate process is a product as an e-commerce director. Whatever you are doing NOW can be a "product.". Deplace Maision uses a hero image with apparently old yellow scotch tape to hold the image in place. Every web design act is deliberate, so, like a stage set, DM's team knows what they are doing. Interestingly, DM doesn't care about social media, content, or search engine optimization (SEO). We bet DM lives and dies by word-of-mouth. Since the Internet is a vast casino, we recommend hedging your e-commerce bets with content, SEO, paid search, and social media. And if you can only pick two, go with content and paid search initially. You can grow out of paid search once you know what works...maybe.

Image Copy Consistency

Deplace walks their talk. Their website looks like how they live, work, and believe.

We're a story of an engagement, which looks at the urban and outdoor world with a common vision.
Deplace Maision About

DM matches their copy with team members staring intensely at visitors for perfect copywriting and image consistency. Mouse over the underlined URBAN for a funny easter egg.



Deplace Maison founder Aldo image

Mobile First

We talk mobile-first web design, but Deplace Maison lives it. Their site works much better on mobile. I had to grab my iPad out of frustration. Viewing DM's pages with "view source" shows miles and miles of script. That's one reason SEO is not a priority. Another reason SEO doesn't seem to matter is their weak titles. DM may sell more with less script, better organic SEO, and a more friendly desktop site, but then the site wouldn't be so crazy, frustratingly them. We aren't sure selling more is essential either. On balance, we say any e-commerce team should steal four to four and a half of these Deplace Maison web design tips.

Resources

Deplace Maison

Question

How did you create consistency between your website's copywriting and images?

e: martin (at) martinwescottsmith.com