Bortolotto Design Success Story

Create a design that would break the mold of standard Architecture websites

BORTOLOTTO Design Architect Inc. is an Ontario-based architectural and interior design firm. Specializing in public sector work, the award-winning firm has completed a growing portfolio of over 300 projects. Established in 1999, BORTOLOTTO has spent the last 25 years passionately committed to architecture that enhances your happiness, health and productivity.

Challenges

The primary challenge of this project was to create a clean, concise and sound interface that would accommodate a variety of users, allow for significant information to be shared and a complex design template that would easily integrate with WordPress CMS.

The site also required maximum content management functionality by multiple users, from managing the site’s project portfolio, blog and press and awards section, to simply adding and updating content, to editing and creating images at the individual user level.

Scope of Work

Goals

Understanding: The purpose of this project was to redesign the company website, to create a more dynamic and engaging portal that would showcase the firm’s growing portfolio of work and accomplishments.

The Purpose of Bortolotto’s Website: The firm’s website helps build credibility among potential clients, provides project and firm information to the media, and acts as an electronic portfolio showcasing the firm’s work.

Wireframes

Taking into consideration all the information to this point we wireframed a new structure that would build on the firms credibility with new and repeat clients. Provide a platform to better showcase the fill suite of services and projects of the firm. We re-structured the blog section, awards and projects to help improve the firms web presence and online marketing.

Design

The redeveloped website was designed with a simple, contemporary, fresh and creative look and feel. The BIG creative idea behind this website is the new graphics that incorporate the firms messaging – architecture that enhances your happiness, health and productivity. The new site also features an improved and intelligent navigation and content structure as well as an easy to maintain and simple projects page.

Strategic Goals Achieved

• Improved Brand Representation:

  • Clean, modern design aligned with Bortolotto’s architectural identity

  • Visual hierarchy optimized for showcasing architectural work

• Enhanced User Experience:

  • Mobile-first responsive design

  • Intuitive navigation and project filtering

  • Accessibility improvements following WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines

• Portfolio-Driven UX:

  • Dynamic portfolio presentation with custom post types

  • High-resolution visuals and fast-loading image galleries

  • Flexible backend for content managers to update project pages

• SEO & Performance:

  • PageSpeed scores: 90+ on desktop, 80+ on mobile

  • Technical SEO enhancements: schema markup, meta structure, image optimization

  • Clean URL structure, SEO-friendly headings and alt tags

• Content Optimization:

  • Refreshed project copy, leadership bios, and practice areas

  • New storytelling structure for case studies and thought leadership

Key Metrics & Outcomes (Post-Launch - First 3 Months)

• +67% increase in average session duration

• -42% decrease in bounce rate

• +38% increase in organic search traffic

• +55% increase in project page views

• +120% increase in mobile traffic engagement

Platform & Build

• CMS: WordPress (latest version)

• Hosting: Secure, scaleable high-performance managed Azure hosting

• Tech Stack: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, PHP, ACF Pro, custom theme development