From product showcase to collaborative project tool
Client
PRMF
Country
United Kingdom
Disciplines
Digital Design
Digital Development
Sector
Manufacturing & Industrial
Paula Rosa Manhattan is a Sussex-based kitchen manufacturer with roots stretching back to 1946 and a wider manufacturing heritage dating to 1929 through the Ballingslöv International Group. Today, PRMF supplies and installs fitted kitchens for many of the UK’s leading housebuilders, as well as high-rise developers and social and affordable housing providers, combining UK manufacturing with nationwide delivery, installation and project support.
The brief
PRMF asked BakerWilcox to design and build a new website that would showcase the company, its capabilities and its extensive kitchen and bedroom ranges to housebuilding and development clients. The commission included the complete user journey, UX and UI design, custom development and a secure account area through which clients could work more closely with the PRMF team on their individual projects.
Customised experience for different user groups
The execution
We began by mapping the different journeys through the site, recognising that PRMF’s audiences arrive with very different needs. Some are researching the company and its manufacturing capability, while others are comparing kitchen ranges, finishes, handles, worktops and appliances for a live development. The structure was therefore designed to move naturally from broad brand and sector information into detailed product exploration. PRMF currently presents 13 kitchen ranges online, supported by extensive choices across associated components and finishes.
The product catalogue became a major focus of the experience. Rather than treating the site as a conventional corporate brochure, we created a highly visual showcase that allows housebuilding clients to explore ranges, compare options and understand how individual components can work together. Clear hierarchy, generous imagery and carefully structured product data help turn a complex specification process into something much easier to navigate.
PRMF has an extensive product range, but the real challenge was not simply to put that range online. It was to understand how housebuilders actually move from inspiration to specification and then build the digital experience around that journey. Creating the platform specifically for PRMF meant we could make the website work as part of the client relationship, not just as a shop window.
RICHARD BAKER
A detailed navigation system was developed to simplify the user journey around the site
A secure client account extends that experience beyond browsing. Housebuilding clients can access their own area, create and manage moodboards and use the platform as part of an ongoing conversation with the PRMF team around suggested looks and themes for individual developments. The live site includes dedicated account, moodboard and visualiser functionality, turning it into a working project tool as well as a public-facing showcase.
Because the platform was built specifically around PRMF’s business, we were able to shape the functionality, content structure and user experience around its actual workflows rather than asking the business to adapt to a predetermined system. That gives the site room to accommodate detailed product relationships, account tools and future functionality while keeping the experience coherent and intuitive.
The result is a digital platform that reflects the scale and experience of PRMF’s business while making its considerable product range easier to explore, specify and discuss. It supports both the early inspiration stage and the practical realities of working with clients on large residential developments, creating a far more useful relationship between website, sales team and customer.
A clean custom codebase gives us complete control over how the platform behaves, performs and evolves. By building only what the business actually needs, we can keep the architecture lean, reduce unnecessary complexity and create a more maintainable foundation for future functionality, integrations and growth.
MARCUS ZANONA