A Scalable Platform for B2B and DTC Transformation
XPEL offers a comprehensive array of protection films and coatings for automotive, watercraft, home, and office. The company sells products through independent installers, dealerships, OEMs, and DTC channels.
Challenge
XPEL approached ZaneRay with the need to overhaul its existing website, which struggled to effectively engage their broad B2B and DTC audiences. The primary challenge was to modernize their technology stack and create a scalable platform that could support future international expansions while delivering a seamless, optimized user experience for both consumers and business clients.
A central focus was to dramatically increase leads for the installer network and XPEL-owned shops, driving product sales and boosting demand for installations. Additionally, XPEL sought to raise brand awareness among 3rd-party installers and consumers across new sectors, including marine and aircraft, to encourage the adoption of XPEL solutions.
They also required a CMS that enabled efficient management of content relationships between product data and digital assets, with native integration to Bynder for centralizing brand assets in a digital asset manager. Finally, XPEL sought to revamp their DTC store through a BigCommerce integration and by leveraging best practices from the online retail industry to enhance the overall shopping experience.
Approach
ZaneRay built a robust headless platform powered by Contentstack, BigCommerce, and Bynder, that supports localized content for international expansion while allowing efficient content and media asset management for the XPEL team. ZaneRay’s engineering team integrated installer location data into the website through XPEL’s proprietary B2B DAP program leveraging API Endpoints to create a robust map experience that allows users to find XPEL installers in their local area. SEO was also improved across the site by introducing Google structured data, ensuring strong search visibility. This headless architecture also leveraged a scalable, composable design system to create an elevated user experience focused on addressing the needs of XPEL’s diverse customer base.
ZaneRay has been an invaluable partner in bringing our new website to life. Their team took the time to understand our brand, goals, and customers, delivering a website that is not only visually stunning but also highly functional. Their expertise and strategic approach have significantly impacted our digital presence, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results.
Flexible Design System with a New Identity
Following XPEL’s recent rebrand, the new brand identity was integrated into a flexible, modular design system. Featuring a comprehensive reusable component library, the system was built for scalability, ensuring it could evolve alongside both current and future content needs. The visual language was carefully crafted to reflect the brand’s core values – enhance appearance and performance. Sleek animations were integrated across the component library to reinforce the brand’s visual identity, embodying a harmonious blend of technology and lifestyle.
A Navigation Optimized for Diverse Audiences
The old navigation blurred the lines between content for DTC and B2B audiences, making it challenging for users to find relevant information. A new navigation experience was created that addresses this by clearly separating the shopping journey for consumer products from the content aimed at independent installers, dealerships, OEMs, and consumers seeking to learn about professional installation services. This streamlined approach ensures each audience can easily locate and access content that serves their specific needs.
Installer Locator
The installer locator is the primary source of customer leads for the installation of XPELs protection product lines across automotive, marine, home, and aircraft. The previous installer locator was an uninspired list of installers by location and did not allow users to understand what coverage type each installer specialized in.
An elevated map-based experience was created that allows users to search for installers by location, see the distance from their location, and filter by products and coverage type. This map experience enables users to pan or zoom the map to see installers worldwide while maintaining the ability to filter by location if desired. In collaboration with XPEL's DAP engineering team, their internal API was leveraged to integrate installer data into a custom Google map, giving XPEL full control and automated updates to installer data through their internal systems while maintaining an elevated map-based installer search experience.
Showcasing XPEL Products with Clarity
A challenge to overcome in the site redesign was effectively showcasing XPEL’s clear protection products in a digital format. To address this, we reimagined the product pages for professional installation of XPEL’s entire protection line, including protection films, window films, and ceramic coatings. These pages utilize the component library to create a media-rich experience featuring product benefits, educational content, and related aftercare products from the online store. Integrating video content was essential for demonstrating installation, explaining benefits, and showcasing the applied products across various coverage types.
Targeted Content for Professional Sectors
Targeted lead generation landing pages were developed for each of XPEL’s distinct B2B audiences, segmented by coverage type—automotive, marine, and home and office. Since XPEL’s protection products offer specialized benefits and training programs for each application, it was important to tailor the content to meet the specific needs of each professional.
Improved Product Merchandising
Product listing pages were introduced with a well-structured category taxonomy and robust filtering optimized for mobile, making it easy for users to browse products by size and coverage application. The product detail pages allow sections from the component library to be added, providing opportunities to showcase branded content, specifications and technical details, and product education.
A Platform for Brand Engagement and Education
The reimagined blog serves as an elevated platform for the brand to share community events coverage, product education, and company updates. These pages offer a flexible framework to highlight photography and products along with storytelling content.
Wrapping up!
The primary goal of the new XPEL site was to elevate the customer experience across all audiences, aligning with the premium quality of the brand and its services. The redesigned site empowers the marketing and sales teams with a flexible foundation, enabling them to effortlessly create and manage tailored customer experiences—without relying on developers. With intuitive navigation, engaging educational content, and strong brand storytelling, the XPEL team now has the tools to exceed customer expectations and consistently deliver the exceptional experience the brand is known for.
