Lignum Vitae Solutions Website Redesign Case Study

Background

As the only company offering industrial bearings and hydropower solutions from lignum vitae wood at scale, Lignum Vitae Solutions occupies a unique space in the market. Their product is self-lubricating, renewable, and biodegradable, requiring only water to operate, a stark contrast to the oil-lubricated metallic or polymer composite bearings offered by their multi-billion dollar competitors.

The team at Lignum Vitae Solutions carries on a legacy stretching back over a century. Lignum vitae bearings have been used in hydro plants since the 1800s, with some installations still operating perfectly after more than 50 years. Despite Lignum Vitae Solutions’ size, they tackle massive projects, from servicing hydroelectric power plants to outfitting aircraft carriers, all while maintaining a hands-on, personal approach that their larger rivals can't match.

They are true experts with a superior product, but their digital presence wasn't telling that story.

The Challenge

A World-Class Product Undermined by an Outdated Digital Presence

Lignum Vitae Solutions’ real-world expertise was completely disconnected from their online performance. Their primary challenge was a significant digital gap between them and their key competitors. While a major competitor ranked for 319 keywords and attracted nearly 600 monthly visits, Lignum Vitae’s site was struggling, ranking for just 52 keywords and getting a fraction of their competitors’ website visits.

The core issues that needed to be addressed were clear:

An Outdated and Ineffective Website: The website was cluttered with excessive drop-downs and disorganized, repetitive content. It failed to project the quality and craftsmanship synonymous with their product.
A Lack of Brand Confidence: To compete for major contracts against their corporate rivals, Lignum Vitae Solutions recognized they needed to "look the part." Their website was not instilling the confidence required to win over serious industrial buyers.
Content and Conversion Deficiencies: Their technical audience of engineers, project managers, and CFOs needed data-backed content like case studies to make informed decisions. The old site lacked this crucial information, and worse, the Lignum Vitae team had no ability to edit or add new content themselves.
A Messaging Paradox: The site needed to clearly and concisely communicate the almost unbelievable longevity and durability of their wood-based product to a busy, skeptical audience.

Previous Lignum Vitae Solutions homepage

Our Solution

A Strategic Website Redesign Focused on Credibility and Conversion

Our goal was to build a digital platform that not only looked professional but also worked strategically to educate, persuade, and convert their ideal customers. We began not with design, but with discovery, performing a deep dive to establish ideal customer profiles and audit their existing online and offline content. This foundational work informed a complete overhaul of the site’s structure, content, and design.

Our multi-faceted solution included:

Strategic Content and Structure

We reorganized the website around core engagement areas: Home, Hydro, Marine, Gallery of Products, and Testimonials. Content was rewritten, expanded, and segmented by industry to speak directly to the specific pain points, regulations, and needs of each market. We made their superior value proposition – sustainability, durability, and performance – clear and upfront.

A Modern, Confident Design

To help them "look the part," we developed a clean, professional, and modern design. The visual identity blended natural tones (greens and browns) that honor their product's origin with the clean lines and strong typography of a confident corporate leader. The entire site was built with a responsive design to ensure a seamless experience for engineers accessing it from the field on mobile devices.

Empowering the Client with Technology

We transitioned their site to the WordPress Content Management System (CMS) and trained them to manage it, finally giving the Lignum Vitae team the power to update news, add testimonials, and post new case studies themselves. We integrated Google Analytics for performance tracking and provided comprehensive staff training to ensure they could confidently manage their new digital asset.

The Result

A Confident Digital Presence Driving High-Value Opportunities

The redesigned website immediately provided Lignum Vitae Solutions with the professional, data-backed digital presence necessary to compete on a larger stage. It closed the gap between their exceptional product and its online perception, transforming the website from a liability into their most powerful sales and credibility tool.

The new site delivered tangible results that aligned directly with their business objectives:

Enhanced Credibility and Trust: The modern, professional design, combined with prominent proof points like customer testimonials, NSF 61 certification, and partnership announcements, instills immediate confidence in serious industrial buyers.
Clear & Compelling Messaging: The website now effectively communicates Lignum Vitae’s key differentiators. It tells a compelling story about proven longevity, superior performance, and the critical advantage of sustainability in an era of tightening EPA regulations.
A Foundation for Growth and High-Value Sales: The website content is built to attract their ideal audience by focusing on what their customers value most: a reduction in downtime by at least 25%, significant improvements in operations, and lower total lifecycle costs. As a result, their website traffic has increased by over 4x.

Ultimately, the redesigned website empowered Lignum Vitae Solutions to confidently showcase their legacy of innovation and position themselves not as a small player, but as the premier choice for sustainable, long-lasting industrial solutions.