localsearch: relaunching a platform for SMEs in the digital world

Challenge

localsearch helps small and medium-sized companies be visible in the digital world. Its own online presence was no longer up to that ambition — and needed to take the step from a pure directory to a modern platform.

What was needed was a relaunch that combines a contemporary appearance with powerful technology: high usability, better findability and the ability to address a multilingual audience across Switzerland. At the same time, core functions such as job listings, customer centre and product enquiries had to work together smoothly.

Solution

At the centre stood an intuitive UI/UX, backed by powerful backend programming. In parallel, we consistently optimised the platform for search engines to increase visibility and reach.

A multilingual interface communicates seamlessly in German, French, Italian and English, making the platform usable for a broad audience. We completely redesigned the careers section and connected it via interfaces to recruiting systems, search engines and social networks to make hiring easier.

Through API integrations we connected the customer centre and brought frequent questions directly into the search results on the homepage. Tailored enquiry and contact forms ease the dialogue between companies and customers.

We reworked the news and media section both aesthetically and functionally and, with a thoroughly responsive design, ensured optimal display on all devices. The result is not a mere visual relaunch but a technically well-thought-out platform that supports growth and service quality alike.

Collaboration & delivery

A platform of this size lives from the connections beneath the surface. The real work lay less in the visible design than in the interfaces: job listings, customer centre and enquiry processes had to interact reliably with the systems behind them to turn a beautiful website into a working service.

The four languages were more than a translation. German, French, Italian and English serve different language regions in Switzerland, each with its own expectations. We built the platform so that content can be maintained consistently and works equally well in every language — a foundation that is indispensable for the Swiss market.

Together with Zimmermann Communications we tightly interlocked design and technology. For us, localsearch is an example of how we deliver platforms for established, demanding brands in Switzerland that bring reach, service quality and recruiting together under one roof. That a company from the Swisscom group stands behind it underlines the standard of stability and quality with which we approach such projects.

Result

An ageing website became a platform that brings together growth, findability and service quality.

localsearch can now present its products and services more clearly, address a four-language audience directly and answer customer concerns faster — a solid basis for further digital development.

The project is an example of how, together with partners, we deliver complex platforms for established Swiss brands.