Case Study: How Research Shaped Merrick’s Website Redevelopment

How can customer research inform a successful website redevelopment?

Customer research can help a business redevelop its website around the information, priorities and experiences that matter most to its audience. For Merrick, Kinetic combined primary research with website strategy, design and development to create a stronger digital experience. New photography and video also helped bring the brand and its work to life, making the website redevelopment part of a broader integrated marketing effort.

Results at a Glance

Since the redesigned Merrick website launched on April 20, 2026:

• 22,458 Homepage sessions after launch
• +100.6% Homepage sessions compared with the pre-launch period
• +149.9% Homepage sessions compared with the same period last year

The initial launch surge also translated into sustained traffic growth. During the most recent four weeks measured, homepage traffic averaged 714 sessions per week, remaining above both the pre-launch baseline of 661 sessions per week and the prior-year average of 691 sessions per week.

The Challenge: Build From Insight, Not Assumptions

A website redevelopment can easily begin with questions about colors, layouts and functionality. But those decisions are much more effective when they follow a more important question: What does the audience actually need from the website?

For Merrick, the opportunity extended beyond creating a more modern site. The website needed to communicate a complex organization and extensive range of capabilities while making it easier for visitors to understand Merrick, explore relevant services and see the experience behind its work.

Rather than beginning with design concepts, Kinetic began by building a stronger understanding of Merrick’s audiences.

Starting With Primary Research

Kinetic conducted primary research to gather direct input and better understand how Merrick was perceived, what audiences valued and what information mattered most when evaluating the company.

That research gave the project team a perspective that could not come from internal discussions alone. Instead of structuring the new website entirely around how the organization viewed itself, the findings helped Kinetic consider the experience from the customer’s point of view.

Those insights informed decisions throughout the website redesign strategy, including content priorities, messaging, navigation and the overall user experience.

Turning Research Into Website Strategy

With research as a starting point, Kinetic could approach the website redevelopment as a business and communications challenge rather than simply a visual redesign.

The new website needed to help visitors quickly understand Merrick’s capabilities while still providing pathways into the depth of information required by different audiences. That meant considering how services were organized, what information deserved greater prominence and how users could move intuitively from high-level information into specific areas of expertise.

Research and strategy informed the site’s:

• Information architecture and navigation
• Messaging and content priorities
• Service and market presentation
• Calls to action and user pathways
• Page hierarchy and user experience
• Search visibility and content structure

The goal was not simply to put existing information into a new design. It was to rethink how the website could better connect Merrick’s business with the people it needed to reach.

Creating a Digital Experience That Looks Like Merrick

Strategy also carried through the visual experience.

Rather than relying heavily on generic stock imagery, Kinetic developed original photography that could authentically represent Merrick’s people, work and culture. Photography was planned as part of the larger website effort so images could serve a clear purpose within the design and content.

Video added another dimension, giving Merrick an opportunity to communicate its story through movement, voice and real-world context.

Producing these assets alongside the website helped create consistency between the messages visitors read and the organization they saw on screen. The creative work was not added after the site was designed. It was developed to support the experience from the beginning.

Bringing Strategy, Creative and Development Together

The completed B2B website redevelopment brought several disciplines together within one coordinated effort: primary research, strategy, content, UX, design, custom website development, photography and video.

That integration mattered.

Research informed what needed to be communicated. Strategy determined how those priorities should translate to the website. Design and development created the experience. Photography and video gave Merrick original assets capable of supporting that experience.

Instead of approaching those needs as separate assignments, Kinetic was able to connect each phase around a common objective.

The website was designed to do more than look different. It gives Merrick a digital platform built around its audiences, business priorities and long-term marketing needs.

Website Relaunch Drives Sustained Traffic Growth

The early results reinforce the value of that integrated approach.

During the post-launch period, Merrick recorded 22,458 homepage sessions, an increase of 100.6% compared with the pre-launch period and 149.9% compared with the same weeks the previous year.

Traffic was highest in the first several weeks following launch, peaking at 3,331 homepage sessions in week 4. More importantly, performance did not simply return to its previous level after the initial surge.

During the most recent four weeks measured, homepage traffic averaged 714 sessions per week, remaining above both the pre-launch baseline of approximately 661 sessions per week and the prior-year average of 691 sessions per week.

The results point to more than short-term interest around the launch. They show a sustained increase in traffic to Merrick’s primary digital entry point, giving more visitors an opportunity to explore the firm’s services, markets, projects and expertise.

A Website Is Stronger When the Strategy Comes First

Merrick’s redevelopment illustrates why an effective website project should begin well before the first design concept.

Primary research helped establish what mattered to Merrick’s audiences. Those insights shaped the website strategy and provided direction for content, UX, design and development. Original photography and video then helped translate that strategy into a digital experience grounded in Merrick’s actual people and work.

For organizations considering a corporate website redesign, that sequence can make an important difference.

Start with the business. Understand the audience. Build the strategy. Then determine what the website needs to become.

See the full case study here!

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