AMT Jamestown

AMT Jamestown is a leader in advanced manufacturing technology, processes, and systems. They provide comprehensive operational support for businesses at all stages of growth. They’ll work with businesses to improve workflow, implement or optimize their manufacturing practices, enhance their supply chain, develop rigorous quality and regulatory systems, and maximize products and formulations for long term success.

In short: They’re the experts who enable success for others.

But their website didn’t reflect that. At all.

So when Abby Zabrodsky, their Director of Business Development, reached out to me to build them a new website, I jumped at the chance. I was born and raised in Chautauqua County, and the opportunity to help a hometown business put their best foot forward was one I couldn’t resist.

Keep reading to see how it all came together!

The old website

Like a lot of small businesses, AMT Jamestown had an outdated website on a platform that was too complicated for them to update on their own. The information was outdated and the photos were low-quality and unrelated to their business. The site was no longer brand aligned and didn’t portray them as the experts they are.

Here’s a look at their old website home page so you can get a sense of where we started:

The web design process

Abby wanted a minimalist, one-page website with an ultra clean and straightforward design. She had recently rebranded AMT and came prepared with a sleek, modern logo and rich color palette.

I whipped up with a wording outline so she could fill in a few headings, paragraphs, and button labels. I also provided her with my favorite sources for downloading free, high-quality stock photos for the new site.

Simple designs don’t have to be boring! To amp it up a bit, I used black-and-white photos with a dark color wash and a subtle scroll animation to give the site a bit of depth and movement. Then, I paired simple white paragraph text with bold headings and colorful subheadings.

My favorite part of the new site is the main navigation. (Some folks call this the “tabs at the top.”) Because the site is a long, one-page scroll, it was important that visitors be able to quickly find the information they want. I added some mouse-hover effects to the navigation bar, then paired each link with an anchor on the page. Clicking on a link in the navigation bar scrolls the visitor right down to the section they’re looking for with a nice, smooth animation. Glorious!

To finish it off, I sprinkled in some custom code to create fun button hover effects and a few other bells-and-whistles.

Oh, and the site has a few hidden features that will help ensure AMT can use it for years to come. I designed a few hidden sections that they can “turn on” whenever they’re ready to showcase reviews and client logos.

Take a look at their new website home page!