Rebuilding the Oakland Furniture Website
A trust-first website revamp for a family-owned furniture store
CATEGORY
CASE STUDIES
DATE
FEBRUARY 2, 2026
Project Overview
Oakland Furniture is a family-owned furniture store in Oakland, Maine, serving the community since 1999. Their reputation locally is strong, built on pressure-free service, USA-made furniture options, free local delivery, and hands-on support that large retailers can’t match.
When Kelly Breton, owner of Oakland Furniture, reached out, she was candid: the existing website no longer reflected the business. The design felt outdated, navigation was difficult, and mobile usability was poor. She wanted a site she could confidently share—one that matched their updated branding and the trust they’ve earned over the years.
This was never an ecommerce project. The website’s job was to support real in-store conversations and drive high-intent actions: phone calls, directions requests, and showroom visits.
Engagement, Roles, and What Working With Us Looked Like
Oakland Furniture selected our subscription-based Out-of-the-Box Web Design package, built for small businesses that want a professional site with a clear process and ongoing support.
Siena (Client Relations) oversaw client operations and communication, keeping the project moving and making sure Kelly always knew what was happening and what came next.
Desmond (Head of Design) led and executed UX/UI strategy, the Squarespace 7.1 front-end build, conversion copywriting, and the site’s SEO structure.
The work followed the Out-of-the-Box flow end-to-end:
Phase 1: Onboarding + goals + constraints
Phase 2: Content intake and build (from scratch in Squarespace 7.1)
Phase 3: Feedback, revisions, and content consolidation
Phase 4: SEO foundation + launch prep + domain transfer and go-live
Ongoing: Support included with the subscription package
Discovery, Constraints & Strategy
Early discovery made several constraints clear:
Inventory changes frequently.
There is no online catalog or pricing.
Photography was limited.
The business relies on in-person guidance, not online checkout.
Instead of forcing a traditional product-browsing experience, we made a key strategic decision: build a guidance-driven, trust-first website that explains how Oakland Furniture works and encourages visitors to call or visit.
That decision shaped everything—navigation, homepage flow, category page templates, CTAs, and how we handled delivery/removal without making risky promises.
Sitemap & Navigation Design
During the build phase, we had to solve one big UX problem: customers want to “shop online,” but Oakland Furniture doesn’t operate that way—and trying to fake inventory would create constant maintenance and inaccurate expectations. So we designed navigation that helps people self-orient quickly, sets expectations clearly, and pushes the right next step: call or visit.
We built a lean sitemap that avoided unsupported pages and reduced decision fatigue while still matching how furniture shoppers think.
Primary Navigation:
Home
Furniture
Living Room
Bedroom & Mattresses
Dining
Office & Home Décor
Custom Furniture
Delivery & Removal
About
FAQ
Contact & Hours
Utility Actions (Header):
Call (Tap-To-Call On Mobile)
Get Directions
This structure kept mattresses visible without needing a standalone mattress page, avoided a Brands page (since inventory is rotating), and separated browsing links from action links so visitors always know what to do next.
Homepage Architecture
We treated the homepage like a first conversation in the showroom. Most visitors land there unsure of three things: what you carry, whether you’re trustworthy, and whether they’ll get pressured. So the homepage had to calm those concerns before it ever asked someone to browse categories.
We built the homepage in a specific order so trust comes first, reassurance comes second, and browsing comes third—especially for mobile users.
Final Homepage Flow:
Hero Section With Clear Value Proposition And Call / Directions CTAs
Brand Logo Strip For Early Credibility
“How We Help” Pressure-Free Process
Testimonials Carousel (Manually Curated)
“Why Oakland Furniture” Rational Trust Points
Stats Section Highlighting Longevity And Service Area
Shop By Category (Portfolio Block Used As Navigation)
FAQ Preview To Remove Objections Early
Footer With NAP, Hours, And Service Area
Implementation stayed fully native to Squarespace 7.1 (index sections, portfolio navigation, and a native testimonial carousel). That kept the site stable, easy to maintain, and easy to adjust over time.
Trust Signals & Call Accessibility
Because Oakland Furniture doesn’t sell online, the website needed to do two things exceptionally well: build immediate trust and make it effortless for visitors to call the store the moment they felt ready. To support both goals, we intentionally integrated two third-party tools from Elfsight as part of the overall UX and conversion strategy.
First, we implemented the Elfsight Logo Showcase widget to highlight the brands Oakland Furniture carries. This logo carousel appears directly beneath the homepage hero as an early credibility signal and is also used on each category page to show only the brands relevant to that specific furniture type. For visitors unfamiliar with the store, recognizable brand logos create instant familiarity and reassurance, especially in a market where shoppers often want confirmation before making the trip to a showroom.
Second, we embedded the Elfsight Click-to-Call widget across the entire site. This floating button appears consistently in the bottom-right corner on all pages, giving visitors an always-available path to contact the store. The placement is intentional: it stays out of the way while browsing, but becomes immediately accessible the moment someone decides to reach out. For a business built around conversation and service, reducing friction at that exact decision point matters.
Together, these tools reinforce the site’s core strategy. The logo showcases support trust and orientation, while the persistent click-to-call button supports fast, low-effort conversion. Both tools work quietly in the background, improving usability without changing how Oakland Furniture prefers to do business.
Category Page System (Core UX Win)
This is where the project either works or fails for a furniture store without online inventory. Oakland Furniture needed category pages for search visibility and user confidence, but listing products would be inaccurate the moment inventory changed.
So we designed a category page template that feels intentional, honest, and useful—without pretending to be ecommerce. The template sets expectations, shows real showroom context, gives visitors a sense of what they can find, and then nudges them toward the right next step.
Each Category Page Includes:
Clear Orientation Header
“What You’ll Find Here” Expectations Section
Image Gallery (4–8 Images)
Broad “Common Pieces” List
Category-Relevant Brand Logo Carousel
Helpful Notes Cards (Fit, Delivery, USA-Made)
Gentle Call-To-Action To Call Or Visit
From an execution standpoint, we built one category page completely, duplicated it for all categories, and only swapped content (text and images) while keeping structure locked. That made the system scalable, consistent, and low-maintenance—exactly what the business needs.
About Page Strategy
The About page wasn’t written to “sell.” It was written to reinforce trust after someone has already looked around the site and is deciding whether to call, visit, or leave. We also wanted it to support local credibility and help first-time visitors feel like they’re dealing with real people, not a faceless showroom.
We kept it grounded, readable, and calm—without repeating sections that already existed elsewhere on the site.
It focuses on:
The Company’s History And Local Roots
Ownership And Leadership
Values And Approach
Community Presence
A Soft CTA Toward Contact Or Visiting
We intentionally avoided duplicating “How We Help” and “Why Us” blocks since those were already handled on the homepage and category pages.
Delivery & Removal Page
Delivery and removal are major reasons people choose Oakland Furniture over big-box stores. They’re also high-risk to explain publicly if details vary or past marketing language created expectations (like “one-day delivery”).
So we treated this page like an objection-handling page: clear enough to build confidence, conservative enough to avoid liability, and structured so a visitor knows the next step is a phone call for specifics.
Delivery Page Structure:
Intro / Reassurance
Delivery Options Cards
Free Local Delivery
Statewide Delivery
Expedited / One-Day (When Available)
Support Services Cards
Furniture Removal
Setup & Placement
Scheduling / Coordination Notes
Call-First CTA
We avoided pricing, guarantees, and timelines. The page sets expectations and pushes details into a real conversation—exactly where Oakland Furniture is strongest.
Conversion Copywriting & Brand Voice
We wrote the site like a good salesperson would speak in the store: helpful, calm, and confident—without pressure. Furniture buyers often fear being pushed, and they have predictable concerns around delivery, removal, comfort, and “am I wasting my time by visiting?”
So the copy does three things consistently:
Gives Permission To Browse Without Pressure
Removes Objections Early (Especially Delivery/Removal)
Makes The Next Step Obvious (Call Or Visit)
We also integrated their slogan, “Nobody Does It Better!”, as a brand signal—not a repeating catchphrase. The goal was to honor the business’s identity while keeping the tone professional and believable.
SEO & AI Visibility (Pre-Launch Foundation)
SEO and AI-readiness weren’t bolted on at the end. They were shaped by the same core strategy: don’t pretend to be ecommerce—build strong structure that search engines and AI systems can interpret accurately.
Then in Phase 4, we formalized the foundation with metadata, internal logic, and schema choices that fit Squarespace 7.1 safely.
What We Did:
Positioned The Homepage As The Entity And Trust Anchor (Not A Category Ranking Page)
Built Category Pages Around Search Intent Without Inventory Claims
Structured The About Page For Legitimacy, Locality, And Continuity
Wrote FAQs In The Same Language Customers Actually Use
Kept Internal Linking Practical And Non-Forced
Schema Strategy:
Implemented FAQ Page Schema Where Squarespace Doesn’t Provide It
Avoided Injecting Local Business Schema To Prevent Conflicts With Squarespace Defaults
This approach kept the site compatible, conservative, and machine-readable without turning the copy into keyword stuffing.
Final Outcome
By launch, Oakland Furniture had a website they were proud to share. More importantly, Kelly had a system she could build on over time—one that supports how the business actually operates today, while leaving room for future initiatives like expanded content, promotions, deeper galleries, or even ecommerce if they ever choose to go that direction. The comparison below shows how the new site clarified navigation, improved mobile usability, and brought the brand in line with how Oakland Furniture actually operates.
The new site reflects the credibility Oakland Furniture has earned since 1999. It’s calm, easy to navigate, and designed to turn first-time visitors into phone calls and showroom visits without pressure.
You can view the finished site at https://www.oaklandfurniture.net. Oakland Furniture has built real trust in their community through steady service and follow-through, and the website now carries that same credibility online.
Thinking About a Website Refresh?
If this project sparked ideas for your own site, we’d be glad to talk it through with you. Whether your website feels outdated, hard to manage, or no longer reflects how your business actually works, we can help you sort out what needs fixing—and what doesn’t.
Reach out and tell us a bit about your project. We’ll walk through your goals, your constraints, and what a realistic path forward looks like.
