House Plan-IT for HGTV

Client

Zeekee Interactive on behalf of HGTV, developing Houseplanit.com

Challenge/Goal

In 2011, Zeekee Interactive approached Foonster LLC with an ambitious task on behalf of HGTV. The goal was to design an innovative platform, Houseplanit.com, that would redefine the home plan selling market by offering users a more engaging, intuitive experience and delivering thousands of professional home designs at their fingertips.

HGTV aimed to position Houseplanit.com as a central hub for home designers and architects to showcase their plans, making it easy for homeowners to browse and purchase unique home designs. This vision required a seamless user experience, a highly optimized frontend, and an administration system that would allow designers to efficiently manage and publish new plans on the site.

Key Project Objectives

• Build a user-friendly, visually appealing site to browse and purchase home plans.
• Minimize reliance on jQuery to improve speed and responsiveness.
• Create a streamlined backend for efficient plan management by designers.
• Incorporate a secure and reliable checkout experience.

Solution

Over the course of eight years, from 2011 to 2019, Foonster LLC and Zeekee Interactive collaborated to bring this vision to life using a robust LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) with the Tyfoon application framework. This approach enabled Zeekee Interactive to provide HGTV with a scalable, high-performance site that supported the unique needs of Houseplanit.com.

Implementing the Tyfoon Framework

The Tyfoon framework was chosen for its flexibility and adaptability, allowing Foonster LLC to design a user-friendly and visually cohesive experience tailored specifically to Houseplanit.com’s needs. This setup allowed for a responsive interface that limited jQuery dependency, ensuring smooth and efficient performance across devices. Additionally, the custom backend administration tools enabled designers to manage and update plan content effortlessly.

Secure Ecommerce Integration with Authorize.net

In 2015, Foonster LLC integrated Authorize.net into the site, creating a secure ecommerce environment for transactions. This integration ensured that homeowners could purchase plans with confidence, benefiting from a secure and reliable checkout process that protected their payment information.

Results

By 2019, the collaboration between Zeekee Interactive, Foonster LLC, and HGTV resulted in a best-in-class platform that exceeded the original vision for Houseplanit.com. The platform delivered a smooth, intuitive experience for users while enabling efficient backend management for designers. The enhanced frontend performance and secure checkout drove higher user engagement, setting Houseplanit.com apart as a premier solution in the online home design industry.

Impact on User Experience

With minimal reliance on jQuery and a responsive, fast-loading frontend, Houseplanit.com provided users with an engaging experience across desktop and mobile devices. This responsive design, paired with the simplified checkout process, increased conversion rates and elevated customer satisfaction.

Benefits for Houseplanit.com's Designers

The custom administration tools empowered designers to independently manage and publish new plans without technical barriers. The simplified, intuitive backend provided by Tyfoon allowed the Houseplanit.com team to keep content up-to-date and maintain high standards of quality with ease.

Future Outlook

Houseplanit.com, supported by its strong, flexible foundation, is well-equipped for future growth. The secure and scalable framework ensures that it can adapt to market trends, continually providing a comprehensive platform for home plan discovery and purchase.