Interloper, Inc.

Three practices for businesses that would rather outsource the web

Interloper, Inc. builds websites, online stores and the promotion around them for companies that prefer to hand the technical work to someone else. The agency organizes its talent pool into three practices: design, development and promotion. Its reasoning is that each depends on the others. Good design establishes credibility and meets the expectations of the customers a business wants to attract, standards-based code keeps a site running smoothly, and neither does much good unless traffic is generated.

Design that fits the product

The agency's case studies show how it adapts to the sector. For a high-end beauty product, it says, layout, color and subtlety of design deserve special attention, since the buyers are sensitive to polish. A salon owner wanted a striking site with online booking and a blog for tips and techniques, and the agency designed and built it to order. A specialist retailer of premium audio equipment did not want a conventional shop because it sells in a consultative style, so the site was shaped to represent the brands it carries and to invite conversation.

Online stores of different sizes

The agency argues that not every shop needs tens of thousands of products, and describes a small-shop ecommerce strategy for owners who worry that a modest catalog will look bare. For a distributor of shipping boxes and supplies, it built a no-frills ordering system for customers who already know what they need. A furniture store that takes donated pieces and passes them on to people in need received an ecommerce site as well. In another project a large coffee bean and equipment distributor asked it to revamp a Magento platform, aiming for a more informative site for consumers and better reporting for the company. A computer hardware seller wanted a configurator so that customers could explore options without phoning staff with every question.

Content, blogs and marketplaces

Promotion work includes blogs, which the agency treats as a marketing and communication tool to be planned carefully rather than started casually, and ecommerce sites where content and products are woven together for better search results. It built a curated parenting blog and a site for a writing coach. The agency also lists eBay product data entry among its services, helping sellers get their items listed so that buyers can find them on the marketplace.