The 20th edition of the Irish Digital Media Awards is on the horizon, and for the second year running, WONDR proudly sponsor the Best Brand award.

The ‘Best Brand’ Award is a celebration of innovative brand identities that seamlessly weave into every aspect of a business.

At WONDR, we are advocates of the power of branding. We believe that a well-crafted and integrated brand can be a game-changer for any business.

Our approach is rooted in innovation, as we create immersive and interactive experiences that enable brands to forge genuine connections with their audience and surpass their business goals. Sponsoring the Best Brand award is our way of showing support for brands that are excelling in this area.

We eagerly anticipate the upcoming Digital Media Award Gala scheduled for Friday, September 29th, at the Clayton Hotel, where the deserving winners will be revealed.

WONDR were a sponsor at DE{CODE}, WP Engine’s Virtual Developer Conference, which took place on 23/24 March 2023.

Over 4,000 attendees from across the globe comprised of developers, designers, marketers, and other tech enthusiasts attended the event to learn about the latest trends and technologies in the WordPress ecosystem.

Here’s our takeouts from the event:

Technology is shaping the power dynamics

One of the most discussed topics at the conference was ‘how technology has shaped the power dynamics between designers, developers, and marketers’. Speakers shared insights into how these roles have evolved over time, and how they are now collaborating more closely than ever before to create successful websites and digital experiences.

WordPress’s latest advancements in low-code/no-code solutions through the WordPress Block Editor and Full Site Editing provide endless possibilities for our clients. We use this for many of our client deliveries as it allows for a faster development cycle and enables many different resources to contribute to the project at the same time, especially as you move into content editorialisation & UAT.

We have built up a vast library of re-usable, open-source components that significantly speed up development and allow our team and clients to have greater insight into rapid branding and content editorialisation. We’re thrilled to leverage these capabilities to deliver even more innovative and effective digital products for our clients.

Maximizing Conversions to drive revenue

A key topic we passionately agree with it is how to increase revenue by simplifying payment processes, using smart reporting, and optimising websites for better performance.

• On average, a consumer makes 19 online transactions per year.
• Although standard credit cards may be the most user-friendly way to shop online, it could be beneficial to offer multiple payment methods in order to address the high percentage (70%) of online cart abandonment and to simplify the overall checkout process.
• Offering multiple payment methods can address high cart abandonment rates and make the checkout process easier.

Simplifying the cart system and minimising distractions can also help increase conversions by minimising distractions. Streamlining the checkout process, including payment options, can lead to a better user experience and reduce cart abandonment.

Going Headless

We were particularly interested in the headless WordPress discussions at the conference. Separating the back-end and front-end of a website with this approach offers numerous benefits, including superior flexibility, scalability, and performance. 

For developers focused on headless builds, an Atlas Sandbox account, Atlas Blueprints, and Faust.js all provide excellent opportunities for exploring the possibilities of headless WordPress. Using Frost and Genesis, builders that encapsulate Block Editor or Full Site Editing tools to support any project workflow, including patterns, themes, and custom blocks is small all the way up to enterprise solutions

We’re always looking for new ways to improve our workflows, and headless WordPress offers us a wealth of opportunities. We’ve delivered headless WordPress experience with tools like Atlas Sandbox account, Atlas Blueprints, and Faust.js, which provide an excellent starting point for developers focused on headless builds.

We discussed this topic in more detail as part of an expert panel at WP Engine’s Ignite event.

Robust Privacy & Security

The changing privacy landscape and its impact on websites was also a key topic at DE{CODE}. With updated regulations and user expectations, it is more important than ever for websites to prioritise privacy and security. 

Speakers discussed best practices for protecting user data and shared insights on how to comply with privacy regulations.

We find WP Engine to be a very robust and secure platform that we’ve successfully used for large fintech & insurance clients where security is paramount. Coupled with partners like Cloudflare we find WP Engine to provide excellent support and reassurance to any clients looking at it as alternative to other providers.

For more on the latest trends and technologies discussed at DE{CODE}, view here.

It’s official, we’re finalists for two awards at 26th annual Spider Awards.

We’re finalists in the category for Best Website for our work on Innovate Health TUH as well as finalists in the Best Large Agency category.

The Spider Awards recognise excellence in website design and development, so it’s an honour to be recognised among the top contenders in our field.

Innovate Health TUH

We’re finalists in the category of ‘Best Website’ for our recent collaboration with Innovate Health Tallaght University Hospital (TUH).

The new website was one of the key outputs from a more comprehensive strategic brand review exercise done in collaboration with Ringers, resulting in a new naming, position and brand identity.

We delivered a new website to support their plans to attract investors and partners in a competitive market which includes household names like the Mayo Clinic, Harvard Medical School and Stanford Medical School.

WONDR – A Digital Product Practice

We’re finalists in the ‘Best Large Agency‘ category. This award recognises the top agencies that have consistently delivered outstanding work across a variety of projects and clients.

At WONDR, we pride ourselves on our ability to work with a diverse range of clients and deliver results that matter for digital business owners.

It’s been a very successful year as we’ve collected 22 awards from some of the world’s most prestigious design award programmes for clients in fintech, banking, energy, blockchain, healthcare and ecommerce.

This year’s finalist announcement follows on our success in 2022, where WONDR collected a ‘Best in eCommerce’ Spiders Award for Likha Aesthetic Clinic.

We look forward to the awards ceremony, which takes place on March 3rd in the Mansion House, Dublin.

WONDR were guest speakers on the latest video series by Velocitize Magazine.

In the latest episode of Velocitize Talks, our very own Peter Delaney (Director of Product & Technology – WONDR) shares his thoughts on emerging trends in fintech, blockchain and e-commerce.

Velocitize Talks is an award-winning video series featuring agency innovators, digital disruptors and marketing leaders from around the world. The publication is delivered by WP Engine to provide insights into the shifting trends and innovative technologies defining digital marketing today.

Peter also joined an expert industry panel at WP Engine’s Ignite event in London to share his experience building cutting edge digital products on the world’s most trusted enterprise WordPress platform.

WONDR joined an expert industry panel to share our views on accelerating innovation at WP Engine’s Ignite event in London.

WP Engine welcomed top agencies and brands at the Londoner Hotel to showcase new product features and more specifically to discuss the possibilities of building cutting edge digital products on WP Engine, the world’s most trusted enterprise WordPress platform.

As part of the expert panel we shared insights on how our process has enabled brands such as 11Onze & Irish Heart Foundation to achieve incredible business results as well as being recognised for digital excellence by award programmes across the globe.

WONDR was represented by Director of Product, Peter Delaney, who also shared insights on how we have delivered headless solutions for clients and the opportunities and challenges this has brought. WONDR has developed a design led development process that enables brands to fast track digital transformation programmes.

At the event WONDR were also invited by WP Engine’s Velocitize Magazine to film video interviews sharing our predictions on the future of the industry, digital wallets & of course wordpress.

WP Engine  x  WONDR

WONDR is a trusted partner of WP Engine, the world’s most trusted enterprise WordPress platform that delivers stability, performance & security.

Over 1.5 million sites are now powered by WP Engine with approx 8% of all web users passing through a site using the platform.

Our recent work for 11Onze & Irish Heart Foundation have both been benchmarked by WP Engine as examples of global digital excellence on the platform.

Our collaboration with Aer Rianta International for the Loop Duty-Free has won a global Airport & Travel award for Best eCommerce.

The Loop won in the Best eCommerce category, with judges selecting it as a winner for the enhanced gift-with-purchase journey that increased conversions across the site.

About the Moodies

This is the 9th edition of Moodie Davitt Report International Awards, the prestigious annual awards spotlight digital, social media and marketing excellence across the travel retail, airport and other travel-related sectors.

Director of Development & Innovation at The Moodie Davitt Report, Mat Willey, further added…

“This culture of innovation clearly heightened during the pandemic, lends weight to hopes of a super-charged recovery in the next chapter of the travel retail evolution.”

We are proud to announce that our collaboration with Package Portal has won a global digital award for Best Services & Utilities App.

Web3 pioneers Package Portal won a rose gold Arcturus Award for ‘Best Services & Utilities App’ at the 2022 Vega Global Digital Awards.

This year the awards programmes had over 1,000 submissions from 20 countries worldwide. The International Awards Associate (IAA) organised the Vega Digital Awards to celebrate digital excellence worldwide, recognising the very best in Websites, Video, Mobile, Social, Animation, Marketing, and Podcasts.

The judging panel was comprised of 22 highly respected and experienced professional experts from 10 countries, who selected Package portal as a winner.

Pioneers in Web3 Technology

PackagePortal is an app that rewards online shoppers with cryptocurrency for confirming their deliveries and rating the experience. It enables brands and consumers to reconnect at the moment of delivery, with a Web3 platform that tokenizes user feedback for post-purchase engagement.

Shippers and shoppers can provide value to one another while cultivating better service and honest data from delivery partners. The app had around 8 million deliveries scanned and just over 1 million registered users at peak.

Package Portal tasked WONDR with re-designing the app to improve customer experience.

Global Recognition

This award is an important recognition for Package Portal which has pushed the boundaries of what is possible with Web3 technology and created a cult following amongst its users.

In addition to this award, Package Portal was a finalist at the prestigious UX Design Awards and published in their annual design journal. The brand is also a finalist for ‘Best App‘ at the IDI Awards 2022 run by the Institute of Designers Ireland.

WONDR is proud to be the winner of Best eCommerce Website at the 25th Annual Spider Awards.

The award recognised the beauty, uniqueness and quality of our delivery for Likha Aesthetic Clinic. This award-winning site has a rich immersive brand experience that was refined using AI testing tools during the design process.

As the longest-running digital awards programme in Ireland, the Spiders are dedicated to recognising companies and individuals delivering digital excellence.

WONDR was shortlisted for 3 awards and collected the prestigious award on the night for Best eCommerce Website in Ireland.

Serial Award Winner

This prestigious award follows on from Likha Aesthetic Clinic’s recent success at the international Vega Design Awards where it won best website in beauty & cosmetics.

LikhaAesthetic.ie has also picked up global award for ‘Mobile Excellence‘ and an Honorable Mention from Awwwards as well as a Special Kudos award from CSSDA.

Founded in 2019, the clinic has also won Best Aesthetic Clinic in Ireland two years in a row, as well as a Patient Service Award from What Clinic for outstanding customer reviews two years in a row.

WONDR are proud to share that 3 of our clients are finalists at the 25th Annual Spider Awards.

As the longest-running digital awards programme in Ireland, the Spiders are dedicated to recognising companies and individuals delivering digital excellence. 3 of WONDR’s most recent projects for KBC Bank Ireland, ESB Networks & Likha Aesthetic Clinic are now finalists at this year’s event.

The details on the finalists are as follows:

All award winners will be announced during the Gala Award Ceremony at the Mansion House, Dublin on 31st March 2022.

We’re shortlisted for 2 awards at Digital Business Ireland’s – National Digital Awards 2021.

Our own site wondr.io has been shortlisted for Best Professional Services Website, whilst our work for Likha Aesthetic Clinic has also been shortlisted for ‘Best Health, Beauty, Well-Being Website‘.

The awards recognise the very best of digital in Ireland and reward businesses, organisations, people and innovations.

👏🏼  We’re thankful for being shortlisted and we look forward to the event on the 23rd Feb 2022.

We’re proud to say that both nominated sites have also picked up global awards this year, so we’re 🤞🏽hoping to get some 🇮🇪 Irish recognition too.