Atomicdust Rolls Out a New Website for Gateway BMW
Even as we’ve grown at Atomicdust, we still get the pleasure of working with our friends, including Bob Honz and the rest of the guys behind local motorcycle dealership Gateway BMW. Our latest collaboration is a new website unlike anything else in the industry.
At the start of the project, our clients had a few goals in mind for the new site: Make it cool. (No pressure.) And represent what to expect when you set foot inside their dealership.
If you’ve never been, you instantly get the feeling that everyone at Gateway BMW is friendly, helpful, down to earth and truly passionate about motorcycles. With those goals in mind, we got to work.
When it comes to car and motorcycle dealerships, the bar is pretty low for websites. We’ve come to expect a take on a generic template without much personality. For Gateway BMW, we had to break free from that mold. So we took the spirit of their dealership and turned it into a voice that their employees could rally around – and customers could truly understand. It’s straightforward, helpful and embodies the feelings and attitudes of the entire dealership.
As we started designing, we wanted to build on something that would stay true to the BMW Motorrad brand. The distinctive black and blue color palette, bold right angles and generous clear space formed the basis for the site. From there, we took full advantage of professional, high-quality photos every dealership has the freedom to use from BMW corporate. With an endless amount of lifestyle, action and product shots, we had all the elements to build something exciting. Something that makes the motorcycles – and their riders – the heroes of the site.
At first, blazing a new trail and coding up the sales functionality into their new site sounded like a great idea. While there are plenty of ways to build eCommerce into a site like this, Gateway BMW already has years of success selling parts and gear internationally on eBay. In reality, it didn’t make sense for the Gateway team to learn a new system – and you really can’t beat the number of potential customers on trusty, old eBay. So we happily featured links to their store
One of the things that makes Gateway BMW so unique is that they’re really involved in the motorcycling community. And that’s part of the experience we wanted to convey. Throughout the site, we made a place to feature some of the things that really set the dealership apart.
Huge callouts help users stay up to date on the events Gateway BMW has become known for: open houses and group rides across the country. And we give visitors the opportunity to “Ask Tom” questions about their classic bikes – showcasing the expertise of one of the most experienced service technicians in the business, Tom Donovan.
As it all came together, we created something completely out of the ordinary for our friends at Gateway BMW. The final build exceeded their goals – and let us shake up the world of dealership websites. To see the final product in action (or pick up a new set of wheels), visit their brand-new site.
