Why Are Case Studies Important?

The truth is, most potential clients don't care that much about your background, whether you have a university degree or not, or even where you live. 

They want to see the goods, AKA your work. 

The old adage that “A picture tells a thousand words” is very true in the world of design, and what’s even truer is that screenshots of your past work tell even more! 

When clients see your work, they are getting a taste of what you’re capable of, which as you can imagine, is very important when you’re asking them to invest thousands of dollars in web design. 

Case studies help them quickly and easily imagine themselves as your client.

The more specific you can be in niching down your case studies to relate to your dream client, the better. So if you're targeting lawn care businesses, make sure you have excellent case studies featuring lawn care businesses. And so on and so forth for any other industry or niche. 

Case studies are also a great way to start driving traffic to your website. Bonus points if you use SEO optimised keywords in your case studies. You can also link to your case studies in your social media profiles by reusing snippets of the case study images on sites like Behance, LinkedIn or Instagram to drive people to your site to see more. 

Explore Good Examples of Case Studies

Before we jump in, let's take a look at a few examples of case studies and see if we can identify some common themes to carry with us as we put together our own:

1. Not Another - Total Mortgages - Link
2. Made Studio - Doe Donuts - Link
3. Siterise Creative - Bright As - Link

Structure of a Compelling Case Study

Now that we have an idea of what good case studies look like, let’s break down exactly what we need to include in our case studies:

• Project Overview: Briefly introduce the client and the problem they faced. This can be bullet points, e.g. Client Name, Type of work delivered, platform used, one sentence summary of the case study. Type of work delivered (“branding”, “web design” “web development”) can be good for SEO to have these keywords all of your site and case study pages. Also - make sure to anonymise the client’s name if that is part of your agreement with the client, and leave off any identifiable information or sensitive information.
• Objectives: Now this is where you can be a little dramatic with it. Think of your case study as a fairytale. Your client is the damsel in distress and you are the hero there to save them. What was the state of your client’s website when they came to you - was it loading slowly, failing all SEO tests or breaking every other day? Include the gory details so anyone reading can get in the shoes of your client to understand how you were their hero who saved the day.
• "What We Did" Section: This is where you detail your process and tell how you swooped in and saved the day. The more you can include details, like actual prototype drawings, research notes or details on how you solved the client’s problem, the better. Be sure to include lots of visuals, like screenshots and mockups of your work in action. This helps anyone reading your case study see what you are capable of without having to click off to an external site.
• Results: Share quantifiable results (e.g., traffic increase, conversion rates) to demonstrate impact. Use before-and-after comparisons when possible; good examples of this are Google PageSpeed results.
• Client Testimonial: This is the cherry on top of any case study - a quote from the client that highlights their satisfaction and happiness working with you.

What I Use to Make Case Studies

• Canva: Canva has some great mockups you can easily use to create beautiful case study imagery. Most likely will need a paid account.
• Mockup World: Has awesome free mockups you can use commercially (just double check the licence info). You will probably need Photshop to create these mockups, however.
• Screenshots: When all else fails, just use screenshots of your work!
• ChatGPT: When I’m writing the bulk of the content for my case studies, I usually brain dump all of the information about the case study, a sort of stream of consciousness where I write out everything there is to know about the case study. Then I ask ChatGPT to edit it for grammar and flow in my tone of voice. This is usually enough to get my case study 75% of the way there. 
• VA: Once you have a system you like, case study content creation can be a great task for a VA to take on. You can ask them to create the case study writeup, mockups, publish it on your site and create supporting social media posts. An easy way to get back more time in your day!

Some Pitfalls to Watch Out for When Creating Case Studies

1. Client Permission: Make sure you have the client’s permission. Don't disclose anything that jeopardises any NDA you signed. Have the client sign off on the case study before publishing. This is also a great opportunity to ask for a testimonial.
2. Linking to the Live Site: For web design case studies, one problem I’ve seen agency owners run into is they link to the live site in their case study. As I mentioned above, a link to the site is crucial for showcasing your work. But whether or not that link is a LIVE link is key. Because we all know how clients can be - you hand them the keys to the shiny new site and they jump in and immediately break it and it end up looking nothing like the beautiful site you handed off. This is why I recommend cloning the site as a backup in your account and linking to this backup. This way you can show off the site exactly as you designed it, with no risk of it changing over time. 
3. Avoid Wordiness: Don’t get too wordy. Stick to bullet points highlighting the project's key aspects, deliverables, and be sure to throw in lots of images showcasing your work.
4. Post Your Projects: It can be challenging to keep up with creating case study content while powering through client projects, but it's crucial for keeping your pipeline full. Set aside one day a month to work on case study content or repurpose old case studies for your business on social media, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.

Closing Thoughts

As you start creating your case studies for your portfolio, remember there is no such thing as a perfect case study. The only bad case study is the one you don’t put on your website.. Plus, your case studies can and will evolve as your skills improve and as you narrow down your niche. So when in doubt, put up that case study and show off your hard work.

And remember—the first step toward a captivating case study is simply starting. If you have a case study you'd like a second pair of eyes on, I'd be happy to review it. Just tag me in the Facebook group.

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