Educate Yourself: Revolutionizing Online Book Shopping in Kenya
Educate Yourself LTD is Kenya’s premier online bookstore, offering everything from academic textbooks to best-selling fiction and children’s titles. With an ever-expanding catalog and a commitment to affordability, they bridge the gap between readers and the books they love—anytime, anywhere.
// App Industry
Online Book Store
// Platforms
WordPress
Challenges
- Discoverability: Users struggled to find the right titles quickly among thousands of listings.
- Conversion Friction: A cumbersome checkout flow and limited payment options led to abandoned carts.
- Scalability: High-traffic peaks during new releases and academic seasons risked site slowdowns and downtime.
Our Solution
A. Intuitive UI & Advanced Search
- Designed a clean, mobile-first interface with clear category filters and predictive search to help readers discover new and relevant titles in seconds.
- Implemented faceted navigation—by genre, author, price range and format—to guide browsing without overwhelm.
B. Robust E-Commerce Engine
- Integrated WooCommerce for a secure, multi-gateway checkout supporting M-Pesa, credit cards, and mobile wallets.
- Added one-click order tracking and real-time stock updates so customers always know exactly when—and if—their books will ship.
C. Scalable Backend Infrastructure
- Built on WordPress with optimized caching layers to handle traffic spikes of up to 10,000 concurrent users.
- Employed a CDN and database indexing to keep search results instantaneous, even during Kenya’s busy exam season.
Key Features & Benefits
- Lightning-Fast Search — 30% reduction in time-to-first-result, keeping readers engaged.
- Streamlined Checkout — 40% fewer abandoned carts through flexible, trusted payment options.
- Real-Time Inventory — Accurate stock levels and delivery estimates boost purchase confidence.
- Responsive Design — Seamless browsing on smartphones, tablets, and desktops—no pinching or zooming required.
Technologies We Used
Web Development
WordPress
Ecommerce
Woocommerce
Design Elements
- Typography: Sora for friendly, approachable headings; Open Sans for clean, readable body text
- Color Palette:
- Primary: Deep Indigo (#2C3E50)
- Accent: Vibrant Coral (#E94E77)
- Neutrals: Soft White (#F9F9F9) & Warm Gray (#BDC3C7)
- UI Patterns: Card-based book previews; sticky “Add to Cart” footer on mobile; breadcrumb trails for easy back-tracking
Impact
- Sales Uplift: 55% increase in monthly transactions within three months of launch.
- Engagement Boost: Average session duration rose by 45%, as readers explored more titles per visit.
- Reliability: 99.9% uptime even during peak academic and holiday seasons.