WordPress Custom Template for Technology Company
Sumitomo electric Europe


Overview
We worked with Sumitomo Electric Lightwave on a successful website redesign. With the success of that project, stakeholders at Sumitomo Electric Europe approached us to redesign their website. They needed a site that could leverage elements from the previous WordPress design while incorporating adjustments to better serve a unique European market. Sumitomo Electric Europe sought a website that would align with its brand identity and product offerings, support multilingual access, and provide a seamless experience for its diverse customer base. Atlantic BT crafted a WordPress custom template to meet Sumitomo Electric Europe’s goals, from discovery through deployment, resulting in a robust, user-centered digital platform.
Our Process
Company Overview
Sumitomo Electric Europe Ltd., part of the Sumitomo Electric Group—a Fortune Global 500 company with over 280,000 employees across 40+ countries—provides advanced solutions in telecommunications, automotive, electronics, and energy sectors. Contributing to a global annual revenue of approximately ¥3 trillion (around $20 billion USD), Sumitomo Electric Europe delivers high-tech products like Celmet™ metal foam and Poreflon™ water treatment filters, which enhance efficiency in water and energy industries. Guided by the “Sumitomo Spirit” emphasizing integrity and sustainability, the company aligns its goals with broader societal benefit


The Ask
Having previously redesigned the Sumitomo Electric Lightwave website, the USA division of Sumitomo Corporation, Atlantic BT was approached by Sumitomo Electric Europe to leverage part of that WordPress design to refresh their own site. Sumitomo Europe aimed to reuse key design elements but needed adjustments to reflect the unique content and expanding needs of their regional operations. This included adapting the website to support a diverse European customer base with varying industry requirements. Atlantic BT’s task was to align the WordPress custom template’s structure and functionality with Sumitomo Electric Europe’s branding, specific products and to enhance user experience for targeted European users and industries.
Our WordPress Custom Template Process
Discovery
During the discovery phase, Atlantic BT conducted a series of workshops and collaborative sessions with Sumitomo Electric Europe’s product department heads to refine product categorization. Based on insights from these workshops, we restructured the site navigation, creating an intuitive layout to guide users seamlessly across the site. To further ensure clarity in content presentation, we developed page description diagrams, outlining content flow and hierarchy for each page before moving into design. This foundation set the stage for a user-friendly experience tailored to Sumitomo Electric Europe’s diverse audience.
Development
In the development phase of the WordPress custom template, Atlantic BT implemented several key features to enhance Sumitomo Electric Europe’s site functionality and accessibility. We created password-protected pages specifically for distributors, enabling secure access to sales information. To better serve Sumitomo’s diverse European clientele, we integrated the GTranslate plugin, allowing translation of the WordPress menu across multiple languages. We also utilized WooCommerce for streamlined product management and organization within the catalog. Additionally, we installed the User Role Editor plugin to control access levels, allowing Sumitomo employees to tailor content that the distributors access.

Design
During the design phase we completed Page Description Diagrams, Mockups, and a Site Structure & Mapping exercise. Since Sumitomo Europe wanted to base their general site design off of the Sumitomo Electric Lightwave look and feel, we primarily focused on crafting specific layouts unique to their own site, paying specific attention to product categorization, unique products and their requirements, and positioning themselves as a top competitor in their industry.