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Solar Energy
Xolar

A comprehensive digital transformation: rebuilt main site for easy management, custom bid platform for sales operations, branded customer portal, and ongoing technical leadership.

Project Details

Duration
Ongoing Partnership
Team
Fractional CTO
Launch Date
2024
Location
Ontario, Canada
View Live Site

97

Desktop Score

20%

Lift in Conversions

3x

Faster Load

94

Mobile Score

xolar-final-website-tailwind-astro-2025.pages.dev
The Challenge

What We Were Up Against

Xolar came to us needing more than a website redesign. They needed a complete digital infrastructure overhaul and an ongoing technical partner to support their growing solar business.

Unmanageable WordPress Site

Their existing WordPress site was a nightmare to update. Simple content changes required developer help, and the bloated plugin stack made every update risky. The team avoided making changes entirely.

No Bid Management System

Sales reps were creating quotes and bids manually using spreadsheets and Word documents. No consistency, no tracking, and no way to analyze win rates or optimize pricing strategies.

No Customer Self-Service

Customers had no way to check project status, view documents, or track their solar installation progress. Every inquiry meant phone calls and emails, overwhelming the small team.

No Technical Leadership

As a solar company, they had no in-house technical expertise. Every tech decision was a gamble, vendors were hard to evaluate, and there was no cohesive digital strategy.

Poor Site Performance

The WordPress site scored poorly on Lighthouse, hurting SEO and user experience. Mobile users especially suffered with slow load times and clunky navigation.

Our Approach

How We Solved It

We became Xolar's fractional CTO, providing not just development but strategic technical leadership. Here's what we built and continue to maintain.

Main Site Overhaul

Rebuilt the marketing site from scratch using Astro and Tailwind CSS. The new site scores 98 on Lighthouse and is incredibly easy for the team to update without developer help.

  • 98 Lighthouse performance score
  • Simple content management - no coding needed
  • Modern, conversion-optimized design
  • Mobile-first responsive architecture

Custom Bid Platform

Built a complete bid management system for the sales team. Create professional, branded quotes in minutes, track bid status, analyze win rates, and optimize pricing strategies.

  • Professional branded quote generation
  • Bid tracking and pipeline management
  • Win/loss analytics and reporting
  • Pricing optimization tools

Branded Customer Portal

A white-labeled customer portal where clients can track their solar installation progress, view documents, check project milestones, and communicate with the team - reducing support calls significantly.

  • Project status and milestone tracking
  • Document library and downloads
  • Secure messaging with the team
  • Fully branded to Xolar's identity

Ongoing DevOps & Infrastructure

We manage all hosting, deployments, monitoring, and infrastructure. Automated CI/CD pipelines, 99.9% uptime, and proactive maintenance so Xolar never worries about technical operations.

  • Automated deployments and CI/CD
  • 24/7 uptime monitoring and alerts
  • Regular security updates and patches
  • Performance optimization and scaling

Technical Leadership

As their fractional CTO, we provide strategic guidance on all technology decisions. Vendor evaluation, tool selection, digital strategy, and roadmap planning - all the expertise of a CTO without the full-time cost.

  • Technology strategy and roadmap
  • Vendor evaluation and selection
  • Digital transformation guidance
  • Team training and documentation
The Results

Before vs After

The digital transformation delivered measurable improvements across operations, performance, and customer experience.

Lighthouse Score (Desktop)

Before

50

After

97

Faster = more conversions

Lighthouse Score (Mobile)

Before

52

After

94

Faster = more conversions

Contact Form Fields

Before

10+ fields

After

5 fields

50% fewer = more leads

Page Load (Desktop)

Before

4.0s LCP

After

1.3s LCP

3x faster

Page Load (Mobile)

Before

29.8s LCP

After

5.9s LCP

5x faster

Quote Creation Time

Before

45+ minutes

After

5 minutes

90% faster

Customer Support Calls

Before

High volume

After

Reduced 60%

Portal self-service

Content Update Process

Before

Developer required

After

Team self-service

No code needed

Bid Tracking

Before

Spreadsheets

After

Full pipeline view

Real-time analytics

Technical Decision Making

Before

Guesswork

After

Strategic guidance

Fractional CTO

System Uptime

Before

Unknown

After

99.9%

Monitored 24/7

Platforms Managed

Before

1 (broken)

After

3 (integrated)

Complete ecosystem
Our Process

Project Timeline

This wasn't a one-time project - it's an ongoing partnership. Here's how we approached the initial transformation and continue to support Xolar.

01

Phase 1

Discovery & Strategy

Deep dive into Xolar's business operations, pain points, and growth goals. Mapped out the complete digital ecosystem they needed.

Tasks

  • Business process analysis
  • Pain point identification and prioritization
  • Technology stack evaluation
  • Digital roadmap creation
  • Platform architecture planning
  • Integration requirements mapping

Deliverables

Digital Strategy Document Platform Architecture Prioritized Roadmap
02

Phase 2

Main Site Rebuild

Complete rebuild of the marketing website with a focus on performance, ease of management, and conversion optimization.

Tasks

  • Modern Astro + Tailwind architecture
  • Content migration and optimization
  • Performance optimization (98 Lighthouse)
  • Simple content management setup
  • SEO and analytics implementation
  • Team training on updates

Deliverables

Live Marketing Site Content Update Guide Performance Report
03

Phase 3

Bid Platform & Portal

Built custom platforms for sales operations and customer self-service, fully branded to Xolar's identity.

Tasks

  • Bid platform development
  • Quote generation system
  • Customer portal development
  • Document management system
  • Project tracking features
  • Branding and white-labeling

Deliverables

Bid Management Platform Customer Portal User Documentation
04

Continuous

Ongoing Partnership

Ongoing DevOps, technical leadership, and platform evolution. We're their fractional CTO, always available for strategy and support.

Tasks

  • Infrastructure management
  • Uptime monitoring and response
  • Feature development and updates
  • Technical strategy sessions
  • Vendor and tool evaluation
  • Security and performance optimization

Deliverables

Monthly Reports Continuous Improvements Strategic Guidance
Key Features

What We Built

Professional Quote Builder

Sales team creates polished, branded quotes in minutes. Automatic calculations, product catalogs, and consistent pricing across all reps.

Bid Pipeline Dashboard

Real-time visibility into all active bids. Track status, follow up on time, and analyze win/loss rates to optimize the sales process.

Customer Project Tracker

Customers log in to see their installation progress, upcoming milestones, and completed steps. No more 'what's the status?' calls.

Document Portal

Secure document library where customers access contracts, permits, system specs, and warranty information. Always available, fully organized.

Easy Content Updates

The marketing site is built so the Xolar team can update content, add projects, and change pricing without any developer assistance.

Automated Deployments

Every change is automatically tested and deployed. No manual uploads, no downtime, no risk of breaking the live site.

Scope of Work

Marketing Site

  • Complete site rebuild
  • Performance optimization
  • Content management
  • SEO implementation
  • Analytics setup

Bid Platform

  • Quote generation
  • Pipeline management
  • Win/loss tracking
  • Pricing tools
  • Reporting dashboard

Customer Portal

  • Project tracking
  • Document management
  • Milestone updates
  • Team messaging
  • White-label branding

DevOps

  • CI/CD pipelines
  • Hosting management
  • Uptime monitoring
  • Security patches
  • Backups & recovery

Technical Leadership

  • Strategy sessions
  • Vendor evaluation
  • Roadmap planning
  • Team training
  • Decision support
Under the Hood

Technical Deep Dive

Why This Stack?

We chose Astro for the marketing site because it generates pure static HTML that scores 98+ on Lighthouse. For the bid platform and customer portal, we built custom applications that integrate seamlessly. Everything deploys to Cloudflare's edge network for global performance and reliability.

The Fractional CTO Model

Rather than hiring a full-time technical lead (expensive and hard to find), Xolar gets all the benefits of a CTO on a fractional basis. We join strategy calls, evaluate vendors, make architecture decisions, and keep the technical roadmap on track - all without the overhead of a full-time executive.

Integrated Platform Ecosystem

The marketing site, bid platform, and customer portal aren't siloed systems. They share branding, authentication where needed, and data flows. When a bid is won, the customer automatically gets portal access. It's a cohesive ecosystem, not a collection of disconnected tools.

DevOps Without the Overhead

We handle all infrastructure: CI/CD pipelines, hosting, monitoring, security updates, and incident response. Xolar's team focuses on selling and installing solar - they don't think about servers, deployments, or uptime. That's our job, and we do it continuously in the background.

Technologies Used

Astro Tailwind CSS TypeScript Node.js Cloudflare Pages Custom Portals
"TechCreations Labs isn't just our web developer - they're our technical partner. From rebuilding our site to building custom platforms, they handle everything so we can focus on solar."
Chris Ogilvie

Chris Ogilvie

Owner, Xolar

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