The Awakening Collective
Summary: The Awakening Collective is an indigenous and woman-owned small business located in Wisconsin Rapids, WI. They specialize in various products such as herbs, crystals, and tarot cards to support individuals in their spiritual healing journey.
The owner was struggling with online sales and was looking for help to make the site more appealing to her audience.
Objective: Audit the website for UX improvements and redesign the agreed-upon pages, to potentially increase sales and success metrics.
My Role: UI Designer, UX Designer, UX Researcher, & Marketing Specialist
Results: After 4 weeks of using the new website, we achieved a 22% increase in sales and improved average session duration by 10%.
Research
My Approach
Our project began by researching the existing version of their website. The primary objective was to identify and address user pain points for potential improvements. This was done by conducting surveys, interviews, and user testing.
My goal was to also identify the strengths of their current design and incorporate them into our new design approach. (If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Right?)
The first image is a summary of the data collected from the research methods. The data is categorized into design (UI) and user experience (UX), this information was the foundation of this project and helped us make design decisions later in the process.
Thoughts & Emotions
Throughout the research, I closely monitored the user’s perceptions and emotions regarding the website. This proved to be influential in shaping our design decisions going forward, as it enabled me to develop a stronger sense of empathy toward the users.
Suggestions Moving Forward
At the end of the research phase, I put together a list of suggestions that I was able to discuss with the team and later implement as a part of the final result.
Change the location of gift cards, such as putting them on the home page.
Some pages could make use of bullet points to clean up the text.
Make use of regular discount codes for new users.
Possibly getting rid of pop-ups.
Using back buttons on product pages.
Explain what The Woo Woo Wagon is on the slideshow image. Include an image of the outside of it.
Change the location of gift cards, such as putting them on the home page.
Some pages could make use of bullet points to clean up the text.
Make use of regular discount codes for new users.
Possibly getting rid of pop-ups.
Using back buttons on product pages.
Explain what The Woo Woo Wagon is on the slideshow image. Include an image of the outside of it.
Sitemap Optimization
Mapping the Current Site
My next step was making a sitemap of their current website, and looking at ways to improve it based on what I have learned in my research.
We Need Options!
After creating the current sitemap, I designed two optimized versions that better catered to their user’s needs. Following a discussion with the team, they ultimately chose to proceed with idea #2, as it offers easier implementation at this stage.
Brand Guide
What is a Brand Guide?
The Awakening Collective lacked a brand guide until we met, and in fact, they were unfamiliar with the concept itself. Therefore, my first task was to educate them about the significance of having a brand guide for their growing business.
To begin, I curated a collection of font combinations predominantly comprising serif or script fonts for headings, accompanied by a sans-serif font for paragraphs. Considering their input and our understanding of their industry, values, and style, we collectively determined that this combination would be the most suitable for their business.
Moving on to the color palette, we conducted a survey among their users to determine the colors that best represent The Awakening Collective. An overwhelming majority of respondents suggested purple, followed by blue, yellow, and green. In order to maintain brand recognition, the decision was made to retain their existing dark purple as the primary color, paired with a beige or cream color as the client insisted. While they also expressed interest in incorporating a dark blue, they remain uncertain about its inclusion at this stage.
UX Writing
Easy to Read, Easy to Understand…
Based on the research I had gathered from interviews and user testing, I suggested their team could:
Explain what The Woo Woo Wagon is in the slideshow image. Include an image of the outside of it.
Services - clear up wording at the top of the page. Add page description.
Some pages could make use of bullet points to clean up the text.
Crystal directory could use a search bar, page description, and categories.
Label pages using appropriate headings and subheadings.
Services Page - The Problem
Based on the user test, users said that they thought they were supposed to “Contact” The Awakening Collective, and below the CTA says to “Request to Book” which was confusing to them.
On the next page, users said the confusion persisted because it says to “book the date and time that works for you.”
Does this mean the user is actually booking the appointment, or requesting to book?
The Solution
To address the business's staffing limitations, it was crucial to prioritize client contact. After careful consideration, I concluded that the most effective solution would be to replace the confusing "Request to Book" call-to-action (CTA) with a more straightforward "Contact Us" option. Additionally, I ensured that the corresponding page provided a clear description of the services offered, along with instructions for appointment scheduling and the cancellation policy.
Ideally, the new CTA would direct users to a form for streamlined communication. However, the owner expressed a desire to handle its creation in the future, and I respected their decision to manage it independently.
Homepage Redesign
Let’s Use Our Data
Based on everything I learned from the research phase, I designed 3 mockups for the homepage redesign, that could later be implemented into Wix.
To enhance user accessibility and address the high interest in gift cards expressed by 63% of users, we aimed to improve their visibility on the website. One proposed solution was to add a dedicated 'Gift Cards' tab to the header, which we believed would boost gift card purchases.
To streamline the shopping and consultation booking processes, we recommended incorporating an introductory section on the website alongside two clear call-to-action (CTA) buttons. This would facilitate a more intuitive user experience.
During the interviews, we specifically asked participants whether they preferred to see new or sale items on the homepage. Unanimously, they expressed a preference for new items. Therefore, we replaced the 'featured items' section with a 'new items' section, based on this valuable feedback, with the aim of enhancing user retention.
Lastly, we identified an opportunity to improve the footer. My suggestion involved creating a 'quick links' section in addition to the contact information, business hours, social media links, and logo. This modification would optimize the use of space and provide users with more efficient navigation options.
The Final Result
Ultimately, our research findings informed numerous changes that were successfully implemented in the final homepage design. The design I created remained in place for about 8 weeks after my time with The Awakening Collective.
However, they have since retained the same layout while exploring their own ideas regarding fonts, colors, and possibly more.
It is worth noting that after the implementation of my design, sales experienced a significant boost of 22%, and the average site duration increased by 10% within the first 4 weeks.
SEO Strategy
Article Optimization
When they approached me about improving their SEO rankings, I acknowledged that while I am not an SEO expert, I possessed some knowledge in the field and decided to give it a try.
Although this venture falls outside the realm of UI/UX, there were certainly parallels worth exploring. After conducting my own research, I consolidated the latest tips and techniques into a comprehensive Google Slides presentation. This presentation outlines a 2023 strategy for their team to enhance their SEO rankings through article optimization.
Recognizing the substantial collection of blog articles they had created over the past few years, I didn't solely focus on future efforts. Instead, I considered how their existing body of work could be reworked to generate more beneficial results.
The presentation focuses on:
Following a heading structure similar to the top Google articles.
Use Google-friendly writing techniques.
Try to meet the ideal word count for that topic.
Topical Authority. Position yourself as an expert.
Backlinks. They still matter!
User experience.
Link to presentation:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1dl95nSToeI18sL-JLiw_80UFYghh9Gnq-fjvLB-BJHQ/edit?usp=sharing
Conclusion
What Did I Learn?
This project proved to be a truly eye-opening experience for me. Initially, working closely with clients presented a challenge, but as time progressed, I found it increasingly easier to navigate. Additionally, diving into the realm of SEO was fascinating, particularly due to the intriguing parallels it shared with the world of UI/UX.
What Would I Iterate?
If I revisit this project, I want to engage in more comprehensive work on their pages, rather than simply providing suggestions and leaving them to implement it on their own. I’d also work on more of the details, working on enhancing their pages for more impactful results.