Background
Two years ago, Satsumas realised the real-world value of User-Centered Design (UCD) principles, which changed our approach to developing Business Intelligence (BI) projects for our clients. This shift allowed us to deliver easy-to-use and visually appealing dashboard applications, using intuitive visualisations to support data-driven decisions through data discovery and self-service analytics.
Satsumas decided to apply this same approach to our company website, leveraging the lessons learned about the power of UCD to make it easier for clients to navigate and understand our business. We chose to handle this project in-house to ensure it was completed on time, within budget, and reflected our company's unique approach to data and design.
My role
UX, UI, Illustration
Tools
Sketch, InVision, Photoshop, Illustrator
Duration
2 months
Understand
Goals
A key starting point was to clearly articulate the role of our company website. By conducting workshops with the executive and marketing teams, three objectives were identified:
- On Message - Having a clear message about what we do and our combined skill set.
- Data & BI - Communicating how our UCD approach enhances data analytics and BI projects.
- Trust - Building trust with potential clients by explaining our process and sharing our customers' success stories.
Data Insights
My next step was to assess whether our existing website aligned with our company philosophy. I analysed our Google Analytics data to understand user behaviour and identified areas needing improvement. The home page had a high bounce rate, and the contact page was visited by only 4% of users with almost no conversions. Most importantly, the pages that presented our services had short visit durations, indicating a lack of user engagement.
Explore
Website review
I set out to identify the causes of the lack of user engagement. The home page had a large slider with little explanatory text (only short tag lines), some call-to-action links, and a title. There wasn’t enough information for users to understand what we did as a company. Visitors to the site likely had difficulty understanding the services Satsumas offered, resulting in the high drop-out rate on this page.
To address this problem, I suggested removing the slider entirely. Instead, I recommended immediately providing an explanation of what we do, including a call-to-action, and adding a visual element summarising our services. I ensured easy access to key pages on our site, such as "Why Satsumas" (the most visited page), and directed users to other pages to keep them engaged.
(early lo-fi wireframe of the home page)
While reviewing our old website, I noticed a counterintuitive behaviour with our “Contact Us” link. Depending on which link was clicked (from the menu or a button inside a page), the form was presented either in a pop-up window or as a full page. It was even possible to be on the contact page and make the contact form pop up on top of it. I proposed simplifying this page by removing the pop-up window entirely to avoid confusion.
(contact us page lo-fi wireframe)
It was difficult for users to find out exactly what services we offered, and once they landed on a relevant page, there were large, text-heavy blocks that were boring and not engaging. I needed to make it easy for users to understand what we do, how we do it, and who we are. I concluded that our site's navigation should include links called “What we do,” “How we do it,” and “About us” in addition to the “Home” page. This made it easy for any first-time visitor to navigate our website.
I also asked the marketing team to rewrite the text in a shorter, more concise, and easy-to-consume way. I wanted to give users easy access to what our company can offer them and included more visual elements to provide immediate understanding.
An update was not the solution
When I combined my data analysis with the website review, it was clear that a simple update would not be enough. The website needed to be redesigned and rebuilt from scratch to align with its purpose and support the business. We did not anticipate this conclusion as the website was only one year old. It had been built by a third-party website design and marketing agency, and we let them take the lead on the design as they were the experts and we were time-poor. It was now time to take back control and apply the same design principles that we know to be successful in our BI solutions to our own website.
Create
A fresh start
The executive team decided to move forward and create a brand-new website that could be a real asset to the business and correctly represent the company and our approach to analyzing data. The research phase was critical as it gave us an understanding of what was and wasn’t working. Ensuring users could access the information they were looking for was crucial to engaging them with the website and, ultimately, our company. This was our primary goal.
Information architecture
I decided to reduce the number of pages to make it easier for users to navigate and find the required information. I also reduced the amount of content available so there would be less to navigate. The language on the site was simplified and made less technical to make it more accessible to all users. I dramatically simplified the menu on the website, reducing the number of levels from three to two, making it much easier for users to find the content they were looking for.
Illustrations
To reduce the amount of text on the site, I created clear illustrations to outline the innovative process we use to better serve our clients’ data analytics needs. These powerful illustrations make it easy for users to understand our process and how open lines of communication with our clients lead to better BI solutions.
I also chose to illustrate “What we do” to demonstrate how working with Satsumas can give clients access to insights in their data, leading to better-informed business decisions. Other spot images around the site were also created to support our message. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Visual
The visual recommendations were to use more white space to emphasize the new content. Additionally, I recommended long scrolling pages with anchors to navigate through them, creating a smooth experience on desktop and mobile. It was also important to provide quick access to what Satsumas is providing, which is now the case with the more detailed home page.
Impact
KPIs
A few months after the launch of the new website satsumas.com.au, we saw the benefits in Google Analytics. New session times increased by +65% and unique page views increased by +22%. Most importantly, traffic to the Contact Us page increased by fivefold.
Conclusion
By applying best practice UCD principles to our own website, we improved the messaging on our website, increased traffic, increased page view durations, and drove more users to our Contact Us page. Making our website easier to find, navigate, and read increased user engagement. This valuable company exercise has already paid off.