Enterprise America Website Redesign
Project Overview
The Product:
Enterprise America serves as a loan provider, and its website provides details about the services and loans offered to customers. The site acts as a valuable resource, offering information on tailored financial products to meet diverse needs. Prospective clients can explore these offerings to make informed decisions aligned with their financial goals.
The Problem:
The current layout of the website is characterized by its simplicity, featuring a basic design that presents information in a linear format akin to a traditional textbook. However, this arrangement may be perceived as less user-friendly, potentially limiting the ease of navigation and accessibility for visitors.
The Goal:
Enhance the website’s responsiveness and readability for a better user experience. Consider improving the color scheme to enhance visual appeal. Additionally, focus on refining the overall layout to optimize user navigation. These enhancements collectively contribute to a more user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing website.
Project Duration:
1 month (July 2023)
My Role:
UX Designer / UX Researcher
Responsibilities:
User Research, Build Wireframes, Prototyping, and Mockups.
Design Process:
Understanding the User
User Research Summary:
In the course of revitalizing the website, I undertook a thorough user research initiative aimed at enhancing both its layout and responsiveness. This involved organizing comprehensive testing sessions where a diverse group of individuals, selected to represent various demographics and user types, interacted with the website. The findings from these sessions illuminated prevalent issues, notably the presence of extensive information on certain pages and a cluttered design, which were identified as impediments to user satisfaction.
In response to these insights, my redesign prioritized the implementation of measures to streamline navigation and create a more reader-friendly layout, with the overarching goal of improving the overall user experience. These changes were not arbitrary but were informed by the valuable feedback obtained from users during the testing sessions. By prioritizing the user expectations, ensuring a more positive and engaging experience for visitors.
Pain Points:
Problem Statement:
In Philips Jackson is a businessman with 4 gas stations and is a regular client of Enterprise America but due to their website’s linear design often get confused about the loan that he wants to get.
User Persona:
User Flow:
In the User Flow section of the website, I mapped out the journey that visitors undertake when interacting with the platform. From the initial entry point which is home page to key interactions such as finance, closed loans and real estate pages and eventuallly sending a message through the contact form, this user flow prioritizes user needs and guides them effortlessly through the site.
User Journey Map:
Starting The Design
Paper Wireframes:
In the paper wireframes phase for the website redesign, meticulous attention was dedicated to refining the layout to enhance user experience. Through a deliberate and thoughtful process, each element’s placement was carefully considered to optimize the overall flow and accessibility of information. The primary objective was to create an intuitive interface that not only looked visually appealing but also facilitated easy navigation for users. Special emphasis was placed on strategically positioning key buttons and elements on each screen, ensuring that users could seamlessly access information with minimal effort. The paper wireframes served as a critical blueprint for the forthcoming digital design, setting the foundation for an improved website layout that prioritizes user-friendly navigation and efficient access to relevant content.
Digital Wireframes:
In the course of our user research, a prominent challenge emerged—information on the website was disorganized and clustered, making it difficult for users to make sense of it. The biggest issue was the unreadable nature of this cluttered information. Digging deeper, we uncovered a major frustration among users: they had to wade through details about services they weren’t interested in before stumbling upon the one they actually needed. This revelation highlighted a critical pain point in the user experience. To address this, we recognized the imperative for a comprehensive overhaul, focusing on restructuring the information architecture to ensure clarity, ease of understanding, and a more user-centric journey.
Low-Fidelity Prototype:
In the Low-Fidelity Prototype phase for the website redesign, my focus was on translating the insights gleaned from user feedback and paper wireframes into a tangible, interactive model. Leveraging a minimalist approach, we developed a preliminary version that captured the essential elements of the redesigned layout, prioritizing ease of navigation and streamlined access to information. This initial prototype allowed us to assess the fundamental structure of the interface, ensuring that the design effectively addressed the identified pain points and met the goals of enhanced user experience. The low-fidelity prototype served as a dynamic tool for early testing and iteration, setting the stage for the subsequent refinement of the digital design and paving the way for a more intuitive and user-friendly website.
Usability Study - Findings Round 1:
I conducted a moderated virtual usability study focused on the low-fidelity prototype, engaging with two participants who had established themselves as regular customers of Enterprise America in the past. The primary objective of this study was to solicit informed opinions regarding the new website layout. The insights garnered from this research played a pivotal role in guiding the transition from wireframes to mockups, ensuring that the subsequent design iterations were not only rooted in user preferences but also aligned with the expectations and experiences of the user base.
The primary findings in round 1 of the usability study are:
- Lack of visual contrast made it challenging for the users to differentiate between buttons and static text.
- Oversized elements such as photos and text raised concerns about visual aesthetics and their potential impact on user experience.
- Users experienced irritation in locating the ‘Get Started’ button due to its lack of fixed position.
Refining The Design
Usability Study - Findings Round 2:
In the second usability study, I dug deeper into making the website better based on what users liked and didn’t like. This time, we focused on a more detailed version of the design, known as a high-fidelity prototype. We wanted to see how changing previous drawbacks, along with other improvements, would affect the website. By paying attention to what users had to say, we aimed to make sure the next versions of the design are more in line with what people wanted, especially in this more advanced and detailed stage of development.
The primary findings in the round 2 of the usability study are:
- Users preferred more static imagery rather than animated pictures and gifs as they seem unprofessional.
- Automation in slide decks was perceived as disruptive, with users preferring a seamless, self-driven exploration of information.
Style Guide:
For the mockups, I used the 60-30-10 rule while selecting colors. I also used the Microsoft Sans Serif font throughout the app with 6 different sizes for texts and buttons. As company wanted the users to focuss on the 5 primary services that they offered so, I used icons as a universal language to represent these services on the home page.
Mockups:
In the Low-Fidelity Prototype phase for the website redesign, my focus was on translating the insights gleaned from user feedback and paper wireframes into a tangible, interactive model. Leveraging a minimalist approach, we developed a preliminary version that captured the essential elements of the redesigned layout, prioritizing ease of navigation and streamlined access to information. This initial prototype allowed us to assess the fundamental structure of the interface, ensuring that the design effectively addressed the identified pain points and met the goals of enhanced user experience. The low-fidelity prototype served as a dynamic tool for early testing and iteration, setting the stage for the subsequent refinement of the digital design and paving the way for a more intuitive and user-friendly website.
High-Fidelity Prototype:
In the High-Fidelity Prototype phase of our website redesign UX case study, meticulous attention was dedicated to refining the interface details. Key focus areas included enhancing layout for visual harmony and seamless navigation, optimizing pictography for clarity and relevance, and adjusting text and image sizes for a balanced presentation. This phase represents a crucial step in translating conceptual ideas into a polished design, aiming to improve overall user experience by addressing specific elements that contribute to the website’s layout, navigation, and visual aesthetics.
Accessibility Considerations:
Takeaways
Impact:
The new website design is very minimalistic with long and linear paragraphs of information replaced with interactive buttons and icons which allows the user to only view the specific information which they are looking for and not waste their time while searching through a vast pool of text. One of the user’s even said that “This new layout is more readable than the previous one”.
What I Learned:
This project has been a comprehensive learning experience, underscoring the iterative nature of UX design. From initial research and wireframing to refining high-fidelity prototypes, the significance of user feedback, adaptability, and accessibility considerations became clear. The collaborative aspect of incorporating insights from peers and participants reinforced the importance of empathy and user-centricity in crafting effective and inclusive digital experiences. Overall, this journey has provided a nuanced understanding of the multifaceted elements that contribute to successful UX design.
Next Steps:
Thanks:
Thank you for taking the time to explore my UX case study. Your engagement is greatly appreciated. If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to reach out.