UX AUDIT: WORLD WIDE WOMEN GROUP
UX Audit / Consulting for Website Redesign
BACKGROUND
World Wide Women Group Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring and mentoring women and girl leaders through a range of development initiatives. I connected with them at a time when they were seeking help updating their website. The website had not been updated since the pandemic when much of their operations had to be put on hold.
MY ROLE
UX Auditor and Website Redesign Advisor
TIMEFRAME
2 weeks: April 2024
HYPOTHESIS
The website no longer supports WWWG’s missions and values and could benefit from a clear articulation of its goals through a UX audit.
MY APPROACH
Give feedback on the current website's layout, user functionality, mobile-friendliness, visual design, content, and other key features.
Provide recommendations for improvements to help achieve WWWG's desired goals.
MY DESIGN PROCESS
THE APPROACH
Discovery | Define and Articulate Goals | UX Audit | Design Recommendations
DISCOVERY
DISCOVERY SESSION
I conducted a discovery session with Elle Harris, founder of WWWG, to hear her story and learn about the organization. I also did a competitive analysis of organizations and brands that Elle was inspired by.
UX ENHANCEMENT
DESIGN AUDIT
I performed a heuristic evaluation of the WWWG website on both desktop and mobile versions.
UX ENHANCEMENTS
PROPOSED ENHANCEMENTS
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Streamline navigation
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Bring clarity and brand trust to landing page
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Give a consistent and responsive experience throughout the website
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Optimize visual design
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Use media in place of text
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Consider what contacting WWWG looks like
STREAMLINE NAVIGATION
Streamlining the navigation on the WWWG website is a priority for users to find the information they need. Choice overload leads to users leaving the site because they are overwhelmed and unsure of what to do. It also makes the website’s mission and therefore, the organization, appear unclear.
First, we pared down the pages no longer relevant to WWWG and reorganized the menu structure to highlight what is high priority.
We simplified menu labels and updated the footer to include other necessary links. By choosing familiar terms in the menu, users can focus on the content of the site instead of questioning what each section is.
BRING CLARITY AND BRAND TRUST TO LANDING PAGE
The Home page acts as the advertisement for the most important thing users will do. Users need a clear CTA for their next steps. After discussion, it was determined that these CTAs are: Enroll, Sponsor, and Donate.
Users need a clearer understanding about what WWWG is as well as what their next steps should be “above the fold”. It is recommended to add a mini mission statement and CTA buttons in the Hero Section of the site.
Bringing the testimonials and brand sponsors to the HOME page will create brand trustworthiness. Currently, they are hidden deep in the site and probably not seen.
WWWG has many REAL and beautiful pictures in the site that can be implemented to greater effect. The use of stock photos can appear disingenuous. All images should be captioned for users to understand what they are.
GIVE A CONSISTENT AND RESPONSIVE EXPERIENCE THROUGHOUT THE WEBSITE
The website provides a wealth of content and resources for women. We want to make sure they are presented in a consistent manner that conveys trustworthiness. The navigation differs on each page, creating a cognitive load on users who have to relearn where things are each time. More notes on attaining a cohesive look through a Design System (next slide).
In Programs, we want to make the choices in how to get involved clear. Break down each program into age group, dates, activities, etc. Have clear options to Enroll, Sponsor, or Learn More.
The website is mostly responsive, however the mobile version needs to be combed through separately. On Wix, it is possible to edit both desktop and mobile screens. On mobile, the top menu can be consolidated to hamburger and donate button. The contact bar can be removed. Prioritize creating the A-List-Her’s page for mobile (currently it is only available on desktop).
OPTIMIZE VISUAL DESIGN
The visual design should be distraction free and accessible. Ideally, on any page a user should be able to see relevant information without scrolling.
Accessibility: The website lacks color contrast accessibility in some areas. For example, the navigation bar often fails AA and is not visible. The white background (Home page, Job Board, etc) is a pure white #FFFFFF which is harsh to view. Watch for text weight in mobile screens (About Us cards) that are Light/Thin and hard to see.
Design System: Creating a design system for the website will help to create a cohesive look to the website.
Buttons should be consistent in size, shape, stroke, colors, and copy.
Font styles should be limited to 3 or less, considering accessibility.
Copy to be left aligned with text lines between 45-80 characters.
Cards to be optimized with hierarchy using icons and color. Cohesive cards in About Us section will give a more uniform look.
USE MEDIA INSTEAD OF TEXT
Some of the content (ie Queen of Spades, Rebelle Summit) has walls of text that are intimidating and not scannable. Users are likely not reading this content. We talked about using video to explain the Queen of Spades initiative as well as having a video of Elle telling the story of WWWG on the About page. We think it could be an opportunity for great connection!
CONSIDER WHAT CONTACTING WWWG LOOKS LIKE
Leveraging a picture of Elle in the Contact Us page will provide levity and authenticity. Users can be assured that they are contacting a real human and organization.
Typeforms have a redirect page that needs to be redesigned, otherwise it looks like an error page that users may bounce out of. For now, WWWG will continue to use Typeforms. All Typeforms should clearly indicate whether the form is for enrollment or sponsorship (see question below).
We also discussed implementing a general FAQs to the Home page, which can mitigate the number of messages coming through Contact Us that ask the same questions.
IMPACT
Working with Elle on the website audit for the WWWG website was a wonderful experience. Through listening to Elle speak passionately about WWWG and discussing how best to articulate the mission of WWWG through the website, I feel that we landed on a promising path towards an effective redesign.
