Follow Me!
Maritime Website Redesign: A UX Case Study
Overview
The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) website redesign project aimed to enhance the user experience and improve the site's overall effectiveness in achieving its goals. The project involved conducting stakeholder interviews, analyzing the current state of the website, and providing UX recommendations to address identified pain points and improve usability.
Challenges
Information Overload: The website contained a vast amount of information, making it difficult for users to navigate and find what they needed quickly.
Inconsistent Navigation and Branding: Navigation elements and branding were inconsistent across different sections of the website and microsites, leading to confusion and a disjointed user experience.
Outdated Design and Functionality: The website's design and functionality were outdated and did not meet current best practices, including database integration and mobile responsiveness.
Broken Links and 404 Errors: The presence of broken links and 404 errors created a negative user experience and potentially impacted search engine optimization (SEO).
Goals
Improved Usability and Navigation: Streamline navigation, simplify information architecture, and enhance search functionality to help users find relevant information quickly and easily.
Consistent Branding and Design: Create a cohesive and visually appealing design across all sections of the website and microsites.
Modernized Functionality: Update the website's functionality to meet current best practices, including database integration and mobile responsiveness.
Enhanced User Engagement: Increase user engagement through improved content presentation, calls to action, and interactive elements.
Process
- Stakeholder Interviews: Conducted interviews with various stakeholders, including seafood buyers, scientists, grant makers, vessel owners, consultants, fishers, tuna company contacts, NGO directors, RFMO representatives, and participating partners, to understand their goals, pain points, and needs when interacting with the ISSF website.
- Current State Analysis: Analyzed the existing website, identifying areas for improvement in terms of navigation, information architecture, design, functionality, and content presentation.
- Competitive Analysis: Examined similar organizations' websites to identify best practices and trends in website design and functionality.
- Google Analytics Review: Analyzed Google Analytics data to understand user behavior, demographics, and most visited pages.
- UX Recommendations: Developed UX recommendations based on stakeholder insights, current state analysis, competitive analysis, and Google Analytics data.
Recommendations
Homepage Redesign: Optimize the homepage to prioritize key information and calls to action, making it easier for users to access and share important content.
Navigation and Information Architecture: Simplify navigation, create a clear information hierarchy, and improve search functionality to enhance usability.
Branding and Design: Revise the overall ISSF branding, including color palette, icons, imagery, and typeface, to create a more cohesive and visually appealing design.
Database Integration: Bring the website up to par with current best practices by integrating databases and improving data visualization tools.
Microsite Integration: Consolidate separate ISSF microsites and other websites to create a more unified user experience.
Mobile Optimization: Make the website fully responsive and mobile-friendly to cater to the growing number of users accessing the site on mobile devices.
Content Optimization: Improve content presentation, calls to action, and interactive elements to increase user engagement.
Analytics and Goal Tracking: Set up specific goals or events within Google Analytics to track user behavior and measure the effectiveness of the website redesign.
Project Summary
The ISSF website redesign project aimed to address the challenges identified through stakeholder interviews, current state analysis, competitive analysis, and Google Analytics review. By implementing the UX recommendations, the ISSF can create a more user-friendly, engaging, and effective website that better serves the needs of its diverse stakeholders and achieves its organizational goals.