Client: Jackie Ferris, the owner of the business Comrade Morpho
Sector: Mental health
Duration: 4 months
My role: I was a member of a 5-person team responsible for the complete redesign of the website. My primary responsibilities included developing content and contributing to the overall strategic planning.
About Comrade Morpho
Comrade Morpho is a website that offers a distinctive mentoring program where a mentor engages in one-on-one sessions with clients to help them enhance their social and emotional well-being. This program goes beyond traditional therapy sessions, as the mentor becomes actively involved in the lives of their mentees by participating in daily activities and engaging in open conversations.
Our team was assigned the task of enhancing its digital presence, increasing website traffic, and converting visitors into potential customers.
Main challenges
01.
The concept of social emotional mentoring was unfamiliar, making it challenging to convey the idea to the target user.
02.
Our client lacked a defined target audience. The service was available to anyone above the age of 10, yet the website's structure aimed to accommodate all potential users.
03.
Conducting user research and interviews was crucial to enhance our understanding and develop effective strategies. However, given the sensitive nature of the topic, which revolves around mental health, we had to be cautious not to overstep boundaries or make individuals feel uncomfortable.
04.
The website's content was disorganized, overloaded with information, and confused users when they tried to find relevant information.
05.
The calls-to-action (CTAs) lacked consistency and sometimes got lost within the content.
Our Approach
01
Content Audit
To redesign the website effectively, we needed a comprehensive understanding of its strengths and identified gaps. Therefore, we divided the website's pages among team members and conducted a detailed content audit. This approach allowed us to pinpoint the website's shortcomings and determine where improvements could be made.
02
Current State Analysis
The current state analysis resembled a thorough dissection of the entire website, and it was carried out with great enthusiasm and careful examination. We scrutinized the website's content, structure, and layout, diligently noting what was effective and what was not. Furthermore, we offered recommendations for enhancing the website. This process allowed me to hone my attention to detail skills, which proved to be highly valuable and significantly improved during this project.
03
Competitive Analysis
The competitive analysis proved to be highly advantageous for our project. It encompassed both direct and indirect competitors who offered similar services. We compiled a list of other mental health support websites, including those providing individual-led therapy services and non-profit organizations. This analysis allowed us to identify numerous opportunities and ascertain where our website had a competitive edge over others.
The competitive analysis primarily focused on evaluating the following criteria: target audience, type of services offered, user flow, navigation, tone, and website interface.
04
User interviews
After consulting with our clients and conducting research, we identified and categorized our target audience into two distinct groups: international students and parents concerned about their children. We assigned these target audiences to different team members and conducted user interviews to assess their interest in the services we offered and to understand their expectations.
Findings
01
Users expressed a strong desire to trust the website and have confidence in the reliability of the mentors.
02
Users sought clear and transparent information about the activities involved in the mentoring sessions and what outcomes to expect.
03
Many individuals appeared to wrestle with emotional and mental challenges but lacked guidance on how to address them effectively.
04
Some users indicated a lack of motivation to pursue therapy due to time constraints or difficulty accessing resources.
05
Personas
06
UX THEME
After analyzing our personas, we envisioned the desired ambiance for the website. Upon entering the website, we aimed for users to perceive it as a safe space where they could openly discuss their mental health and also have confidence in its trustworthiness.
"A trustworthy, helpful, and welcoming mental health mentoring experience that assists users in enhancing their mental and social well-being."
07
Information Architecture
Site Map
Designing the site map required careful planning. We introduced new navigation methods and neatly separated the information for different user groups, ensuring users could easily locate what they needed on the website. To determine the best way to group our content, we conducted card sorting exercises.
08
User Journey and User Flow
For our project's purpose, we concentrated on a single persona: Martha, a concerned parent who had observed her child's recent struggles. When developing the user journey and user flow, we traced Martha's actions to gain insights into how potential users might navigate the website.
09
Low Fidelity Wireframes
The low-fidelity wireframes were crafted with both our users and the client's preferences in mind. Some of the content and designs on the website were off-limits for changes, as per the client's request. Therefore, we had to adapt our strategy and work around these constraints.
We aimed for a minimal and aesthetic design so that users feel calm when entering the website and not overwhelmed.
And Finally,
High Fidelity Wireframes
We opted to include two CTAs on the homepage, allowing users to directly book a free consultation or take the assessment to identify their issues.
The testimonials featured on the homepage have the potential to boost trust and reliability in the website.
Additionally, we categorized the website's content to help potential users easily navigate to their desired sections.
For the users to identify their problem more clearly and for our client to understand the users we recommended taking an assessment.
We curated content tailored to each category of the target audience. Since the sessions and information needed by guardians differ from other groups, we recommended creating separate pages for each category to provide all the relevant information.
We proposed creating a dedicated page for blogs and articles with backlinks. This approach would not only boost website traffic but also enhance the website's credibility.
Reflections
It's all about collaboration
Our team comprised members from diverse backgrounds. Despite facing challenges and differences of opinion, we effectively resolved issues and provided support when any team member felt overwhelmed. Our favorite moments were the brainstorming sessions during which we crafted strategies, and our collaborative efforts were evident in the final presentation.
Improved interactive strategy
While we implemented an assessment as our interactive strategy, we felt that we could have gone further by incorporating advanced features that would encourage greater user interaction and engagement.
Meeting deadlines
One of the challenges we encountered was adhering to strict deadlines and consistently updating the client on our progress.