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QuickLane - Site Redesign |
Client:
Ford / Quick Lane |
Project Overview
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We were tasked with updating the design and architecture of the website according to analytics and search activity and they wanted to highlight certain features and offers in a more impactful way. The website also needed to be accessible.
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CHALLENGE
Quick Lane's website design was out-dated, poorly structured, and SEO was poorly implemented. We were asked to provide a fresh, new look for the website and prioritize accessibility and SEO optimization throughout the redesign.
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OPPORTUNITY
Make Quick Lane THE place for auto services across vehicle brands by providing a website that's easy to search, easy to understand, and instills a confidence that Quick Lane will meet all of their needs during their visit. Lead the client in user-centered approaches to validate what's best for the customer and not what's easiest for the client, as well has provide them with a content strategy they can use in the future.
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RESULT
A completely refreshed and modern design that was easy for users to navigate with a focus on SEO that made it easy for customers to find what they were looking for. Clients also walked away with a content strategy that made it easy for them to take the reigns once our job was complete.
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Original Website
The original design was dated, using many older design patterns, and SEO was minimally thought about.
How We Worked
CROSS-FUNCTIONALI worked as part of a cross-functional team that included myself (UX) and a creative partner that made up what we called a CRUX team. We worked closely with Business Strategists, Content Strategists, SEO, Developers, Project Managers, and Product Owners to ensure that we explored and delivered designs that aligned with the agreed upon strategy as well as met feasibility for the desired launch date. Regular stand-ups, iteration demos, and client presentations to executive leadership ensured a correct course throughout the programs lifecycle.
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Start With The Basics
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
This was a highly collaborative project with the Analytics and SEO teams from the get-go. Starting off, I created a new Information Architecture based on analytics, providing more visibility for some pages and removing pages that were no longer relevant. This included updated navigation terms based on keyword searches and an architectural restructuring to bring like pages together.
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Old Information Architecture
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New Information Architecture
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ACCESSIBILITY
A major issue we came across was that the brand's colors were not accessible and could not be used as-is accept as for decoration. Working with my CPACC certified colleague and our designers, we created a new design system that met WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility requirements. We blended the brands colors with gradient versions of those colors for use across the site to make the site still feel like it was on brand while successfully meeting accessibility requirements.
KEEPING CUSTOMERS IN MIND
Quick Lane's original list of amenities were a mish-mash of various key terms and many of them did not qualify as an amenity by definition. I completed an audit of store details where, based on SEO feedback, I recommended the reduction of extraneous items and a refocus on the purpose of each category to create a better customer experience and a more searchable site.
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Old Amenities (with some changes)
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Updated Amenities
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Iteration & Validation
SKETCHES
I reviewed the functionality and content of each page to remove extraneous information and created sketches for large-scale updates to pages.
WIREFRAMES
The original website was less cohesive and focused on a text heavy format. Simplicity was the focus of the face lift. Based on my IA recommendations and page hierarchy updates, the website took on a more cohesive feel. The use of imagery was increased to create greater connections to the services listed and increase the personable nature of the website. Each component was created to be chunked and scannable, making it easier for a customer to browse the website.
New Design
This new site not only had a completely refreshed and modern look, but it was built on a global platform with content specifically designed to drive SEO.
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A LAUNCH TO REMEMBERIt’s standard for a new website’s visitor count to drop with the release of a new design. Our well thought out architecture (XD), design, development, content strategy, and SEO optimizations kept the Quick Lane website at a flat line when the new design was released. There was minimal to no visitor count drop. Our SEO team said that this is almost unheard of and is an accomplishment I’m especially proud of for our team.
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