AYEC: Introduction
The previous website for Apply Yourself Educational Consulting (AYEC) was functional for computer desktops, but appeared dated and was in need of an uplift. The principal college advisor, Naomi, was open to new platforms for the site. A study of the site's users, business goals and content has yielded a new information architecture, design, messaging and experience.
This website was designed and implemented from December 2017 - January 2018.
Before and After
Problems identified
Naomi identified some problems (1-3 below). After meetings with Naomi and after heuristic evaluation of the site, I identified more (4-7).
Previous site was deemed a bit "childish" visually
Site looked like it was at least 10 years old in style and layout, and this did not meet the business goals.
Site data had not been updated since 2013.
Site was not designed for mobile or even ubiquitous modern technology like mapping sites/apps.
Content was 95% text on every page, often with a large number of bullets and without progressive disclosure of content, feeding into potential "too long, didn't read" effects.
Home page content was minimal and did not exactly entice the user to read more
Left-side marketing and navigation on every page took up room for page content organization and guidance. Recent studies from the Nielsen/Norman Group have shown how much people gravitate to the left side of a page, so repetitive and distracting data is not optimal to show there.
NOTE: the AYEC social media experience is not addressed by this study.
Business Goals
The AYEC website is not meant to be discovered through search and thereby pull in business. According to Naomi, most people already know they need a college advisor, and over 80% of her business happens through referrals.
Instead, the site needs to reinforce that customers have made a good choice in Naomi and AYEC.
Validate: confirm AYEC is legitimate and current, and instill confidence in clients. The site is likely not a a deal maker, but bad design/experience could be a deal breaker.
Differentiate: Naomi needed her site to not only compare well with her competition, which we reviewed, but to drive home a key differentiator: a significant emotional connection and relationship with her clients.
In addition, the resulting site had to be easy for Naomi to update after my work was done.
These business goals led to a discussion of the marketing messages of the site. We rendered it down to:
Customized relationship
Delivery of results (students being accepted to colleges they wish to go to)
Clear communications
Shaping the student's high school and college journey
