LEAD's Problem
Students need simple navigability to LEAD program content because they might be unfamiliar with the program.
~ 93%
of college students use college websites to get information on programs.
~ 54%
of undergraduate students in the United States identified as first-generation.
~ 24%
of first-generation students earn a bachelor's degree within 6 years.
Goal
Create a sample of redesigned webpages of the LEAD program website in order to:
Clearly present key details about mentorship, scholarships, and support services.
Have appealing pages to encourage students to explore opportunities and resources.
Incorporate student testimonials and success stories to make users feel supported.
Research
The primary user group identified was college students who don’t know how to navigate the college field.
Pain points included:
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Time - young adults need quick access to information due to the fast paced college lifestyle.
Outdated - inconsistent updates on college websites make students less reliant on them.
Navigability - difficulty navigating a website can make users stop returning.
Unresponsive - students rely on their phones; a poorly designed website discourages use.
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Early Design Process
Approach
I redesigned the LEAD webpages keeping in mind to make them visually appealing and simple. Keeping in mind these intentions will help incentivize students, along with parents, to look through the website without needing additional support.
Some feedback from rounds of usability testing included:
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Students want to quickly filter through dense page sections.
Users want to see the full website navigation menu on each page.
Students want elements in pages to be less distracting and more plain.
Finalized Sample Webpages
Results & Retention
Impact
I pitched this potential redesign idea to the program’s director and they loved it. However, there wasn’t any further reach out after that meeting. I did show this project to a couple LEAD students. One student said, “I love LEAD but looking through my email to find events details or announcements is tedious. Having everything I could search for right on the website saves me time and effort.”
If I were to continue working on this redesign and launch it I would:
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Ensure the website is fully responsive for mobile devices as student use phones more than computers.
Build a responsive model of the website for usability testing before fully rolling out the redesigned website.
Follow web accessibility standards (WCAG) to make the site inclusive for all users.
