TATE THOMPSON LAW
Business Website Redesign
Have you ever had a business idea, created an online store, it worked out pretty well and later realised the solution could be so much better?
Tate Thompson Law is a sole proprietor law firm in the United States. The owner has also practised law as a licensed solicitor in New Zealand.
Some ten years ago during her preparations for the New Zealand Law and Practice Examination, or NZLPE, she realised that there was almost no academic support for test takers. So she began to share her exam preparation strategies with fellow students.
Upon her return to the United States in 2015, she set up a website to market her exam notes and provide tutoring support. The site has been a steady source of 'almost' passive income from test-takers all over the world ever since.
But not without a few challenges . . .
My Role
Investigate the issues
Improve the business strategy
Structure a new website to support profitability
First Steps
After in-depth conversations with my client, I developed a research plan.
I analysed site traffic over the past year.
There is little competition for academic support for the NZLPE, but I did get familiarised with other learning venues.
I read through client emails as a 'diary study' and conducted an introductory survey.
Some Initial Ideas
Completely rebuild the website framework and create a new design content to streamline the process. Many customers have mentioned confusion about the path to purchasing, some of the purchase options, payment and products.
Update the SEO to move ahead of the 'main competition' and increase visibility.
Focus website offering on specific sets of products as a bundle, embed video presentations and set up an FAQ page to allow customers to find information independently rather than directly emailing my client.
Consider international language and culture barriers with potential test-takers to mitigate misunderstandings in product offerings.
Defining the Pain Points in the User Experience
My client could see that the hard data confirmed many of her own doubts.
I then honed in more on the end users themselves. Based on 'diary studies', survey data and interviews with my client, I developed a better idea of the user experience and their general personalities.
A Few Ongoing Conclusions and Objectives (up for occasional tweaking . . . )
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Lakshmi, an NZLPE test-taker, needs to easily find tutoring and academic resources on the internet because she wants to pass the examination the first time so she can finally live in New Zealand with her family.
Abir, an NZLPE examinee, needs to find expert help throughout the complete process of becoming a New Zealand solicitor because he wants to be able to practise law with New Zealanders living in his country.
KPI
Increase annual company profitability by 20 per cent with a more streamlined version of a new company website and decrease
owner direct involvement by 40 per cent.
OKR
Surpass 2022 gross sales by 25 per cent, selling more products and services through increasing website visibility and company efficiency.
After more brainstorming . . .
How might we adapt a website to accommodate non-native speakers of English?
How might we sequence the framework to make it easier to navigate?
How might we sell more bundles of study materials on one subject?
How might we avoid having a lot of questions from end users that are already answered on the website?
How might we find the right keywords to embed in the website and improve the SEO without competition?
I developed a skeleton sitemap, and started wireframing!
A basic framework
Introduction
Contact
A basic framework
Usability Testing
I conducted a usability test with five participants, just to see how the initial website flow was going.
And we hit a bump - although the results were good, the general consensus outside of the study was that the website was 'clunky'.
"Why go through all of that information just to buy some courses?"
"It was frustrating and kind of a waste of time."
"Had there been opportunities elsewhere, I would have consulted other sites."
So I suggested creating a landing page with only one call to action - let's see how that would work!
Neither of us cared too much for the landing page mockup, but it's a start!
Style Guide and Hi-Fidelity Prototype
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My client and I decided on a final website structure, and then focussed on aesthetics.
She loves ocean colours, so we stayed within that scheme. We're using photos of New Zealand to elicit even more enthusiasm from international test-takers by remembering the natural beauty of the country.
On another note, her favourite colour is pink. This was integrated into the old website, and we used whatever opportunities we could to blend this with the chosen colour scheme, typography, images and content mood in the new version.
Almost there . . . still under construction but a few sample pages are available!
Lessons Learned, Moving Forward and Takeaways
I learned a lot about landing pages - their function and importance in encouraging immediate calls to action. The proof is in the pudding - the website is set to launch on 13 February 2023. We'll see down the road how well we hit our metrics as the mid-term NZLPE exams approach in July.
All around I think the biggest takeaway for me from this project has been considering all the smaller details required in good research to create a digital product that will make a positive impact on my client's business. And test, research, test and tweak is the current motto.
I'm excited to see how this plays out in the next few months!
