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SUMMARY
Pet Dynasty, a Pleasanton, CA pet care facility, sought to revamp its online presence to attract and retain customers in the Tri-Valley area. I led the adoption of a local SEO strategy and the transition from outdated offline methods to modern design.
MY ROLE
UX/UI Designer, SEO Analyst, Graphic Designer
TOOLS USED
Figma, Prompt Engineering, SEM Rush, WIX
TIMEFRAME
November 2023 - Present
Design Goals
Problem Statement
Business Goals
Identify ways to improve operational efficiency for a small business through exploring third-party booking software for clients and updating the design.
To improve local search in the Tri-Valley CA region amongst the sea of local and franchise competition.
Problem
Legacy software and website were outdated and causing issues for the business. New campaigns and content updates would require extensive deviation from the original website that was developed from a developer-first mindset.
Discovery Phase
Understanding the User Space
Competitive Market Analysis
After performing my own competitive analysis on Pet Dynasty's local competition, I used an online marketing tool called SEM Rush to study their rankings in search results. SEM Rush helps us see where these sites show up when people search online, especially for local services. This was useful for understanding where we were in comparison to our competitors.
Understanding User Needs
Through formal qualitative interviews with the business owner and employees, informal understanding of the problem space and looking at customer reviews we noticed areas where we can improve the current website to bring a more modern-day approach.
Key User Insights
Customer Frustrations
At the heart of its problem lied the employees and their inability to update the previous website autonomously. This often led to customer frustrations when they saw outdated prices and would often lead to angry customers leaving or trying to haggle to get better prices.
Easier Navigation
Through informal conversations as a customer over the years, I gained an understanding that there were too many steps in the process for onboarding new customers
Due to the constant employee turnover, the chosen platform needed to be easy enough for non-designers or developers to make updates in real time.
After performing a heuristic analysis of the current site and comparing it to its competitors, I chose to modernize the design and overhauling the information architecture I ensured that the CTAs were prioritized to ensure discoverability versus the previous developer-heavy approach.
Small business problem, big business solution
Driving Innovation Forward
AI Integration
As the only designer and marketing consultant, I chose to utilize ChatGPT to aid in local search optimization for headers and copy. This will ideally allow Pet Dynasty to increase their visibility in Google and lead to increased business conversion.
Cross-Collaboration
Consulted with Pet Dynasty’s owner throughout the discovery and design phase, keeping him in the loop and collaborating with current and former employees. Ensuring that the design remained user-centric and addressed particular paint points from the old website.
Putting the User First
Design Solution
Seamless Scalable Design
After analyzing the current site, I worked with the stakeholder/client to create a revamped navigation structure that would emphasize the facility's unique benefits on the homepage while still working within the existing brand. Ensured that it's scalable design solution for both the company's current onboarding and a future third-party booking system expansion.
Unmoderated Usability Testing
I conducted four free usability tests to assess the redesign's visual impact and navigation, considering the business's financial limitations. Tasks focused on CTA discoverability and finding information such as the cancellation policy. Participants were assigned tasks such as finding product descriptions, navigating to the checkout page, and locating contact information.
The results of the tests indicated high discoverability of CTAs (4/4 completed it successfully) and positive feedback on the visual design. All participants successfully completed their tasks, validating the design modernization efforts.
Scroll though the website to explore my redesign
Anchor 2
What's Next?
The Future of Pet Dynasty
A second round of usability studies will occur after polishing version 1.5.
Integrate third-party booking app once client finds one he likes. We are currently
still using the existing online and in-person registration form.
Storyboard, design and develop facility video for the company’s About Us section.
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