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The Africa In Me

A website redesign that helps users to understand the mission of the organization effectively and attracts more users

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Problem

The users could not find the information about the organization and its mission so they could not trust to donate.

Deliverable

Interview, Competitive audit, Sketches, UI, Wireframe, Prototype

Role

Team leader, User researcher, Interaction designer ( team of 5 designers )

Duration

Three weeks

Outcome

40% increase in the user engagement

OVERVIEW

AFIM is a nonprofit organization founded by an inspirational woman from Africa. The organization is dedicated to providing food and job security for families in need across four counties in Africa. As a UX designer my goal was to help AFIM expand and reach more people.

During the time, I interviewed online donors and discovered that the organization's homepage was not effectively communicating its mission and goals. To address this issue, I took the initiative to suggest a redesign of the website in time for our first anniversary. Together with my team, we began the process of creating a more effective and efficient website that better reflects AFIM's goals and values.

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As one of the AFIM team, my ambition was to make an impact and help AFIM grow in its mission.

PROCESS

DISCOVER

DEFINE

IDEATE

DELIVER

IMPACT

Interview

Usability testing

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Finding the problem

Competitive audit

Cart sorting

Sitemap

Sketch

Wire frame

Rapid prototype

Usability testing 

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DISCOVER

Usability Testing & Interview

In order to gain a deeper understanding of our users and identify any issues they may have been experiencing, we conducted a usability test with ten individuals on our current website. The objective of the test was to gather insights into their experiences using the site and to determine their expectations for how the site should function. By conducting this test, we were able to identify pain points and areas where the user experience could be improved.

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What users revealed during the interview

DEFINE

Finding the Problem

During the usability test, we closely observed the users and engaged with them after they had completed their tasks. Through this process, we identified several key areas for improvement, including:

  • The website's inconsistent and unprofessional design, which had a negative impact on the users' experience.

  • The homepage lacked sufficient information about the organization and the donation process, which caused confusion and made it difficult for users to engage with the site.

  • The information provided on the site was unclear, leaving users uncertain about how their donations would be used and where the funds would go.

  • This confusion eroded users' trust in the organization and discouraged them from making donations or getting involved.

  • The volunteer application process was also found to be time-consuming, which made it difficult for users to apply for volunteer opportunities.

Based on these findings, we developed a plan to address these issues and improve the user experience on the website.

IDEATION

Competitive Audit

For the next phase of our research, we analyzed the websites of ten similar organizations with comparable missions and target audiences. Our aim was to identify best practices and effective strategies that could be applied to our own website. After thorough observation and analysis, we identified several key takeaways:

  • The use of humanized language in the navbar, which helps to create a welcoming and approachable tone for the website.

  • The importance of using clear and concise phrases like "Who We Are" and "What We Do" to communicate the mission and purpose of the organization.

  • The necessity of having a prominent "Volunteer" button on the homepage, which encourages users to get involved with the organization.

  • The value of having a search bar on the global bar, which allows users to quickly and easily find the information they need.

By incorporating these findings into our website redesign, we hope to create a more user-friendly and effective platform that better serves our audience and achieves our organizational goals.

Solution

After analyzing the results of our research, our team compiled a list of goals to focus on for the website redesign. These include:

  • Redesigning the homepage to include more information about the organization, which will help to establish trust with our users.

  • Improving the information architecture of the site to create a smoother and more intuitive navigation experience.

  • Providing information about the organization's founder to encourage users to engage with our mission and become more invested in our cause.

  • Creating a user-friendly process for joining as a volunteer, which will help to attract and retain volunteers who are interested in our work.

  • Adding a blog to the website, which will improve our search engine discoverability and provide users with valuable insights into our work and mission.

Card Sorting

As part of our research, we identified that users were experiencing difficulties navigating the website. To address this issue, our team focused on improving the site's information architecture and created a detailed sitemap. Our goal was to make it easier for users to find the information they were looking for and navigate the site more smoothly.

In addition to this, we also made some changes to the language used on the website. Specifically, we replaced "Join Us" with "Get Involved" and "About Us" with "Who We Are." This shift towards a more humanized and clear language was aimed at making the website more welcoming and user-friendly.

By implementing these changes, we hope to improve the user experience on our website and make it easier for our audience to engage with our mission and get involved with our organization.

BEFORE CARD SORTING

AFTER CARD SORTING

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Sketch

As we moved forward with the website redesign, our team began to sketch out different design options and concepts. We carefully reviewed each sketch, taking into account both the users' pain points and the organization's mission and goals, with the aim of creating a design that would provide a better user experience.

Throughout this process, we continued to gather feedback from users and revise our designs accordingly. We made sure to keep the needs of our users at the forefront of our decision-making process, while also ensuring that the design was aligned with the organization's mission and values.

After several rounds of revisions and user testing, we arrived at a final design that we believe will provide an improved user experience for our audience

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Sample of the first sketch our team made

DELIVER

Wireframe

After several rounds of revisions and user testing, we arrived at a final design that we believe will provide an improved user experience for our audience.

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Volunteer Page: The users can apply for volunteer opportunities with a short process on one page.

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IMPACT

To measure the impact of our website redesign, we conducted a usability test before and after implementing the changes. The test involved ten participants, and we analyzed the results to determine if our redesign had improved the user experience.

The results were overwhelmingly positive. The time it took for users to apply as a volunteer was significantly reduced, and all ten participants were able to easily find the information they were looking for. Additionally, eight of the participants expressed satisfaction with the new appearance of the website.

We were thrilled to see that the redesign had a significant impact on user engagement. Over the course of four months following the redesign, we saw a 40% increase in user engagement. This confirmed that our efforts had paid off, and that the changes we made had resulted in a more user-friendly and engaging website.

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BEFORE

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AFTER

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Note: This is a real project I did while working in the organization. However, I have omitted or blurred confidential information/ images in this case study to comply with my non-disclosure agreement. The information presented here is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of the organization.

What I Learned

Unleashing ideas to find solusions

This was the first time in my work that I really unleashed my imagination to find a solution. Rather than jumping straight into the design part, I first conducted thorough research about my users. It's crucial to learn about their needs and what keeps them engaged. The results of my research showed how important it is to put the users at the center of any design process. We must always focus on creating something that solves their real problems, rather than what we might assume about them.m.


Leadership opportunity

Working in a nonprofit team provided me with numerous opportunities to hone my skills as a collaborative designer. I took on the role of leading a team of two people, which proved to be challenging at first. However, I eventually learned how to identify each team member's strengths and focus on what we could accomplish as a team, rather than dwelling on our weaknesses

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