Mountain Gateway Community College
UX // WEB DESIGN
After undergoing a name change from Dabney S. Lancaster Community College to Mountain Gateway Community College, MGCC needed a website overhaul. They sought to change the UI on the site to match their new brand, and also asked 25th Hour to take a look at the site analytics and page layouts, then make recommendations that would improve the overall user experience, as well as increase interest in their programs.
I worked one-on-one with our web developer to dive into the site analytics, as well as walk through the site and determine what UI/UX items were not working in favor of the college.
Key data points:
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The old homepage had a 80.5% drop off rate
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The average bounce rate across all pages on their site was 68.99%
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Only 0.79% of all traffic to the site ended up at the /workforce pages (this is important as they want to be seen as a workforce college)
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Only 0.9% of all traffic to their site ends up at their /apply page (this means they are not getting prospective students through the enrollment funnel on the site - what should be their biggest marketing tool)
Work done at 25th Hour Communications
User Flow
After reviewing the analytics, as well as the layout and menus on the old site, we came to several conclusions. While a lot of unique traffic was being driven to the site, it wasn't doing a good job at retaining that traffic, and users were unable to find pages deeper into the site. We attributed this to the fact that there wasn't a clear flow for users from the homepage to information that may pertain to them and/or entice them to attend DSLCC, therefore land on the apply page. We also noticed from a UI perspective that the menu style on the second level pages was pretty hidden, and could be easily overlooked.
We created a plan to first redesign all top level navigation pages to have clear pathways deeper into the site, and implement a new menu style that didn't hide important links. This would increase findability, and decrease bounce rates. These pathways would be defined by an overhaul of the old information architecture to better accommodate an optimal user flow. We also recommended a reorganization of the homepage, adding more interactive elements that would engage users, and a redesign of both the workforce and apply landing pages – using more engaging imagery and copy to attract prospective students.
Lo-Fi Wireframes
Hi-fi Wireframes (Currently under development
BRB, hanging with my cats. Drop a message and I'll get back to you.
