Union Website

Unlike previous redesigns, which had been outsourced, I offered a user-centered approach that we pursued. At the point we began considering a redesign, the site hadn’t been significantly changed for five years. Anecdotally, users complained that the site was difficult to navigate and staff that the content management system made the site cumbersome to update, but hard data was needed. I led a committee of OEA members, cross-departmental staff, and outside consultants in a year-long study of site usage among current and desired users. We identified three areas of improvement that would have the biggest impact on user satisfaction: simplify navigation, improve information architecture, and enhance search results. Before beginning the design phase, I included testing on random participants, a card-sorting exercise and a tree test, to help ensure that the site structure was intuitive. I also had the developers implement a faceted search to make the results as specific as possible. We identified the need to appeal to younger members, which I addressed through the design with elements such as a modern design, more white space, wider use of images, and brighter colors. The site was also designed from the beginning with mobile responsiveness in mind. In addition, the CMS was changed from a clunky local product called GeoDocs to WordPress. As of February 2018, the new site had resulted in a 10% improvement in overall website satisfaction — the average increase after a website redesign is only 1% – 2%. In addition, Google Analytics measured the increase in website traffic post-redesign as 30%. The new site has enhanced usage for our main demographic of women aged 45+, while also attracting a desired demographic of new teachers aged 22-34.


ClientOhio Education AssociationServicesDigital Strategy, Messaging, Branding, Design, CopywritingYear20016-2017Linkwww.ohea.org

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