Let’s begin at the end…

😉 My blog metrics indicate that 60% of readers don’t read the full post. So, let’s take an extremely quick look at what I learned from a data-driven website redesign!

TAKEAWAY #1

If presented properly, a visitor will spend more time viewing less content. Despite a decrease in the number of pages, and a reduction to the word count per page, I observed an increase in average session duration.

The changes:

Long blocks of text were reevaluated and truncated into more concise blurbs.

Consolidated site structure enabled visitors to quickly find relevant content.

The increase in average session duration indicates that visitors are staying on the website longer.

TAKEAWAY #2

Design patterns work! It may be tempting to break all of the rules, but the truth is, design patterns are familiar to visitors and utilize a composition that takes advantage of a viewer’s natural eye movement.

The changes:

The revised homepage features a z-shaped pattern (desktop), and prioritizes the most frequently viewed content. On pages with large text blocks, an f-shaped pattern (desktop) was used.

The primary navigation was revised to be more intuitive and mobile-friendly.

The 8% decrease in the bounce rate indicates a deeper visit to the website.

TAKEAWAY #3

Remove steps from the user journey to improve conversion rate. The removal of a single step in the user journey resulted in a large increase in conversions.

Conversions were measured by the percentage of visitors that submitted a questionnaire form.

The changes:

Fewer steps for a visitor to reach the questionnaire form with adequate information about offerings.

Increased prominence of the form.

Instead of one long form (15 questions), the form was broken into three small portions (5 questions per portion).

A large increase in conversion rate indicates that more visitors are taking a desired action in response to a call to action (CTA).

Thank you for reading this far!

Below, I have provided a much more granular examination of why certain changes were made and the resulting improvements observed in key performance indicators (KPIs).

The client

In 1980, Carol Yilmaz and nine other parents sought an appropriate education for their gifted children. Together, they founded Long Island School for the Gifted (LISG), a private coeducational day school.

The LISG mission statement:

To provide an appropriate education for gifted children in pre-kindergarten through ninth grade, in a nurturing environment where they will be both intellectually challenged and comfortable socially, thereby providing these children with the opportunity to grow and develop to their potential.

The LISG website seeks to provide prospective students and their parents with details of the unique offerings available at the school. A preliminary step in the application process is the “Introductory Questionnaire” form, which can be completed on the website. Additionally, the website would provide valuable information to enrolled students and their parents.

LISG website: 2014-2017

Prior to 2014, the LISG website was largely static. The 2014-2017 website featured a photo carousel, digital student event calendar, and an introductory questionnaire form, which would help prospective parents jump start the application process.