User Research for Improved UX Design

Naturally, because we were given another chapter in the company’s growth path online, we decided to set up a week of discovery phase with the intention of user research to identify who these products were sold to and for what purpose.

We contacted people in the two target audiences: families caring for an elderly member, and carers out in the community and within care homes. We set up interviews and focus groups with both sets and conducted a series of Q&A sessions. Using a mix of several user research methods meant that we were able to reveal the nuances of what users expected and needed from the website, and the products they may be looking to purchase from an eCommerce point of view. This gave us the insights needed to plan out the UI with the UX in mind.

Integrating Design With Developers

The web development team were asked to contribute and participate in our workshops from the beginning, even the initial scoping, to ensure they understand the project’s functional and aesthetic vision. For Brave, our developers are also important project stakeholders whose technical expertise helps guide certain design decisions.

During our design workshops, we wanted to make sure the user interactions we were prototyping were achievable from a technical point. For the development team, being integrated early on meant a chance to decide on their foundational front-end and back-end technologies, as well as more accurate workload estimates.

As the design stage was completed, their role in the collaboration shifted to one of proactive creative support. Our designers attended regular meetings to brief them in preparation for their front-end sprints, which meant a substantial level of QA could be achieved along the way and avoiding any major issues arising at the final pre-check stage.

Print Design Collateral

To fully understand the space that the Mobility Aids Centre occupied, Brave undertook a full review of its marketing materials and competition, be it online or the local activity marketing for Peterborough specifically. Doing this enabled us to create a distinct new brand style which evolved what had already been established previously. We gave their design a modern twist with a comprehensive set of brand and communication guidelines. All visual aspects of the brand collateral were then reviewed and new typographic, colour and layout styles were developed to adhere to Brave’s strategic recommendations. The brief was to construct a sleeker way of capturing the organisation’s trust and personality, bringing to life their services and areas of specialism.

The Outcome

The Mobility Aid Centre’s new front end is a clean, contemporary and lightning-fast experience that reflects the company’s vision of an easy-to-use site that accommodates a variety of customer personas. In a rudimentary online market full of retailers unwilling to adopt a digital-first mentality, the Mobility Aid Centre’s functional and beautiful new website elevates them far beyond their competitors.

The design of all the core converting pages meant that Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) was at the centre of everything we focused on. This also helped the website fill a lot of functions that didn’t exist previously within Magento. For example, with most of their users moving into mobile visits, this was a strong tenet in our design. Ultimately, the website was built to promote conversions; it continuously moves the customer towards a purchase and makes it easy to contact, enquire and buy whenever the customer feels ready. Each visit feels smooth, simple and welcoming in every aspect, for every type of user – the epitome of a user-friendly experience.

The Next Chapter

As The Mobility Aids Centre keeps growing online and as a company, so does Brave. We believe the success of our clients reflects on our work, and we are dedicated to providing the best web development and brand design in the Peterborough and Cambridgeshire area. We will continue to aim for even more success in the long run – a mantra at the heart of our agency.