highland Woodworking
Project Overview
The Challenge
Customers need a way to develop their woodworking skills and obtain fine, specialty craft tools.
The Opportunity
Services & technical expertise provided by the shop are higher in demand and provide more significant margins than specialty goods.
The Solution
A redesigned site centered around the booking of classes & seminars and the continuance of woodworking knowledge & expertise.
The Outcome
Highland Woodworking increases its seminar-related revenue stream, while both educating the woodworking community and growing its loyal customer base.
Tools
Sketch
Miro
Marvel
Skills
User Research
Information Architecture
Wireframing
Visual Design
Duration
Two Weeks
October 2020
The Challenge
Customers need a way to develop their woodworking skills and obtain fine, specialty craft tools.
Overview
Highland Woodworking is a small, local hardware and woodworking retailer that sells a variety of specialty and high-quality woodworking tools & supplies. While customers often frequent the small storefront and workshop based in Atlanta, Georgia, the company's online presence does not reflect the highly curated, quality inventory and exceptional services provided by the retailer.
This case study focuses on an e-commerce redesign of the Highland Woodworking website that appropriately showcases the company's unique products while maintaining the current brand image and small shop appeal.
Opening Research
Prior to investigating the shared goals and unmet needs of HighlandWoodworking’s customer base, I sought to familiarize myself with the woodworking industry by: (1) conducting a heuristic evaluation of Highland Woodworking’s current e-commerce site, and (2) comparing their current site’s features to their competitor’s websites through a competitive element analysis.
Utilizing Jakob Nielsen’s 10 general principles for interaction design, I conducted an in-depth evaluation of the company’s e-commerce site. The purpose of this evaluation was to identify any current usability issues faced by users and to determine whether the current site is learnable, efficient, memorable, satisfying and preventative of errors.
While I found no immediate problems that could be classified as “usability catastrophes,” I noted that several usability issues existed within the current website. The primary heuristics violated included match between system and real world, consistency and standards, error prevention, flexibility and efficiency of use, and aesthetic and minimalist design.
In my opinion, the application of consistent design elements (i.e., user interface components, typography, color, etc.) and a revamp of the site’s information architecture would address many of the identified obstacles. However, as heuristic evaluations and expert reviews are typically conducted by three to five usability experts and seeing as I was the sole team member for this project, I wanted to guarantee that these assumed resolutions would appropriately address such issues.
To ensure the relevancy of my recommendations, I turned to the competitors’ sites to understand (1) how they handled the issues I had identified, (2) what features they had incorporated that were not currently being utilized on Highland Woodworking’s site, and (3) where my own design process could be better informed. Focusing on the landing page, primary navigation, home page features, utility navigation and supplemental navigation, I examined these site elements in relation to those of Highland Woodworking's website.
Once I had analyzed the e-commerce sites of Home Depot and Lowes, I determined the most fitting approach to redesign Highland Woodworking’s website would be to better organize and present the company’s inventory (i.e., woodworking tools, supplies and accessories) to the end user.
Basic Assumptions
Based on my initial research methods (i.e. heuristic evaluation and competitive element analysis) and to the best of my sparse knowledge of the woodworking industry, I carried the following assumptions into my user interviews:
User Interviews
In order to confirm the validity of my carried assumptions, I interviewed a total of four participants who: (1) had previous experience in woodworking and/or carpentry, and (2) had previously shopped online for woodworking tools & supplies. I asked questions about...
To more effectively understand the data gathered during my interviews, I utilized a research method called affinity mapping to organize key phrases, ideas and thoughts into grouped clusters. Although my online-shopping-centered discussion questions provided answers that fell into similar themes, two specific quotes from interviewees stood out among other responses...
Key Insights
These noteworthy ideas prompted me to reconsider the feedback received from my user interviews. Rather than solely focusing on the customers' acquisition of woodworking products, I directed my attention to the craft of woodworking. With this new approach in mind, I drew the following key insights from my interview data.
Redefining The competitors
After reconsidering the additional insights gathered during my user interviews and removing my personal biases from the design process, I continued to approach my research from a different perspective.
This time, instead of comparing the company's website elements to big box stores and franchises, I performed a second competitive element analysis that examined websites of smaller, more specialized woodworking companies, including Rockler, Woodcraft Tool Supply, and Peachtree Woodworking Supply.
This second iteration showed that while these specialty stores also featured superior, hand-picked inventory on their sites, the wealth of knowledge and expertise offered through Highland Woodworking's online platform was simply unrivaled.
The Opportunity
Services & technical expertise provided by the shop are higher in demand and provide more significant margins than specialty goods.
The Pivot
Research showed that individuals who frequented the Highland Woodworking online site were not only purchasing fine woodworking products, but were also seeking educational resources offered by the retailer.
Highland Woodworking stated that they strongly pride themselves on their reputation of becoming a reliable source of advice for the purchase and use of woodworking tools; a reputation built through their weekend woodworking seminar program, their product-oriented newsletter, and their monthly Wood News Online email subscription.
Based on my research findings, I determined that redesigning their online presence to primary feature their goods — and not their expertise and services — would serve as an injustice to the company and presumably: (1) decrease the percentage of returning customers, and (2) increase the site’s bounce rate. From thereon, the booking of classes and availability of woodworking resources would be my predominant focus for the website’s redesign, with the purchasing of products to follow.
Understanding the Woodworker
User interviews revealed that novice woodworkers tended to perform more in-depth explorations into quality woodworking products, while seasoned craftsmen stayed loyal to specific brands based on previous experience.
Even so, all interviewees shared similar behaviors and frustrations in their pursuit of mastering the craft, which aided in the development of the woodworker’s user persona, Rob Woodman.
Once this was established, I focused on the unmet needs & goals, typical behaviors, and commonly shared frustrations to better direct my design decisions.
Rob Woodman, 35
With a drive to become an established and recognized name in the Greater Nashville Area and backed by his do-it-yourself mentality, Rob recently quit his secure, corporate job to pursue a full-time career in carpentry & woodworking.
In order to grow his brand and widen his current customer base, Rob spends countless hours researching quality woodworking products & tools and watching product demonstration videos online. He believes that by developing his woodworking skills and building upon his tool inventory, he will be able to provide top-quality craftsmanship to his customers.
The Current Process
Once the user persona was adequately established, I further investigated the challenges faced by users by creating two separate retrospective user flows, which represented the paths required by users to: (1) book a class online, and (2) purchase a product online.
Booking A Class
Purchasing a Product
My evaluation of these two user flows indicated that the company’s current website experience led to several “end points” in each of the processes, hindering users from executing on their end goal(s). Consequently, one could assume that the site’s conversion rates for both booking a class and purchasing a product were being negatively impacted by the user flows currently in place on the company's website.
Based on these research findings, I concluded that streamlining the current navigation scheme was an essential step required to both increase the site’s conversion rates and assist users in executing on their end goals.
Streamlining The Scheme:
A new navigation
After conducting my initial heuristic evaluation, it was clear that a reorganization of the site’s content was inevitable, as the current navigation was a major usability problem. Users need an intuitive way to navigate the site so that they can easily access their end goals, whether that be booking an online class or purchasing craft products.
To address this issue, I conducted a content audit to better familiarize myself with the goods & services offered by Highland Woodworking. My findings showed that the site’s inventory fell into four general categories, which could be summarized as follows: Classes, Resources, Shop, and About Us. This will become the site’s global navigation.
In creating the new site map, it was determined that presenting Classes and Resources as the first two categories would best benefit the company.
Following Classes and Resources would be the Shop category, which would include a more functional presentation of the products offered by the retailer.
Lastly, the About Us category would be comprised of the company’s history, their current location, and any relevant contact information.
How Might We...
While streamlining the navigation scheme would provide a significant amount of clarity in the user's experience, it would not address all the underlying problems at hand. Utilizing the How Might We Method, I rephrased design challenges faced by users, which aided in pinpointing additional solutions for the site.
The Solution
A redesigned site centered around the booking of classes & seminars and the continuance of woodworking knowledge & expertise.
Visual Design
As users typically associate their experiences across different products, I increased the learnability of the site by designing uniform call-to-action buttons. Lastly, I improved the visibility of site content by developing identifiable icons for account management, site checkout, and social media links.
A New Experience
Landing Page
Feature: Filter
Feature: Mega Menus
The Outcome
Highland Woodworking increases its seminar-related revenue stream, while both educating the woodworking community and growing its loyal customer base.
One-Stop Woodshop
Highland Woodworking has an opportunity to separate themselves from their competitors by capitalizing on their ability to provide the products, skills, and knowledge required to excel in the woodworking community. Facilitating a more intuitive approach to the craft of woodworking will increase the company's seminar-related revenue streams, reinforce customer base retention, and demonstrate why the company is highly qualified in providing their sophisticated woodworking expertise.
As Highland Woodworking implements these changes to their online presence, the following indicators can be used to evaluate the performance of the redesigned website. Further, as future design iterations are carried out, the following features can be prioritized to align with the company's goals, supported by customer-based feedback.
