INDUSTRY: Data & Cyber-security
| DURATION: MAR -JUN 2024
Simplifying Cybersecurity: Enhancing User Experience and boosting engagement of Sheersafe's website
Boosting website engagement by helping business understand core offerings of Sheersafe and improve their learning and discovery journey
Role:
User Research, Business Analysis, User Interface Design, User Experience Design, Visual Design, Usability Testing, Wire-framing, Accessibility, Prototyping, Website Development, Responsive website
Team:
Product designer (Me)
Focus group (5 members)
Product Manager
Lead Engineer
Skills:
UI/UX design
Design Research
Visual Design
Prototyping
Website Development
Micro-Interactions
About Sheersafe
Challenge & Opportunity
Sheersafe's website, though focused on user engagement, struggled to clearly communicate its core business and services, hindered by generic visuals that weakened its cybersecurity positioning. This project rethought the website to prioritize relevance for businesses seeking security solutions, simplifying complex technical offerings. To enhance the website's narrative and boost engagement—measured by increased new user visits, sign-ups, and registrations—we aimed to improve usability, strengthen Sheersafe's brand story and unique personality.
SYNTHESIS
Consolidating the problem
We analysed and synthesised the website performance metrics from hubspot integration. We identified three key areas to focus on
40%
Reduction in unique visitors
drop in unique visitors highlights a significant loss of new and returning users, indicating a decline in overall website visibility
23%
Increase in drop off rates
increase in drop-off rates, particularly from the homepage, suggests that the website is failing to capture user interest and drive engagement
12%
Decline in page views
decline in page views, coupled with low CTRs suggests that users are not progressing beyond initial pages and not interacting with the website's content.
The Problem
Sheer Safe's website is struggling to effectively communicate its value proposition to its B2B audience due to complex technical language, complicated information design and a lack of clear benefits.
The Solution
Enhance user experience by simplifying complex technical language and improving information architecture.
USER JOURNEY MAPS
Tracing target user journeys
Building on the user personas, I created distinct user journey maps to account for variations in business size, needs, and levels of technical proficiency (from non-technical owners to IT managers).
INformation Architecture
Retructuring the information flow
Building on our research, we then analyzed the existing website's information flow and reorganized its architecture to improve user journeys, create more meaningful navigation paths, and simplify the core offerings. This aimed to help users better understand the products and their benefits.
UX writing
Simplifying UX language
User research revealed a key insight: users, regardless of technical background, frequently felt overwhelmed by cybersecurity jargon and struggled to understand the technical implications of different solutions. To address this, we simplified the information architecture, breaking down complex information into smaller, more digestible units to improve discoverability of Sheer safe's offerings.
VISUAL LANGUAGE
Refreshing the visual language to represent Cybersecurity
From the competitive analysis and user research, I refreshed the visual language of Sheer safe. We introduced darker tones, simple illustrations supported with text to help build context. Using simple blocks of shapes to represent technical nature of the prime sheer safe offerings. Integrated with lottie animations and subtle motion design to enrich the visual experience and support the communication.
Out of scope: Brand identity and social media marketing are not considered in this project.
Information DESIGN
Introducing the business: What does Sheersafe do?
We applied the insights from primary and secondary research to build the narrative of introducing the business - addressing key questions: What does Sheersafe do? How does it deliver cybersecurity services? And why should businesses choose Sheersafe? To enhance user experience, we restructured the homepage into smaller units/ sections, simplified navigation, making it easy for users to quickly understand the value proposition.
PRODUCTS & SERVICES
A detailed breakdown of services & core offerings
After introducing the overview of Sheer safe offerings, I broke down each service into easy-to-understand terms, explaining complex technical jargon. To empower the users, I provided clear call-to-action buttons: 'Book a Demo' for those ready to take the next step, and 'Learn More' for those seeking additional information. I enhanced the user experience with simple, consistent iconography and engaging Lottie animations.
BUILDING CREDIBILITY & BRAND PERSONALITY
Introducing the brand & people behind the brand
Telling the story of Sheer safe, using the section to introduce the brand, people behind the brand, the company vision, and mission of the brand, answering the question WHO is behind Sheer safe.
CALL TO ACTION
Enhancing call to action discoverability to drive conversions
Recognizing that "Schedule a Demo" is the most crucial action for the website's success, I prioritized its prominence throughout the user journey. To cater to different user preferences, I decided to include both long and short contact forms.
The long form offers comprehensive options for detailed inquiries, while the short form provides a quick and easy way for users to get in touch with minimal effort. To maximise user convenience, I placed the primary contact form in the top navigation bar, ensuring it's always readily available.
RESPONSIVE DESIGN & USABILITY TESTING
Addressing Device Diversity: Seamless user experiences across devices
After the usability study and implementing the feedback into design. I tested the design's adaptability across various screen sizes, including tablets and mobile devices. This involved creating a responsive prototype within Figma, which was then subjected to another round of usability testing with an internal team of five members. This team comprised the project lead, founder, product marketing lead, and senior marketing strategist.
REFLECTION
My Learnings & Key Takeaways
Design Impact:
Sheer safe website is live and following the launch of the redesigned Sheersafe website, HubSpot integration data revealed a 20% increase in new unique customer engagement. We also observed a 46% increase in page views, a 32% decrease in drop-off rates, and a 12% increase in demo request conversions.
Challenges of Small business::
I had the opportunity to collaborate with a small business which provided valuable insight into their unique challenges, such as limited resources and budgets. To address these, we explored solutions leveraging AI tools for streamlined content creation and project planning, utilised website development platforms like Wix Studios for implementation, and integrated performance measurement tools like HubSpot for optimisation.
Managing the Design and Development Process
Leading this project as the sole freelance design lead, I translated designs into development, managing the project from a design perspective. This provided the opportunity to establish efficient collaboration processes, manage time effectively, and maintain focus on project goals. Implementing KPIs to track progress ensured the project stayed on track.