About Business News
For more than 27 years, Business News has been a trusted, independent source for quality news and information about commerce and industry in WA, empowering business owners, directors and leaders with critical data, timely information and the ability to connect, enabling well-informed commercial decisions.
The challenge
Business News has grown substantially in the past 20 years and their website along with it. However, incremental updates throughout this time had led to a site that was underperforming. Some of the monetising features were not getting the level of engagement that was expected. Even though the site was still perceived as the central news resource for WA businesses, objective input from users was needed to improve the site’s engagement and lead conversion.
The solution
We were commissioned to do user research on the Business News website which would then be used to determine the ideal information structure and interactivity required to further develop their website. The goal was to end up with a website redesign that would be usable, professional and include additional features.
User research
After identifying key user groups, we conducted user research to gain a comprehensive understanding of how different people were navigating the website. This allowed us to find out how features were being used, how often and what challenges they encountered while using the site.
User journey mapping
We then used that information to map the user journey from start to finish. Mapping out a user journey and analysing the user success at each point provides insight into how users will typically interact and experience the site. Adding possible side journeys adds additional insight into impediments that may occur.
Information architecture
We optimised the IA to build the ideal site structure based on user feedback, business objectives and usability guidelines. This formed a set of wireframes that covered all priority page elements and could be passed onto our designers to further develop the site.
User interface design
Once we had the site structure, we were able to move onto the design phase. The biggest challenge was to refresh the brand assets to give it a modern and professional look while still aligning with a very familiar and established brand. We started by analysing the colours and fonts, before presenting the client with templates for their website, mobile site, and EDMs.
Development
Once we had finalised the design, we moved onto the development side. We provided the front-end development to Business News via slices so we could respond to their feedback and update the designs accordingly.
The results
