Alongside our partners at Ethical Consumer Magazine, we recently ran a session exploring how website and digital product managers can make a big difference to their site with a small budget.
We demonstrated how you can transform the UX of key web pages using a collaborative design process.
View the presentation
Ethical Consumer, a magazine and website focused on ethical shopping guides, partnered with us to enhance key pages on their site.
Due to budget and time constraints, the core objective was to improve the user experience and conversion rates on the Ethical Consumer website without a complete site rebuild. Key focus areas included shopping guides, company pages, and e-commerce checkout processes.
Data collection and analysis
Michael Wignall presented data-driven insights from Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager, and Hotjar. This data revealed issues such as high abandonment rates in the e-commerce checkout, low engagement on company pages, and a need for better navigation and introductory content on shopping guides. Heat maps, click maps, and session recordings from Hotjar were used to visually understand user behaviour and pain points.
How might we
Based on this data, Tim Hunt outlined specific “how might we” statements to address these issues. These included improving navigation on shopping guides, promoting the physical magazine, enhancing call-to-actions, and reducing cart abandonment in e-commerce.
Design process
The team then engaged in a collaborative design process, facilitated by Stephanie Lenz, one of our lead designers. This involved workshops to review user needs, discuss inspiration, and analyse the existing layout. Mockups and iterations were created and reviewed by the team.
Specific design changes were implemented, such as restructuring the e-commerce checkout process with a progress stepper and adding images and testimonials. Shopping guides received improved introductory text, page menus, and paywall displays to tease subscriber content. Company pages were reorganised to prioritise important information and improve navigation.
Review and results
Preliminary impact data from the three months following the changes showed significant improvements.
- Checkout completion rates in e-commerce jumped from 17.2% to 54.2%.
- Call-to-action clicks on guide pages increased by 17.5%, and revenue per visit for guide landing pages rose by 16%.
- Company profiles showed mixed results, with paywall clicks slightly down but revenue per visit up by 30%, suggesting different user flows.
Key takeaways
Key takeaways from the session included:
- The importance of data-driven decision-making
- Early collaboration with design and development teams
- Understanding user needs
- Implementing small, iterative improvements rather than large-scale overhauls can save money and get great results
Thanks to those who ran the session:
- Steph, designer and project lead at Agile Collective
- Maria, Developer at Agile Collective
- Michael, Website analysis & performance consultant at Ethical Consumer and Agile Collective
- Tim, former Digital Lead at Ethical Consumer (now Comms Lead at Agile Collective)
The video will be uploaded soon.
This was the first session of three. Subscribe to our Luma channel to find out about the following sessions.
