Wildlife Center of Salt Lake

“Conserving Utah native species through science, education, and rehabilitation.”

INTRODUCTION

Tasked with designing a functional site structure for the Wildlife Center of Salt Lake, encompassing information architecture, navigation, taxonomy, metadata, and content strategies. We employed user research to gather the necessary requirements through competitive analysis, site and content analysis, accessibility analysis, and user testing methods.

My responsibilities were to conduct navigation testing with users, conduct usability testing, design the original sitemap, and design wireframes including the suggested changes from the tests.

COLLABORATORS

Sarah Foster
Brandon Collette

ROLE

UX Researcher and UX Designer

TIME

May 2023-August 2023

TOOLS

Mural
Illustrator
Excel
Figma

Process

CARD SORT

As a team, we analyzed the Wildlife Center of Salt Lake's website to revamp its content structure and design elements. Our goal was to enhance the site's usability, ensuring users could easily find the correct content without becoming frustrated or lost and end up leaving the page entirely. Here is the organization's homepage:

Wildlife Center of Salt Lake's home page of website

We immediately noticed that the navigation menu is unconventional, with links located on the left side of the screen, separated by the large organization logo. Additionally, the Donate button on the right tends to get overlooked because users are focused on the links to the left. The black color of the button further contributes to it being easily missed. The social media links are placed in the middle of the Jumbotron area, which seems out of place.

CARD SORT TESTING

Using Mural, we conducted in-person testing on navigation content placement. Together on a computer, each tester sorted the categories based on where they felt they best fit the category title. We also gave them the option to create their own category titles. I would take notes on the comments that were made during the testing as well as how long it took them.

Here are our results from what we based our justifications:

Test 1

We learned: Tester liked having Frequently asked questions in multiple categories instead of just one that would answer different types of questions.

Test 2

We learned: Tester felt like the category title named "Support" was confusing. They were unsure if this meant support for the organization or support for the user themselves. They created their own category named Participate for ways a user could participate through the organization.

Test 3

We learned: Tester felt like "Documents" was difficult to place. They didn't know what documents were or what they would be used for. He also vocalized that he wanted to put Frequently Asked Questions in multiple categories instead of just one but ended up only using it once.

SITEMAP

The original sitemap was confusing for users to find what they needed. They were clicking through several links before finally finding what they were looking for.

SUGGESTIONS: With the testing finished we created a new sitemap we would suggest using for new content placement. We would suggest using the following structure changes:

Change the title "Support" to "Get Involved" for better clarity.
Get rid of the "Home" title due to it being repetitive where the logo itself acts as a home link.
Bring "Donate" out from being a sub-link to be a head link.
Bring "Contact" out from being a sub-link to be a head link.
Rename "Frequently Asked Questions" to "FAQs."
Rename "Leadership" to "Our Team."
Rename "About" to "About Us."
Rename "Documents" to "Public Documents."
Combine "WCSLs Favorite Things" onto the "Activities" page since they contained similar content.

Suggested sitemap for Wildlife Center of Salt Lake's website

USABILITY TESTING

Using Optimal Workshop Tree Testing, we were able to set up our tasks for users to test our content placement.

TASKS

Task 1 of 4:

You are out on a walk and come across a wild bird that looks injured. You are wondering if you should take care of this bird yourself or if you are supposed to turn it in somewhere. You turn to this Wildlife Center of Salt Lake website to find out. It is a Saturday so you know the organization is closed. Your goal is to navigate through this site to answer your question of "Can I rehabilitate the animal I found myself?"

Task 2 of 4:

Like other nonprofit organizations, you know that the Wildlife Center of Salt Lake is involved in the community. Your goal is to navigate the site to find out who the WCSL is a “proud supporter of” in the community.

Task 3 of 4:

You are a volunteer for the Wildlife Center of Salt Lake and you are interested in the legality of the non profit organization you work with. You decide to try and find the Tax Filings Document in order to better understand this. Your goal is to navigate the site to find the Tax Filings Document.

Task 4 of 4:

You want to donate to WCSL but you don't want to make a cash donation. In addition to that, you also want to know of specific items that you can donate to WCSL. Your goal is to navigate through the site to where you can find these out.

RESULTS

Problem: We had some high failure rates. The task with the lowest success rate was Task 1, which had a 75% failure rate. We suspected that the wording of the task might be contributing to the high failure rate. Consequently, we reworded the task and conducted another round of testing, but the results remained unchanged. Realizing that more significant adjustments were necessary, we decided to make substantial changes to the FAQ's section.

ARCHITECTURE STRUCTURE

We suggested making several changes to the following layout structure of the website:

Redesign the structure layout of the content on the Home page for easy element identification.
Use consistent colors throughtout the website.
Use consistent link formatting.
Combine the "FAQs" onto the "Wildlife Emergency" page to help answer emergency questions.
Add emergency contact number to the contact page.
Combine the "WCSLs Favorite Things" wiht "Activities" since the content is all similar.
Parially combine the information from "Ways to Support" to "Donate" to have additional information for users to donate but still keeping "Ways to Support".
Keep consistent color scheme throughout the "Donate" page by using yellow buttons to help users know they are on the same site.
Create a Donate button in the navigation menu that is yellow to help it stand out.

WIREFRAMES

We created wireframes that included the suggested changes from the card sort testing, usability testing and the architecture structure suggestions. My responsibility was building the "Wildlife Emergency" page and the "Activities" page.

Home

Activites

Wireframe for Wildlife Center of Salt Lake's activities page

Donate

Wildlife Emergency

REFLECTION

The comprehensive analysis and strategic redesign of the Wildlife Center of Salt Lake's website aims to elevate user experience, streamline navigation, and align the digital presence with the organization's mission. Through site inventory, competitor analysis, content analysis, card sorting, and usability testing, we identified key areas for improvement.

Our architectural strategies included a refined site map, redesigned navigation, and wireframes that emphasize clarity, accessibility, and visual cohesion. By implementing these recommendations, the Wildlife Center of Salt Lake can enhance its online presence, attract a broader audience, and bridge the gap with competitor wildlife rehabilitation sites.

The proposed changes, rooted in user-centric design, are poised to make the website more engaging, user-friendly, and effective in fulfilling the organization's goals.

WHAT I WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY

While testing users, I would give them more pre information going into the testing such as, letting them know they have as much time as they need and that they are not being timed. I would also let them know they can change the cards around as much as they need until they felt comfortable with their choices. The testers I tested seemed to rush through the card sorting as fast as they could like they were being timed.

PHOTO CREDIT: Photos on this page can be found at Wildlife Center of Salt Lake as well as Unsplash.

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