My role 👋
As the lead UX designer, I conducted a full end-to-end design process for the project including client briefings, research, UX/UI design, testing and handover, as well as partaking in initial scoping and timeline estimations.
Understanding the challenge 🔎
The Fire team had a number of issues with their website and lead capture process:
Who are Fire? Lack of trust building content throughout the site.
Unclear messaging around USP and brand positioning.
Lengthy and complicated contact form, leading to bounces or conversions that required a lot of manual follow up.
No centralised support hub to assist customer service with incoming queries (FAQs, How-to guides etc).
Know your customers 👥
As we had a limited user research allowance, and difficulty accessing the target audience (C-suite level, product owners etc), some assumptions had to be made.
Rigorous user personas were created with the client's knowledge of their customer base, as well as comprehensive competitive analysis and Fire sales team interviews.
Our goals became clear:
Design brief 🖊
I created and led the client through a thorough design brief, outlining the strategic and aesthetic direction the solution would aim to achieve.
Design, test, repeat. ♻️
Once a basic site map and wireframes were complete, a selection of UI concepts were presented to the client and approved.
Hi-fidelity Figma prototypes allowed us to conduct user testing sessions, and validate that our main goals were being achieved.
As copywriting and messaging was central to some of the current issues, many drafts were collaborated on.
Testing feedback highlighted that some of the copy was still somewhat confusing. In particular, the main CTA 'Apply' was called out as unclear. 'Contact us' was later agreed upon for clarity.
"I wouldn't know what 'apply' does actually, there's something weird about that word. What am I applying for?”
A preference for a direct sales email address was also universal, which was added in addition to the contact form.
Trust building elements 🤝
With financial products, a sense that your company is trustworthy is vital. Here's a few elements I leveraged to weave trust building into the UI:
Reputable partners: Showcase recognisable company/institution logos on the homepage.
Testimonials: Let positive reviews speak for themselves.
Show the team: People respond to a human face, so show the people behind the company.
Case studies: Go in depth with business use-cases, so customers can see how they can benefit too.
Blog posts: Showcase your authority and knowledge base through your content.
The solution ✅
Fire's site re-design delivered a comprehensive solution that effectively communicates trust and drives inbound sales.
Custom brand assets and tailored animation elevates the experience to one that dynamically engages and informs. It provides the Fire team with a flexible design system language and the ability to showcase their voice and build authority in their area of expertise.
The results 📈
Analytics showed significant improvement in user engagement (via no. of pages visited in one session), and an uptick in return visits.
The sales and customer service teams were also vocal in the improvements they could see day-to-day once the site launched.
