The Free Book Buggie - Website Audit
The Free Book Buggie - Website Audit
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project overview
project overview
The Free Buggie is a nonprofit organization that strives to provide free books to children in need. They volunteer at events, contribute to Free Little Libraries, and donate resources to schools.
Over the past few years the program has grown significantly. Their current website had not been updated and was not expressing their story to its full potential. Having worked with a group of students from a local college, the organization had copies of updated mock-ups they wanted to incorporate into their design. Before hiring someone to implement permanent changes to their website, they wanted an outside perspective on the usability and functionality of their current design versus the students' mock-ups.
I connected with The Free Book Buggie through Catchafire, interviewed for the position, and volunteered my time to their cause. As this was a temporary volunteer position, there was a major time constraint that limited the potential for user research and usability testing. This posed an interesting challenge that required flexibility from my typical process.
step 1: stakeholder interview
step 1: stakeholder interview
I conducted a stakeholder interview over the phone in order to get a better understanding of the needs of the client. I asked questions about target users, the program's goals, and any key points that the organization wanted to communicate through their website.
Key Insights
Key Insights
The Free Book Buggie prioritized showing their current impact on their community in order to obtain grants. They wanted to better communicate that they do not work with individuals and instead partner with other organizations who deliver books on a more personalized basis. They also wanted to incorporate a virtual library into their design where children could listen to books online for free.
Target Users for the website include parents seeking resources for their children, kids who want to listen to books online, organizations that want to partner with them, people who want to volunteer, potential donors, and people who want to learn more about the organization
The primary goals of the website are to attract financial/book donors, recruit volunteers, and to facilitate partnerships with other like-minded organizations
step 2: Competitive Analysis
step 2: Competitive Analysis
I researched other programs with similar mission goals and explored the use of common features that a typical user might expect from a nonprofit website. This provided me with more insight into the problem-space and allowed me to explore the context of the program. I completed a competitive analysis before conducting the content inventory of the website in order to understand existing standards that The Free Book Buggie might be missing.
Key Insights
Key Insights
Key Insights:
Key Insights:
Many websites that want to attract donations have an easy-to-access button in their navigation section
Some programs have statistics on their homepage that show their impact through visual graphics
Many programs have navigation links on their homepage to other sections of the website
The footers of other websites have links to navigation and other documents like the privacy policy
step 3: Content inventory
step 3: Content inventory
I took inventory of the current content displayed on the website and compared it to the findings from the competitive analysis. This was done in order to understand the materials that were being presented on the current website and to identify if others had a better way of communicating them. I constructed a sitemap to visualize how the website was organized and to ensure navigation was optimized.
Key Insights
Key Insights
The architecture of the website was not optimal for people unfamiliar with the program
Some titles were ambiguous while others were somewhat hidden in navigation
Current Website Sitemap with Insights
Current Website Sitemap with Insights
step 4: Cognitive walkthrough
step 4: Cognitive walkthrough
I attempted to complete common tasks from the perspective of various users in order to ensure users could easily accomplish their goals. I used this to identify important pain points that potential users might encounter on the website.
Key Insights
Key Insights
The "About Us" tab contained too much information that had similar titles. Users that are looking for information on the program would have to search through all the categories to find a specific detail
Parents that are looking for resources have no way of knowing this program does not supply books to individuals and might be frustrated with the lack of information on the topic
In other websites, the "Get Involved" tab is typically used for donating and volunteering information. People that are looking to request resources may not be able to easily identify where to navigate for information on free materials
Suggested Sitemap with Insights
Suggested Sitemap with Insights
step 5: final deliverable
step 5: final deliverable
I compiled a list of actionable recommendations and delivered them in a concise PDF containing example images that would help support the design. I organized the opportunities by website page and included a suggested update to the website's navigation that would improve flow for users.
Sample Of Website Opportunities
Sample Of Website Opportunities
Donations
Donations
The current Donation Page needs a larger button to improve visibility. Providing potential donors with information about how their donations are used and why they should donate to your cause could motivate people to help.
Request Form
Request Form
People who are unfamiliar with the program require more context into what this form is for. Parents might access this form thinking they can request resources without realizing it is only for organizations.
Volunteers
Volunteers
This page should include information about what roles are available for people so potential volunteers are informed before registering for the program. The links to the registration forms should be buttons to increase visibility and have helpful titles to improve SEO.
Tools Used
Tools Used
GlooMaps - Visual Sitemap Creation
Excel - Chart Creation
Project OUtcome
Project OUtcome
By volunteering my time to evaluate their website and provide opportunities for improvement, I helped save The Free Book Buggie approximately $4,762. After reviewing my recommendations, they are in the process of hiring a developer to complete an extensive update to their current website using many of the changes I suggested. I look forward to seeing the finished product!
As a result of this project, I was able to learn more about improving SEO while maintaining an authentic experience for the users. While I had experience working with nonprofits in the past, I enjoyed learning more about the challenges of marketing to financial donors and grant reviewers.
Client Quote
Client Quote
“Lindsey was a pleasure to work with. She did a great job auditing our current website, gave us great suggestions and insight about what to change, shared the things she liked and wrote a very complete document outlining her suggestions in all aspects. She was enthusiastic about working with us and did an overall great job on her audit. Thank you, Lindsey!!”
“Lindsey was a pleasure to work with. She did a great job auditing our current website, gave us great suggestions and insight about what to change, shared the things she liked and wrote a very complete document outlining her suggestions in all aspects. She was enthusiastic about working with us and did an overall great job on her audit. Thank you, Lindsey!!”
- Debbie, President/Founder of The Free Book Buggie
- Debbie, President/Founder of The Free Book Buggie
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