Process

Discovery & Research

The Research and testing phase lasted two months, with one month of user research and one month of gathering stakeholder input and analyzing data collected from various sources.

• Stakeholder Interviews: Collaborated with Rare Genomics' leadership to understand their goals, priorities, and challenges.

• User Surveys: Conducted surveys with patients, caregivers, and researchers to identify pain points and desired features.

• Competitive Analysis: Analyzed similar nonprofit and healthcare websites to gather insights on best practices and innovative feature

• Web analytics & Insights: Analyzed page views, bounce rates, and eye-tracking data collected from Squarespace, Google Analytics, and Hotjar to gain deeper insight into the factors influencing usability and user engagement.

• Tree Jack testing: Performed testing to evaluate the website's information architecture.

• Wireframes and Prototypes: To outline the new structure, low-fidelity wireframes were created, followed by high-fidelity prototypes using Figma.

• Style Guide: Developed a style guide featuring accessible color schemes, modern typography, and visual elements that align with Rare Genomics' brand.

• Content Strategy: Collaborated with content creators to rewrite and restructure content for clarity and engagement.

• Usability Testing: Conducted remote and in-person testing sessions with target users to gather feedback on navigation, layout, and readability.

• Accessibility Audit: Utilized tools like WAVE and manual testing to ensure WCAG compliance.

• Iterative Improvements: Refined the design based on user feedback and stakeholder input.

After completing testing and iteration, the design was approved by various stakeholders and teams involved at Rare Genomics, and my co-designer and I proceeded to development.

This arduous task involved cataloging the 300+ web pages on the current website, removing dead pages and links, and relinking data and content on the new website.

Note: While Squarespace has more recently launched a conversion tool, after some research and speaking with Squarespace support, I realized that it was currently impossible to use the tool as our website contained over 300 pages and was on a theme no longer supported on 7.1.

• Downloading Content from Squarespace 7.0: Downloaded all content from the current website and saved it onto a shared cloud drive.

• Designing pages on Squarespace 7.1: Developed the Figma designs into web pages for the new version of the website. This involved applying styles, setting standard formats, and some custom coding.

• Preparing for launch: The website is being prepared for launch. APIs, newsletter contacts, Google Analytics, and the domain are currently underway in preparation for launch by the end of February.