Gramercy Website Evaluation
Client Work - Case Study
Located in NYC, Gramercy Cleaners is a long-standing, community-rooted business that provides dry-cleaning, tailoring, and laundry services from their in-house facilities.
Gramercy Cleaners is looking to broaden its customer outreach by optimizing its website to improve online scheduling, and information architecture, and tell their company story.
Opportunity
Located in NYC, Gramercy Cleaners is a long-standing, community-rooted business that provides dry-cleaning, tailoring, and laundry services from their in-house facilities. Dedicated to eco-friendly practices, Gramercy hopes to share their story and spread the importance of non-toxic laundering methods.
Gramercy Cleaners is looking to broaden their customer outreach by optimizing their website to improve online scheduling, information architecture, and tell their company story.
Challenge
Gramercy Cleaners has tasked our UX team and I to evaluate their existing company website and provide a findings & recommendations report to improve the impact and functionality for new and regular customers.
Gramercy Cleaners wants to make sure their 30-year story and values of providing eco-friendly methods is
Our UX Team collaborated on research and conducted usability testing 100% remotely throughout the design process.
Role
Role: UX & UI Designer / Researcher
Tools & Programs: Figma, PowerPoint, Google Documents, Google Spreadsheets, Zoom, Transcription software
UX Team: Jenn Vang, Oladipo Aluko, Melanie Bethke, Mike Norman Amanda Snyder
Methods
Heuristic Analysis (Usability Review)
Generative Client Research
Test Planning / Test Script writing
Individually moderated testing
Group moderated testing
Raw data collection
Data Synthesis
Findings & Recommendations Reporting
Results
Through participant usability testing, the website’s strengths in simplicity, intuitive design and imagery were revealed. Additionally, user flow patterns appeared that highlighted major gaps in how users expected to use the site and what the site was actually capable of.
Key tasks such as scheduling pickups and finding business information were re-written and made more central on the website to improve the visibility of calls to action.
The research and evaluation process culminated in a 23 page finding and recommendations report that detailed the need to improve system status visibility as well as incorporating more help for users to lighten the cognitive load for website visitors and Gramercy customers.
Recommendations
Based on key findings, the recommendations centered around the themes of consistency of layout, information visibility, and process clarity. As a result, I took to Figma to design mock-ups of potential solutions Gramercy Cleaners NYC could implement smoothly into their website.
Reformat the layout and design of the bottom half of the screen and place the contact form in a drop-down toggle box to improve style continuity.
Homepage Layout
Original Website
Recommendations
Contact Form Content
Revisit the wording used in the contact form to provide more details about where a user is in the process of contacting the business.
Original Website
Recommendations
On-the-Spot Help Documentation
Incorporate “on the spot” help/information on services and pricing pages to build trust and transparency.
Original Website
Recommendations
Revising FAQ Content
Expand the FAQ and About Us pages to provide specifics about Gramercy Cleaner’s story, mission, and values.
Original Website
Recommendations
The Process
What We Know
Before beginning to plan a usability test, it is key to understand the client and their goals. Examining the website that already existed and comparing it to Gramercy Cleaners hopes for the website revealed missed opportunities and gulfs of execution. These opportunities for improvement identified in the heuristic analysis would go on to build the foundation of our usability tests.
Client Goals
What do the clients want to accomplish with this product?
Give customers times when the cleaners and tailor are available
Provide customers with cost information
Communicate Gramercy’s high-level business practices and build trust with customers
Drive customers to contact the business (contact form, phone number, physical address)
After reviewing the generative information from the client, our team began brainstorming the parameters of the usability tests on a group Figjam board.
Heuristic Analysis
To gain greater understanding of the Gramercy website’s strengths and discover potential pain points, I conducted a heuristic analysis
Incorporating dedicated scheduling system into the website could improve task flows
An up-front and clear walkthrough of how to schedule a service could tell Gramercy’s story better
Expanding their FAQ section could also highlight Gramercy’s cleaning methods
Helpful guides and informational markers throughout the website could lessen the cognitive load for customers
After reviewing the generative information from the client, our team began brainstorming the parameters of the usability tests on a group Figjam board.
Usability Testing
While heuristic analysis and usability reviews can uncover potential pain points, the most significant findings will result from direct usability testing conducted with users. By finalizing the script content and tasks required, our team focused on what we wanted to learn about the website. While five users were recruited through the UX program, I also recruited and conducted two separate usability tests with users I found. Our compiled data would help bolster my report's recommendations to Gramercy Cleaners.
Testing Goals
Ultimately, based on generative data from the client and our usability reviews, we narrowed in on three major themes.
1. Gain insight into first impressions of the website
2. Identify opportunities and pain points of the existing site
3. Identify user motivations for choosing this site vs another
Do users understand the purpose of the website?
Can users discover Gramercy’s business practices and values?
Does the website provide assurance and build trust for users?
How intuitive is the information-finding process?
How do the aesthetic and layout impact usability and user impressions?
Can users complete the main tasks the client wants the website to provide?
What do users look for in similar services?
What do users expect to be able to do?
What words and phrases are users using to describe their experience on the site?
Task 1: Impressions
On first impressions and without interacting with website functions, please describe what you think the purpose and functions of the site are.
Task 2: Scheduling
Schedule a laundry pick-up request through the website.
Task 3: Company Values
Explore and identify the cleaning methods and products employed by the business.
Task 4: Information Finding
Calculate the potential costs of dry cleaning and altering clothes. Additionally, determine when and where you could drop off your clothing items at the business.
Major Findings
Information visibility was high, and tasks were simple to complete, but 9 out of 11 participants wanted more information on cleaning practices and prices than what was provided.
Layout and imagery used by the website gave users a modern and clean impression of the business.
Top half and bottom half of the website lacked layout consistency which was jarring to some users.
While contacting the business by phone was straightforward for users, contacting the business through the website’s form was more complicated and went unused.
Next Steps
If updates or changes are made to the website, there is potential for further usability testing.
Website interaction data can be assessed to better understand user flows, such as what screens get more clicks, how many people fill out the form completely, and so forth.
Bringing in more of the company’s story through storytelling, primary photos, and incorporation of reviews could boost user interactions and connections.