Halfmoon Lake NH Website Recreation
Graphic Design, Web Design, Case study, UX/UI Design, and Research
Scope: Web Design and UI/UX Design
Duration: 6+ months
Tools: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Bootstrap, Brackets, Sketch, and User Feedback
Role:
Visual design, Web designer, Prototyping, UX/UI design and Testing
Background:
Halfmoon Lake, located in Alton NH. The organization was founded to protect the interest of property owners through education and the continued monitoring of lake quality in order to enhance both property values and recreational opportunities. I was hired to redesign the old site of Halfmoon Lake to a site that is more user friendly and readable to the user.
Context:
The goal for the client to rebuild a responsive web page, that is more user friendly compared to the original site. I worked closely with my web master Ty Case, and the president of the organization Nina Kelly. With their involvement I created a user friendly and responsive web site.
//Problem:
Redesign the Halfmoon Lake website that a previous web designer created. The previous web site had a congesting of information on each web page, which made it hard for the user to navigate.
//Solution:
Recreate the site but limit the information on each web page. Make the site more user friendly and make the homepage standout to gain more attraction.
//Question:
What elements do I need to take out and add to make the new site better than the previous?
Research:
With the old website that was created by the previous designer, I wanted to follow the sitemap that was presented. Nina goal for the new website was condensing the information on each page of the site. Also Nina wanted to have the site be more user friendly compared to the old one. The research I have conducted, I rented out a web design book from the library. The book showcased different web design trends, UI and UX trends and questions on how to improve the users experience on the website. That research came in handy for the finish website.
Wireframes:
Mockups:
Client Feedback:
When I presented Nina and Ty the mockups, they loved how condensed the website was. Many of the files in the "Documents" and "Links" sections had to be removed from the public. With the mockups that I presented, there were more color options that I presented to Nina and the board. They decided on the baby blue color that can be seen on the new website that is currently up.
Mockup Alternative Color:
Finished Site Color:
Nina presented any new updates regarding the site to the board members. The new addition for the website that the previous site did not have was the "Merchandise Page ". The board members wanted to include this page to give their members the accessibility to purchase clothing items and support Halfmoon Lake in the process. I designed and added the different types of merchandise that they offered, I made the page easy to navigate (scrolling through image and etc.). The page does not have a E commerce element that users could identify and use those elements. This issue was due to GoDaddy's limitation. However, I did receive guidance from Ty and provided a solution to Nina and the board. The solution for the "Merchandise Page" is showcasing the products and price and at the very top have a contact information for the individual who would manage the orders.
Challenges & Conclusion:
The main challenge I have faced when creating the website was using GoDaddy as a website builder. The industry standard website builder is WordPress, I have experience with both WordPress and Wix. When creating the site on GoDaddy, it had little options when creating the site that Nina envisioned. Furthermore, when building the merchandising page, the board wanted to include GoDaddy's online store for the members to easy access Halfmoon's products. However, with the support of Nina and Ty I am proud to say that I have created a website that not only the client would be amazed with but also the members of Halfmoon Lake!
