Sail Lofts — UX Refinements
Providing more Straightforward Navigation to Deeper Content
The Brief
Sail Lofts, a luxury seaside retreat provider in St Ives, engaged me to enhance their website’s user experience (UX). My objective was to simplify navigation, improve content visibility, and foster more profound engagement with their offerings, ultimately driving more bookings.
The Solution
Background
Sail Lofts serves a high-end clientele seeking premium self-catering accommodations in prime beach locations. Their audience includes families, groups, and outdoor enthusiasts. My challenge was to design a user-centric website that facilitated seamless bookings and showcased the unique local activities and dining experiences that elevate a stay at Sail Lofts.
To achieve this, I optimised the booking system to guide users toward their ideal property intuitively. I made the booking process seamless while integrating essential contextual information about St Ives to enhance their experience.
Deep Options Content
Sitemap
My first step was creating a sitemap to define the existing information architecture and estimate the content volume to provide a clear foundation for redesigning.
Initial Findings & Recommendations
Despite being logically structured, Tier 4 content was not easily discoverable. To address this, I proposed introducing relative links that connect related content areas. For instance, users exploring lofts could seamlessly navigate to nearby activities or dining options, creating a more cohesive journey.
These links significantly improve content discoverability, ensuring users can easily find and explore more of the site’s offerings. For example, a prompt like “Have you tried seafood by the Harbour apartment?” adds value to the user’s browsing experience and ensures they don’t miss out on relevant information.
I also identified and addressed misleading page names to ensure the website’s structure aligns with user expectations.
Bridging The Gap
Figure 1.2 illustrates how Tier 2 content can effectively link to Tier 4. By reducing friction points and making content more accessible, users gain confidence to proceed with bookings.
Proto-Personas
To ground my recommendations, I developed proto-personas reflecting key user characteristics and behaviours:
Abi (Surfer)
Abi, her husband, and their two young children are looking for a luxury holiday to teach their kids to surf. Familiar with the St Ives area, Abi books through her iPad but needs more explicit content about surf schools and family-friendly beaches.
Leonard (Elderly User)
Leonard, who has a visual impairment, plans a UK holiday for his wedding anniversary. Using his iMac, he needs straightforward navigation, accessible input fields, and visible contact information for assistance.
Rachel (Housewife)
Rachel, seeking a spa break with her husband, browses using her iPhone. She prioritises search filters to refine options and values continuity between search results and booking pages.
Daniel (Graduate)
Daniel and his brothers are planning a surfing holiday. Using his MacBook Pro, Daniel seeks quick access to relevant content about accommodations and local attractions to finalise their booking.
User Journeys
Abi
- What? Abi struggled to find relevant local information.
- How? Introduce explicit content links.
- Why? To ensure she fully understands the available experiences and returns confidently.
Leonard
- What? Confusing field labels and a lack of accessible design hindered Leonard.
- How? Add text labels, retain search inputs, and prominently display contact information.
- Why? Improve accessibility and ease of navigation.
Rachel
- What? The search function lacked continuity and refinement options.
- How? Implement sticky search functionality with filtering capabilities.
- Why? Provide seamless and consistent navigation for users.
Daniel
- What? Daniel was unaware of local attractions.
- How? Display related content prominently.
- Why? Enhance decision-making with readily available information.
Proposed IA (Information Architecture)
The proposed IA simplifies navigation, ensuring users can quickly move between related content areas. This approach bridges gaps in the existing hierarchy, reducing clicks and improving usability. The new architecture also features Sail Lofts’ unique selling points, enhancing the user experience.
Prioritised User Needs
- Relative Links: Enhance content discoverability and promote a cohesive user journey.
- Search Filtering: Allow users to refine results by criteria such as price and amenities.
- Booking Journey Consistency: Ensure visual and functional continuity across pages.
- Accessibility: Implement improvements for users with visual impairments.
- Live Chat: Provide accessible contact options for immediate assistance.
Competitor Analysis
John Lewis: Their “you may also like” feature inspired the design of relative links to connect relevant content across the site.
Airbnb: Their filter sidebar effectively refined search results and provided users with tailored options.
Design Iterations
Low-fidelity Wireframes
Hi-Fidelity Designs
Handover
Upon project completion, I delivered a comprehensive UX report detailing actionable recommendations, including:
- Analytics-driven testing to validate design changes.
- Comparing new designs with existing ones with AB testing.
- Beta testing to gather user feedback before full implementation.
The Result
The report was shared with the Sail Lofts design team, prioritising the implementation recommendations. These refinements should enhance user satisfaction and drive bookings.
