2022
UW Libraries
UI Design, UX Research
UX/UI Designer/Researcher
- Lightly redesign the pages to make use of UW Theme elements.
- Improve students' overall experience with the UW Libraries website.
- Which aspects of the website do users interact with the most?
- What is the natural user journey of users utilizing the UW libraries website?
Lots of similarities between page views in past year vs Autumn 2022
High bounce rate (~ 72%)
Almost 50-50 for returning and new visitors
Library hours, study spaces, main homepages, ILL, and printing/scanning from foster business library were in top 10
Users tend to look for simple information on the library website and they can find it easily. (average time is 2 min, 48 sec.)
Returning visitors have more sessions than new visitors.
In the 2017 Persona (Research & Learning Services Organizational Review Initiative):
- Unclear for what service do library provide
- Hard to discover/obtain good literature
- If the website/catalog changes too much at one time, the user experience will deteriorate
- The more professional the person is, the more professional services are needed.
The 2016 Persona (Research Commons):
- Focus on space in library (Reserve study room service)
- Efficiency is the key
- Professional material for projects, capstones, and assignments.
- Low importance for undergraduate students to do research, but high importance for graduate students to know this service
- High importance for graduate students to share research with peers
- Would like to learn about services available at RC (funding, citation tools, help on research paper)
- Not clear/specific for the pain points. Hypothetical pain points including: Unclear for what service do library provide, Help/Service is not efficient
- Have trouble reserving the study room through UW website
- Need screen/whiteboard/projectors/equipments
To ensure optimal user experience, it's essential to prioritize compatibility with popular browsers like Chrome, Safari, and Firefox when promoting WordPress pages and ensure seamless functionality on desktop devices. Keeping average time on page in mind, avoid information overload or excessive verbosity on each page. Clear and concise communication should be prioritized to advocate for library services, while maintaining a style that aligns with users' expectations. Additionally, when advocating for library services and equipment, aim for efficiency by minimizing steps and streamlining processes to enhance user satisfaction.
Based on the findings and takeaways. We were able to move 20 pages in total to WordPress. Following the style guide of "UW cookbook".
(showing one example below).
Please Scroll Me to View the Homepage!
The UW Cookbook serves as the latest reference for users, encompassing all the short-codes that are integral to the "New Theme." Adhering to the cookbook's style guide, we successfully edited it using WordPress. We primarily relied on the UW cookbook, supplemented by HTML and CSS, to tailor all 20 pages to our specific needs.
Due to the University of Washington's policy and tight library budget, this project was suspended. Might resume in 2024.
I was new to both Google Analytics and WordPress. Initially, it may take some time to become acquainted with these two tools, but over time, I grew more familiar with their functionality and operation. Google Analytics offers invaluable qualitative data for enhancing our website, enabling us to analyze and revamp it effectively. With WordPress, I can swiftly apply layouts from cookbook and customize the website's appearance and its design by HTML5 and CSS. If I have the chance to continue this project in the future, I would like to explore the JSON API function to further enhance the website's completeness.
