Von’s Shops Redesign

My Role

As a web programming major with internship experience in UX design, I helped the UX design majors on our team by facilitating testing, sketching, prototyping, and implementing the final design.

Tools Used

Figma, Miro, Whimsical, Google Suite, Google Analytics, Wix

Translating Von’s vibrant personality into an online space

When visiting Von’s Shops, a local business loved by Purdue students and locals alike, you are greeted with rows of shelves brimming with books, beads hanging from every which way along the sides of the walls, rows of glittering rocks, and hundreds of collections of knick-knacks and gifts. Anybody who has been to Von’s knows that the eclectic shop has something for everyone.

From seeing their website, it would be hard to tell what kind of business Von’s is.

The website is empty, with no pictures of their products.

After noticing this, my team and I contacted Von’s Shops to redesign their website and revive their online presence.

Our challenge was bringing their website to life and ensuring that Von’s Shops’ personality shined through while meeting stakeholder and user needs.

Shoppers want to know more of Von’s Shops’ history, see available products, and use a visually appealing website

An initial consultation with Vons’ staff, it was clear that there was a need to add content to the website and an even bigger need to tell others the story of Von’s Shops.

Our concept testing found that users echoed similar sentiments.

Each member conducted at least one concept test with a shopper of Von’s. We asked users to navigate the website and give us their initial impressions, thoughts, opinions, and noted any pain points, and likes of the website.

Below are screens of what the website looked like

Initial testing found that users found the website to have an awkward layout, the website did not have a sense of branding, and expected to see the products. Users did liked the history page.

Some key insights we found from these interviews are:

• The current navigation is not enjoyable- there is notable scroll fatigue, and the side bar was awkward to use.

• Visually, the website could be improved with consistent branding, better photos, a better layout, improved responsiveness, and a more modern design.

• In terms of features, users expected to be able to see products on each page, especially books.

• Users liked the history section, and it could be expanded with more in depth information and graphics to aid storytelling.

Through analytics, we discovered that the website had very low engagement time, with website visitors spending little time viewing different pages.

Using Google Analytics, we began investigating the engagement on their website.

These numbers brought to light how necessary it was to improve the website. With little engagement, it was important to address the needs of users, staff, and stakeholders to increase website traffic.

We asked ourselves: How can we capture our user’s attention? How can we keep them on the site longer? How do other businesses engage their customers with their website?

Our comparative analysis shed light on what gaps Von’s could meet, and what the website could improve on: have a more appealing design, show products, and be more personable.

We wanted to become more familiar with the landscape of website design for book stores. Doing so would allow us to brainstorm ideas of how to improve Von’s website.

Focusing on branding, products/e-commerce, customer base, navigation, and visual design, we uncovered some trends and features that improve Von’s online presence.

• Websites often had featured books, hand-picked by staff. This helped the business connect more with its customers.

• Gallery-type layouts were often used to display books and business photos. A simple, grid layout could convey loads of information and products without visual overload.

• Websites were personable. The personality of these businesses shined through with unique branding - something that was lacking within the old website. The old website did not use company branding, and used a Google template.

Early sketches with plenty of feedback sessions helped us finalize a working prototype that we could test with users - and uncover what worked and what didn’t.

After many working sessions where we worked together to ideate a layout, website features, and color palette, we pieced together a high-fidelity prototype we could test with users.

Our initial design needed tweaking on readability, and aesthetics, but overall received a more positive response compared to the old website.

We asked users to conduct tasks on the website to gather insight on the navigation and layout of our design. Additionally, we used our usability testing to gather thoughts on overall appearance.

We found what worked and what didn’t:

1. Readability: our visuals needed tweaking for better readability - bigger font sizes, more contrast, more spacing.

2. Navigation was simple and easy. Users knew how to get to certain pages when tasked with finding the books pages, the history page, and contact page.

3. The history and product pages were informative and engaging. Filled with facts and images of products let users know what to expect when they visit Von’s.

4. Overall, the new design seemed to bring to light Von’s personality compared to the old website.

With a focus on improving our visual design based on user feedback and stakeholder feedback, we finalized our website.

Using Wix as the platform to build the finalized prototype, our website went live.

Our finalized website addressed the biggest issues found in our usability testing. We also made sure to address our stakeholder’s final feedback points. Together, we were able to:

Tell Von’s Shops story

Being an iconic local business, it’s important to showcase of how Von’s came to be. It was important to the staff to display the history of Von’s

Reflect the shop’s environment and personality in an online space

Von’s Shops is known for its eclecticness. The website has to be vibrant and a visitor should feel as if they are in the store.

Showcase the vast array of products available.

From rocks to records, the website should show visitors what they expect to find when they visit in store.