IBM Cloud UX Strategy
UX research and strategy to improve website conversions
Project
Research and discovery work to improve a low-performing web experience, plus initial wireframes
SCOPE
Data analysis
User interviews
Heuristic evaluation
Strategic recommendations
Wireframes & content direction
TEAM
Veronica Camara (UX Strategy) and Alejandro Ramirez (UI Design)
THE PROJECT
Improve conversions and UX for IBM Cloud Get Started pages
IBM Cloud is a large enterprise website with a ton of content. The Get Started section was created to help users sign-up for a free trial of IBM Cloud, and better understand what they could do with the vast toolset available to them. Unfortunately, the data showed that users weren't signing up or interacting with any of the page content. It was time for a change.
The goal of this research and strategy project was to figure out why these pages were not working, and figure out how to improve them.
PART 1: RESEARCH
Qualitative and quantitative UX research
As the UX strategist on this research-focused project, here's what I did:
Data analysis: I did a deep dive into HotJar heat maps and Google Analytics to look for patterns
User interviews: remote interviews with IBM Cloud customers who recently purchased through the site, to understand the pain points about the experience
Stakeholder interviews: remote interviews with IBM Cloud leaders to understand the business goals and product suite
Excerpt from HotJar data analysis.
Competitor analysis: evaluation of similar websites that could inform our new strategic direction
Heuristic evaluation: defined evaluation criteria based on best practices and conducted a comprehensive audit of all Get Started pages
Screenshot of my heuristic evaluation spreadsheet.
PART 2: SYNTHESIS
Turning research into simple, actionable insights
Once the raw research had been completed, I took a step back to look at all of the research holistically to find patterns, themes, and insights. Then, I simplified and prioritized all of these insights into a presentation for the IBM Cloud team.
Key findings from my research synthesis:
Though user interviews, I found that people were confused about what they were signing up for. The page had a handful of CTAs asking users to sign-up for a "Lite Plan," but there was no contextual information about what the plan included.
Through competitor research and interviews, we also found that users wanted a single page with all of the "get started" information in one place. The current experience was spread out into 5 pages, and it was simply too much to digest.
Finally, we found data and user feedback to support our hypothesis that the visual design was cluttered and confusing. There were too many bright colors, tons of CTAs, and other design issues. Competitor sites that people loved were simple and clean, so we had plenty of research to back-up our rally cry for a revised design.
PART 3: CONTENT & DESIGN
Simplified design, clear content
After presenting our work to IBM Cloud stakeholders, we were then asked to help move the initiative forward by providing an initial wireframe for the new website.
We delivered:
A wireframe with simplified visual design to reduce cognitive load and reduce bounce rate
Better content: scannable, written in plain language, messaging focused on user benefits, and straightforward pricing information
The original experience was 5 pages. Our proposed solution was a single page with all the information users need to get started using IBM Cloud.
Have a website challenge?
Let’s create an evidence-based plan for improvement.