The Process
Define
To achieve this, we began by defining our goals for the project, which included identifying the target audience, creating an effective web design, incorporating an e-commerce platform, and developing a user-friendly blog section. We knew that our design had to be easy to update, so we decided to use Webflow, a platform that is known for its speed, ease of use, and safety
Research
The research began by finding users of gardening websites. I found a forum thread through Reddit and Gardeners world. These seem to be excellent places to find users of gardening websites. The survey was created with Google Forms and posted on the websites. The survey included demographic questions as well as questions about gardening websites. I learned what users want and what they do not want from a garden website.
Analyze
After preparing the survey and posting it, these were the findings;
•57.2% of the participants are between 18 and 29 years of age
•Half of the participants are male.
•66.7% are married
•100% of users use their phone and one other device for internet use
•66.7% use the internet more than 41 hours a week
•83.3% have had a garden before. Possible bias as participants were found in gardening forums.
•The majority have a goal of growing food for themselves and others.
•All of the participants would like to learn about growing fruits vegetables and saving food for winter.
•The participants do not want to learn about soil health and different gardening forms.
•Participants expect seeds for sale and information available on how to grow them.
•Participants found other websites to have out-of-stock seeds, and challenging to find information or information only in video form.
Personas Created From User Research
Design
I kept our user personas and needs in mind throughout the design process, creating wireframes and a clickable prototype that were thoroughly tested through a usability test. From the feedback I received, I made several key changes, including adding a box around e-commerce elements to avoid clutter, adding a back to blog page button, and creating a comment section for users to ask questions.
Sketches
Testing
A usability test was carried out for this design. From these I found a few corrections that needed to be addressed.
•E-commerce items needed a box around the elements. A few users felt it needed some kind of division or it felt cluttered.
•Blog post need a back to blog page button. It is a long scroll after reading a blog.
•Users wanted a comment section to ask questions
•Two sections from the home page seem the same. Categories from the store and featured items are similar and seemed redundant to the user.
•Home page hero section should have something more pleasing than a solid color and half an image.
•Navigation could be condensed. Recipes could go in with the blog, and seeds and merch could be combined.
This was then developed with Webflow and can be found atbluegrassveg.com
A survey and usability test was carried out for this design. From these I found a few corrections that needed to be addressed.
The follow are PDF files I used to complete the testing.
Testing Analysis
Usability Testing Materials
