CASE STUDY: The journey of turning an established, neighbourhood law firm into an interactive online business!
Sector: Law Firm, Private Sector
My role: Project Manager, UX Research, UI Design & User Narrative
Project Time: 10 Weeks
Tools: Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator, Miro, Google Forms, Microsoft Office Suite
Project: Malicki Sanchez Law needs to redesign its aging website in order better connect with new clients, and a strategy to transition its pre-existing clients, who have relied on the law firm for generations, for optimized services online.
UNDERSTANDING THE CLIENT & PROBLEM
Malick Sanchez Law is a Mississauga-based law firm committed to providing high-quality, efficient, effective and affordable legal services and representation for over 60 years. Offers services in English, Spanish, Polish and Portuguese. Currently, their website provides basic information about the firm's services, a directory of staff, blog and contact information for the firm's physical location. The website is not interactive, content on the site is outdated and despite the high ratings online and global reach, Malicki Sanchez Law is unable to conduct business via its current website.
After a consultation with the client, my team determined the following was needed in order to complete Malicki Sanchez Law's website optimization strategy:
-SWOT Analysis
-User Surveys & Interviews
-Content Audit
-Website Heuristics Report
-Competitive & Comparative Analyses
-Software Analysis: Cosmolex
-Personas & User Narrative
-Brand Recommendations
-Website Prototype
-User Surveys & Interviews
-Content Audit
-Website Heuristics Report
-Competitive & Comparative Analyses
-Software Analysis: Cosmolex
-Personas & User Narrative
-Brand Recommendations
-Website Prototype
UNDERSTANDING THE POTENTIAL & CURRENT USERS
User Research
The purpose of this user experience survey was to answer these questions: What information do users on a website need to make a decision regarding hiring a lawyer ? How do they feel about the current website? What are their experiences like with the current website? What needs to be improved? Surveys were posted online in Toronto Facebook Community Groups via Google forms. User interviews were conducted with willing participants of diverse backgrounds. The purpose of the interviews were to develop personas that could be used to build a user narrative and strong understanding of current and future user needs.
Target Audience- External Audiences
The online geographic locations of users accessing Malicki Sanchez Law website is wide: Toronto and Mississauga to Europe. During the user research a total of two target audiences were identified as having connectivity with the website.
Primary
Potential clients- this includes both local and remote users.
Secondary
Returning clients- this includes long-time clients of the practice moving to online service delivery.
Research Findings
Based on survey and interview data, we developed 4 personas and 4 additional proto-personas to guide the structure of eventual design strategy. While the personas come from diverse socio-economic backgrounds and belong to various demographic groups with varying levels of technology literacy, we found similarities in what they wanted from the website. Users need the website to be engaging and intuitive; the users are looking for specific guidance on their legals matters and want the website to provide them with a specific course of action. Users are not looking to browse the website and then have to leave the site make the call or send an email to the firm. With that in mind, the optimized website needs to be self-explanatory and actionable.
WEBSITE CONTENT & HEURISTICS: IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES
SWOT & Content Analysis Summary
Through analyzing the current website and creating a spreadsheet of all the website's information, we identified that that Malicki Sanchez law needs to focus on:
-Engaging and immediately serving users who come to the website, just like how they would be addressed and greeted if they were visiting the law office in-person.
-Simplifying the 15 practice areas so that users are easily able to find area they need, just as if they talking to the receptionist at the law office in-person.
-Functional features that allow users to book a consultation slot online and see the availability of their representative.
-Integrating Cosmolex software seamlessly into the UI so that users will be able to intuitively conduct business online.
Heuristics Analysis Findings
Content curation is as important as the content itself. Through the heuristic evaluation we found that there is certain content that seems like they don’t belong in that category or irrelevant to the user. Design is a crucial element of any website. Users don’t read (Krug, 2014), they scan. The current content needs to be broken up to clearly define areas, this can be achieved by using colors, headers, and sub headers. The website can benefit from having more interactive elements to engage the users further.
DEVELOPING THE THEME & NARRATIVE
Potential Clients- What are they like?
As stated earlier, in addition to serving existing clients, part of the target audience is potential clients. In order to attract and serve prospective clients, the optimization strategy needs to address the behaviour and needs of this diverse group. Based on user surveys, the key characteristics of Malicki Sanchez Law's future clients:
-Concerned with their current and future income;
-Busy juggling family and careers;
Conduct business on their mobile devices as compared to a computer;
-May speak several languages and English is their second;
-Wants to further their career or status;
-Interested in their culture and community;
-Has multiple degrees or work experiences.
-Busy juggling family and careers;
Conduct business on their mobile devices as compared to a computer;
-May speak several languages and English is their second;
-Wants to further their career or status;
-Interested in their culture and community;
-Has multiple degrees or work experiences.
Proposed Website Theme
Based on research analysis of both target audiences, we came up with the following keywords to guide the creation of the new website:
Personalized, Intuitive, Accessible, Interactive Reliable
User Narrative
Based on our user research, we have based our user narrative on the Alex persona. If we delve into the mind of Alex we can see that while he loves his career, he’s exhausted but is feeling stuck in his routine. He wants to take that big step and open his own business and but feels stuck and intimidated. He needs legal advice and would like to receive the same level of care from a law firm that he gives to his patients.
Alex doesn’t have much time when he gets home so he’ll be searching for his ideal law firm online using a basic internet search. He will be looking at good reviews and ratings, but ultimately being able to clearly understand the services offered & who the legal team is upfront before having to speak directly to someone, is important to him. He wants to feel like his time and goals will be valued.
"As a dedicated doctor, I want to find a reputable law firm who I can trust to care for ME as I open my first business"
STRATEGICALLY DESIGNING & BUILDING THE SITE
Introducing Interactive Elements
To realize the theme and narrative, we need to introduce interactive elements that will convince or reassure the user that Malicki Sanchez Law is indeed an excellent choice and help the user to make a decision. The interactive elements will initiate the conversation, engage and provide assistance to the user, as well as give the user the option to extend the conversation. The interactive elements to focus on are:
-Call-to-action buttons
-Booking system and/or interactive calendar
-Short questionnaires
-Search bar
-Exit intent pop-up
-User feedback form
-Booking system and/or interactive calendar
-Short questionnaires
-Search bar
-Exit intent pop-up
-User feedback form
Developing User Flow
The user flow is sectioned into 3 phases. In the first flow, Alex explores the site as potential client. This is the phase where trust needs to be established. Letting the persona know that the firm is there to support him and meet his requirements is key.
The second flow shows the steps Alex takes once he becomes an active client.
The third flow highlights the steps Alex goes through after he has accomplished his goal of obtaining his business registration. last, when he is done with his case. This flow is equally important as the first. As the client pointed out during one of the meeting, it is crucial to remind the user that the firm offers services in other areas which they may be interested in in the future.
The boxes in blue indicate that the interactive elements will be in that step.
DESIGNING WITH PURPOSE
The design phase is crucial as visuals will play a key part in rebranding Malicki Sanchez Law, yet still preserving trust and recognition with longterm clients. Malicki Sanchez Law wanted to keep the Blue (#0F2C4A) as the featured colour for its new design to keep its brand recognizable. Below is the stylesheet we designed and applied to the final prototype.
BRINGING THE STRATEGY TO LIFE
The completed prototype can be viewed here:
The completed prototype can be viewed here:
