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Nestled in the heart of the Bronx, a locally owned home garden and plant nursery has quickly become a neighborhood favorite. Specializing in vibrant plants and stunning flowers, the nursery has cultivated a loyal customer base with its fresh offerings and community-focused charm. With their popularity blossoming, the owner saw an opportunity to expand their reach by Re-designing their online market.
I was provided a short brief, that outlined key focus areas for their website to create an inviting online platform that mirrors their community-focused ethos and high-quality offerings. The request was:
My task focused on developing three core pages that aligned with the vision of sookie's garden:
Due to time constraints and budget limitations, only a small-scale research effort was authorized. Despite this, valuable data was successfully gathered to inform the project and better understand the target audience, and improvements to the current web-sight.
From Sookie's inventory, I selected 30 items to assist in identifying categories. Real Sookie's Customer participated in an open card sorting, grouping these items based on their perspectives.
This grid compares delivery, pickup, pricing, and unique offerings among competitors in the plant shop market. Gertens Garden Center stands out for its flexibility in curbside pickup and next-day delivery, while Bloomscape and Lively Root excel in nationwide shipping and eco-friendly branding. These areas are reflected well on each web-sight learning from these patterns helped build Sookie's garden user friendly website & navigation.
To Start
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Analyzing competitors in the plant nursery market provided valuable insights into effective website practices. key takeaways that influenced the development of Sookie's Garden’s user-friendly Visual design was focusing on consolidating navigation and makes it easy for users to browse products and access key information quickly.
Both Eleanor and Michael’s personas highlight the importance of convenience, reliability, and simplicity in the online shopping experience, but each brings unique insights based on their different lifestyles and priorities. Together, these personas help illustrate a broader customer need for time-saving, user-friendly, and dependable experiences, especially in the context of online ordering and in-store pickup.
A heuristic analysis was conduct of Sookie's Garden's current site. Jackob Neilson's 10 Heauristic Principles where used as a baseline to test the site against. After completing the analysis we found 3 Main concerns:
Solutions:
The original web-site had an over abundance off choices which can overwhelm users and make it harder for them to find what they need. Decision time increases with the number of options the user is presented with.
Consolidating the menu was a straight forward remedy to this issue. A navigation that grouped options together helped users process information more efficiently, improving their overall experience by reducing cognitive load, an streamlining navigation.
Search
Item Search
Check Out
Check Out
The original colors of the Web sight Broke WCAG standards for text and background contrast. Ensuring legibility for users with visual impairments. The combination of dark primary tones with lighter secondary and neutral shades ensures that important elements are easily distinguishable.
The redesign of Sookie’s Garden’s website aimed to transform a thriving local nursery into a dynamic online presence while staying true to its community-focused ethos. By embracing earthy tones and intuitive navigation, the new design mirrors the natural beauty and simplicity of the brand. Key features such as consolidated navigation, enhanced product categorization, and an optimized checkout process—including an in-store pickup option—address customer preferences for convenience and transparency.
Moving forward, the next steps focus on testing and refinement to ensure a seamless user experience. Usability testing and A/B testing will uncover areas for further improvement, while seasonal campaigns and promotional tools will keep the site fresh and engaging. Expanded content, including care guides and community stories, as well as adding store apparel will drive traffic and position Sookie’s Garden as an authority in its niche. Additional features like wishlists, gift options, and social media integration will enhance customer engagement.