BioGenesis is an health and wellness Australian made and owned company operating in the Great Barrier Reef region, and Sydney. They grow and create the most nutrient-dense and eco-friendly organic superfoods in Australia. The mission of BioGenesis is to harness the nutritional and environmental benefits of Australian-grown Chlorella to improve health outcomes and promote sustainable agriculture practices. They are dedicated to producing high-quality, nutrient-rich microalgae that supports a healthier lifestyle while contributing to the preservation of our planet.
BioGenesis had been experiencing some rapid decline on online sales, and constant daily enquiries from customers related to the usability of the website. Users were struggling to navigate the online shop and find what they were looking for, wether it was product flavours, product categories, product types etc. This resulted in extreme frustration, and significant abandoned user journeys: abandoned product browse, abandoned checkouts, and abandoned carts.
My role as the UX designer was to solve the above user and business problems, by assessing the usability of the website and redesign it in a way that addressed our users’ pain points and met their needs, as well as create and apply brand guidelines to ensure a consistent brand application across all touch-points. All within a very tight and urgent scope.
As a UX & UI designer, I am always putting users first, and thus, user research is the first thing on my mind when I think “UX Problem”. Unfortunately, the scope of this project was extremely lean and there was neither the time nor the resources to engage in user research - let alone user testing.
After gaining a better understanding as to why the resources were so limited, the stakeholders and I agreed on a strategy that focussed on an initial rapid redesign, applying UX principles and improving the usability of the website, followed by a longer phase of user research post-launch.
The main business goal was to get to a consistent $10,000/month of sales by the end of the calendar year. I decided to break this goal down in shorter term achievable milestones, the first being aiming for $5,000/month in the next 3 months.
Products were not categorised in any way, shape or form, greatly impacting the discoverability of products, as well as users' ability to seamlessly navigate through their flow, and ultimately reach their end goal.
The website lacked a cohesive visual identity, undermining brand recognition and trust.
There was a lack of information regarding the unique benefit of the brand's products, leading users to struggle with differencitating with competitors, leading to low engagement and conversion rates.
The website failed to address user pain points or demonstrate how the range of products could solve their problems, resulting in missed opportunities for connection and sales.
Absence of compelling narratives or storytelling elements diminished engagement and failed to establish an emotional connection with users.
The site lacked a coherent user journey, causing confusion and frustration among visitors and hindering conversion rates.
Inadequate features and functionalities fell short of user expectations for e-commerce platforms, undermining credibility and trust.
A tedious checkout process led to high checkout abandonment rates, impacting conversion rates and overall revenue.
Users were left in the dark about the brand's production methods and ethics, eroding trust and potentially alienating a huge portion of the target demographic.
Navigation is the process of guiding users intuitively through a product's interface to achieve their goals. With no navigation, the user gets lots and frustrated, and fails to achieve what they came here for. I wanted to offer users quick access to what they were looking for in order to reduce their learning curve, improve their user flow and therefore boost engagement and conversions.
• I introduced an intuitive and organised menu structure
• I categorised products by range
• I introduced a filtered search that enables users to filter price, product range, flavour and size. These filtering options were determined based off the most recurring customer enquiries.
• I reduced checkout to a simple, one step checkout.
• I strategically placed clear Call To Actions all across the website, guiding users through their journey on the site, making it easy for them to take the next step, whether it was learning more about a product, reading a blog post, or making a purchase.
We boosted user retention and engagement by designing the homepage with a logical information architecture: Story, Product, Content. The Story section connected with users by illustrating how BioGenesis Natural products enhance their lives, making an emotional appeal and showcasing real-life applications. Following this, the Product section provided detailed information about the products mentioned, reinforcing the story with concrete offerings. Lastly, the Content section featured engaging and trust-building elements like customer testimonials, informative blogs, and recipes. This structured flow not only captivated users but also provided them with valuable information, increasing their likelihood of staying longer and returning to the site.
The sales manager wanted the home page to be more sales focussed and display many more products, disregarding the storytelling aspect of the homepage architecture. I solved this disagreement by running him through the reasoning behind it and why information architecture and story telling is so important in user experience, as well as show him the bounce rates and scroll maps from the old website which was laid out in a similar way than what he was asking. I was able to help him understand better and agree with my recommendations.
I implemented personalised product recommendations based on user behaviour and preferences, increasing the likelihood of repeat visits and purchases.
A consistent brand identity and the development of visual design throughout the experience is crucial to creating a consistent image that resonates with the target audience and fosters loyalty. The identity goes beyond mere aesthetics. It encapsulates what the brand stands for, its values, personality, and the emotions it aims to evoke in its audience.
I created a comprehensive set of brand guidelines that included colour palettes, fonts and visual language to ensure a consistent application across all touch-points. These visual guidelines are aligned with the brand's mission, values and desired perception from its target audience. This cohesive aesthetic created a consistent and recognisable brand presence, enhancing trust and engagement with customers across all digital and print touch-points.
These guidelines were used to design informational visuals that were applied all across the website, directly addressing user needs and concerns and speaking to the incredible health benefits the BioGenesis range of superfoods has.
I improved mobile responsiveness by adopting a mobile-first design approach, ensuring seamless functionality across devices. Key enhancements included adaptive layouts, touch-friendly navigation, optimised images, and faster load times, providing users with a smooth and efficient mobile browsing experience.
I increased user retention by incorporating automated emails for abandoned product browsing, checkout, and cart, to recover potentially lost sales by reminding users of their interest and encouraging completion of the purchase; this helped boost conversion rates. Additionally, I implemented first and second order emails to foster brand loyalty and encourage repeat purchases.
• Identify areas of improvement with the online shopping experience
• Gain a thorough understanding of our user base, their needs, pain points, expectations and how our products fits into their lives
• Identify areas of opportunity with our product range and online experience
Increase in sales
Increase in total orders
Increase in conversion rate
Decrease in customer enquiries relating to the use of the website
