Copland Financial Ministries
Overview
Copland Financial Ministries teaches people to manage their finances from a biblical perspective by providing hundreds of resources ranging from articles to podcasts. Their website required an updated look with a more functional design to host over 200 free and paid resources. How might we create a seamless experience for users to explore over 200 online resources?
Role
Principal UX/UI Designer
Responsibilities
UI Design
System Design
UX Research
Problem
Copland Financial Ministries' previous website used an outdated design with a frustrating navigation system. There were several empty pages, dead-ends, and cluttered menus. Related content was either separated or arranged in an illogical order, and users could not search for specific content.
The website needed consistency and a significant reorganization to make all 200+ resources easily accessible.
Their website is the hosting platform for all of their resources, so it was important to make everything easily discoverable.
Initial Research
The ministry aims to reach anyone with an income who wants to learn how to manage their money and avoid debt. Since the ministry uses the Bible as a foundation for all its teachings, its primary target audience is Christians who want to learn how to manage their money from a biblical perspective. This audience consists of people with varying proficiencies with technology. To be effective, my solution had to accommodate both experienced and beginner website users.
Copland Financial Ministries regularly publishes new resources on top of their existing content. The redesign needed to prioritize a layout that supported the addition of content without the need for frequent reorganization.
Solution
My solution was to clean up the site’s content and refine the top navigation bar to display the most frequently used resources. This would allow most users to find with they needed right away. I also wanted to fully utilize pages to provide all of the relevant information in a comprehensive order.
To make site maintenance more efficient, I implemented a content management system.
Testing
Following rounds of usability testing, I discovered that users found collapsible content hard to see. They loved the addition of the search functionality, and my solution had succeeded in making the navigation more user-friendly. There were, however, some interactions that needed to be more explicit. This was especially necessary for users with less experience using technology.
Based on the feedback I received during my usability tests, I decided to host the ministry’s audio files as podcasts on streaming platforms. I kept the podcasts on the desktop website and linked the series to their respective locations on different streaming sites. I adapted this to the mobile site by removing the podcasts and directing users to their preferred streaming platform. The purpose for this change was to accommodate the alternate listening preferences of the ministry’s audience.
Responsive Design
To cater to most of our users, the website needed to be responsive to different screen sizes. Using mobile-specific UI elements and modifying the structure of the site, I was able to implement a responsive layout that enabled users to have the same enjoyable experience with this website across all devices.
48.9% of our users visit the website on mobile and tablet devices (43.7% mobile, 5.2% tablet).
Challenges
Using WIX for designing and hosting this site provided some unique challenges. With 200 resources and counting, my initial design for certain resources would have exceeded the page limit for the site. To overcome this, I had to redesign several pages to fit both my vision for the site and the capabilities of WIX.
With over 20 years worth of resources in video, audio, and print formats, it was challenging to implement all the information in a way that best suits the website’s navigation system while fulfilling the requests from the ministry. The final design for the website optimizes the navigation system and displays resources in a way that unites the site’s content.
I learned that experiencing limitations is common. It is how you adapt to these obstacles where you can be the most creative and get the chance to test your skills.
Impact on the Business
This website is Copland Financial Ministries' most used tool. Staff and volunteers frequently direct users to specific resources throughout the entire site. With this new design, including a more simplified navigation system, users can find what they need faster and just as easily explore the rest of the website. This shift took place shortly after the site launched, as there was a 119% increase in the average session duration and the bounce rate improved by 20%.
