Wolsey Soap Design Brief by heyraeh

Wolsey SOAP

Information Architecture & Web Design Brief

[ The Mission ] Wolsey Soap – providing you with High quality Handcrafted Natural Soap & Lotion based products

• • •

No tallow No nuts No animal fats.

The value of this method of quality hand soap, results in a product that is long lasting, mild, and beneficial for all skin types. There is a specific need amongst web sites dedicated to small homemade products. Wolsey Soap – as outlined in the following – is in a perfect situation to fill this exact need. These needs are outlined in detail in Appendix A; but in short, your competitors have poorly made, thought out, and developed sites. Content is either non-existent or difficult to find leaving users with a sense of frustration. As you already know, your presence on the web – regardless of what product you carry – is immensely important. Your site will be your potential customers first (and strongest) impression of you as a business and often determines the attitude they carry towards your product in general. We’ve already seen that you desire quality and integrity and this attitude will influence your site in equal measure.

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

[ Goals/Audience ] Looking at your goals (short and long) and who your audience is (actual and ideal) significantly shapes the approach we take to making your site. Short Term Goals § To make and sell high quality handcrafted soap, bath bombs, belly sticks, laundry soaps, message bars, bath salts, stain sticks etc. § To have a quality web site serving as an information/product hub § To develop a social media following § Create an atmosphere for organic growth of the business (easy for friends/family to share with others, gifts, discounts, seasonal offerings etc) Long Term Goals § Continue selling quality handcrafted products but on a larger scale. § Expand as far as it will grow, become as far reaching and “Big” as possible § As growth happens put energy in trying to remain efficient without cutting corners on quality. § To have a thriving, reliable, efficient online store catering to people from all countries with payment methods allowing for easy purchasing

Audience Actual: § Family/Friends § Brockville Locals § Friends of Friends Future: § Word of mouth propels online store, businesses outside of Ontario pick up product

What Will Bring Them To The Site? § § § § § §

View products/See what is in stock View Seasonal Offerings/Specials/Discounts Information on how products are made Information on who makes the products Cater to 1st time visitors who are curious Future à online store, ordering from any location at anytime. Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

[ Tasks ] Based on the goals you have for your site – the following tasks are what we want users to do on your site in order to reach those goals.

First time users will visit site § § § § § §

To see what products are offered To read information on who Wolsey Soap is and the process and elements in their product Find information on how to buy Find information on where to buy Find general contact information Read blog to get a sense of who Wolsey Soap is

Returning users will check in for: § § § § § § §

New products Seasonal offerings What is currently available What local markets/businesses are carrying the product (seasonal ramifications) Stay in the loop by reading Wolsey Soap’s blog Comment and interact via blog In the future – there could potentially be a forum or specific hub that could act as a place to unite customers should you want it.

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

[ Scenarios ]

Sue – First Time Visitor For her birthday last month Sue received some Wolsey Soap as a gift. Having previously had bad experiences with “home made” endeavors it took her a while to try the soap given to her. After finally trying and being so pleased with the soap, she went looking for the label that came with the package remembering it had a website address on it. Arriving on the home page was a welcome surprise – often small business have horrible sites – Sue was pleased to see that Wolsey Soap looked very well put together (on top of having a great product!) Being from New Brunswick Sue had no idea who Wolsey Soap is and was pleased to find a wealth of information on the site not only about Carlie (who makes the soap) but also of what goes into making the soap. Feeling much more at ease about this stranger in Brockville making soap products, Sue decided to look at the other products and packages Carlie offers and decides to give Carlie a call personally, and place another order. Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

Alexandra – Good Friend Alexandra has been a close friend of Carlie’s for many years and lives four provinces away with her family. She not only loves the soap products Carlie makes but living so far way – the Wolsey Soap site is the only steady access she gets to the products, what’s new, seasonal specials, and what products are available or not. She is always gifting Wolsey Soap to others and buying a steady stream for herself. Alexandra is confident in telling people to visit the website because it offers all the information they might be looking for whether they are a first time visitor or a steady customer like herself. Living in BC there are many people interested in quality homemade products, especially those that try hard to keep unnecessary chemicals and preservatives out of the process – Alexandra finds the site so helpful that she’ll often just leave Wolsey Soap tags (with the web address on them) laying around places in hopes that someone might just check it out of curiosity.

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

John – Small Business Owner John is a small business owner in Maple Ridge BC and in the past year he has had more than one inquiry about “Wolsey Soap” and if they carry it. After the third or fourth customer came asking, John finally decided to inquire about the product and see if it was something worth bringing into the store. Not knowing anything about Wolsey Soap except the name, he googles a quick search for Wolsey Soap and finds the site he’s looking for right away. Shocked that it was found that easy (dealing with so many homemade products often they don’t have a site at all or it can be quite a challenge finding the right site) Arriving on the site, John is again surprised at what he finds. Wolsey Soap is a very professional looking site especially considering it is a homemade product – this goes a long way with him in regards to his decision to carry the product or not because it speaks to the business’ professionalism and commitment to getting their product out there. Based on his experience finding and spending time on the site John decides to place an order and see what all the rave is about!

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

Michael - Local Michael lives in Brockville where Carlie of Wolsey Soap lives and works. His wife’s birthday is coming up and he is in need of a birthday gift; she has requested something “homemade”. Knowing she loves candles and bath salts Michael set out to see if he could find something appropriate. Assuming he would have to head to Ottawa to see anything worth buying, he was surprised to see some great looking local product called Wolsey Soap while he was out shopping. Not recognizing the name, Michael checks in with the store and inquires about it. Seeing the website on a label he decides to go home and check it out. A quick Google search helps him find Wolsey Soap easy and he is shocked by the quality of the site. Being able to read up on Carlie and the products she makes (with all the many varieties) he decides that this is a perfect gift his wife will love. The next day he heads back to the store to purchase some of the products.

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

[ Competitor Overview ] Through our discussions and by using some 3rd party analysis of the web sites – we have identified who your competitors are. The following is organized from your most immediate competition to businesses further away that still compete for your market. There are some local farms Triple A Farm Domville Farm That make their own products and these are your most immediate competition. They however do not have a website for their business and rely mostly on the local farmers markets and word of mouth to sell their products.

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

1000 Islands Soap Company Kingston Ont. www.1000islandssoapco.com Strengths • • • • •

Non-cluttered Simple Navigation Large logo (know you are at the right place) Social Media Presence Product list and location visible right away.

Weaknesses • • •

Text is hard to read Dated site, looks old and unprofessional Online store looks like an entirely different site, confusing

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

Rocky Mountain Soap Company Canmore, Ab. http://www.rockymountainsoap.com

Strengths • • • • •

Professional modern design Easy Global nav with detailed sub nav Important information at the bottom of home page Non confusing layout Member sign in option

Weaknesses •

•

Dropdown navigation is too cluttered, you get lost in the items to choose from Footer navigation is handy but font is small and easy to miss

•

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

Salt Spring Soap Works Salt Spring, Victoria, Duncan BC http://saltspringsoapworks.com

Strengths • • • • •

Modern up to date design Clear Global Navigation Appealing product shots, looks professional Social Media Presence Shopping easy to find

Weaknesses • • •

No product search Slow loading when viewing some products Font on blog and info for products small and hard to read.

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

Etsy Online www.etsy.ca

Strengths • • • •

Non-cluttered Clean color scheme, easy to get your bearings Register & Sign In easy to navigate to Prominent search feature (necessary for so many products

Weaknesses •

While ordered layout, sometimes a bit coloured.

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

[ Site Content ] How you organize your labels will go a long way with your users, their impression of your site and product, and how easily they are able to use your site and find the information or products they are looking for. Users who come to your site are interested in information primarily; who you are, what your product is and what is in it, and how to go about ordering that product. With this in mind we don’t need a cluttered content organization. With this in mind we attacked our brainstorming and mind mapping session to help us visually see the relationships and connections between our labels. From there we were able to narrow down and address what information you wanted your clients to have on every page, elements they needed access to regardless of what page they find themselves on. Home About Products Specials Shop Online Contact This will be the breadth of your site, your global navigation, and from these labels users can access appropriate information within each section. Our mind mapping also revealed what information you want within these sections: Home à About à Products à Specials à Shop Online à Contact à

[search, where to buy, new items (highlighted items), old favourites] [Wolsey Soap, What is in our Soap] [All products, products by category] [Seasonal offerings, current discounts and specials] [shopping basket, checkout] [mailing, email, phone information; social media links]

For a visual detailed breakdown see Appendix C: Site Structure Listing. Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

Another visual that can be helpful in seeing the relationships between the listing above and how users will navigate through your site is something called an architectural blueprint. This helps show how elements of your site are linked together and relate to one another.

Design Brief Architectural Blueprint R Helm

Home

About

Products Main Page

G L O B A L S E A R C H

Specials

o n

Shop Online

e v e r y p a g e

Product Documen Documen Gallery t t

Wolsey Soap Wolsey Soap, Soap! Product Documen Gallery Documen t t

Share via Social Media Payment Process

payment info

Purchase? Checkout Y

Seasonal

Discounts

Product Documen Gallery Documen t t

View More? Y

Store

Filtered Search Feature

Product Documen Documen Gallery t t

Info

Contact Where Selling Stop

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

In order for your users to easily navigate the above menus and sub menus – we need to lay out the functional requirements – the specific elements that will make those menus useful for the visitor to your site.

1st

social media presence - will provide the user with the ability to “like”, “share”, “email”, or “post” on all the major social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc.)

2nd

a global search feature, also present on every page (in appropriate but consistent places) which allow your user to quickly bypass the menu system and simply search for exactly what they are looking for.

3rd

a constantly updated list of where your product is being sold, what farmers markets you will be attending; because the goal is to connect the user with your product! A further idea might be a Calendar which lists these places you will be selling, could also list seasonal offerings and when they will be available

4th

Lastly there will be descriptive links leading to your products

Future requirements

would be your online store (requiring order forms, shopping basket, clearly marked check out, secure payments, listing of payments that you accept, multiple confirm order and cancel order along each step.

forum or feedback section where users can leave comments, reviews and connect with you specifically about your product or to request a specific kind of product. Connected to this would be a FAQ section both about the site and the product.

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

[ Site Structure ] At the moment your site is of a smaller scale but even so, we discussed the need for having a plan that organizes how it all holds together. When time is given to think through the method that will hold things in place – the users benefit from a site that is intuitive and meets their needs before they realize they even have a need. Wolsey Soap is information and product driven – so based on our brainstorming of content the following was decided as best. It will follow an organizational metaphor. A top-down Hierarchical structure Using a Topical inexact scheme Your content will be presented in logical sequence and in consistent places through the whole site and with this method your products will be logically grouped together by kinds in such a way that the user will know where to look to find what they want. Another element we discussed here was avoiding top-loading your menus with information; instead structuring our content to allow facet based browsing, giving your users a “sense” of where to go and intuitively know what to find next when they flowing content or a link. This acts as a trail through your site, leading your users to what they are looking for and to what you want to highlight.

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

[ Navigation ] Wolsey Soap will need to keep a balance between the depth and breadth of your content, especially as you grow larger in coming years. Keeping your Global Navigation (present on every page) to no more than 7 menus allows you to put relevant information in your Local navigation and sub menus; therefore not overwhelming your users with information.

You don’t want users to have to click more than 3 times to reach what they are looking for! The content you identified as your Global Navigation are the following (located in the header or top of your page): • Search feature • Social Media Icons • Contact And your second element of Global Navigation located in your main menu bar, also on every page is • Home • About • Products • Specials • Shop Online • Contact

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

With all the above in mind - navigation, structure, content, labeling etc. – we can do a wireframe to help us visualize how these elements will look and work together.

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

[ Searching ] Searching is crucial for businesses functioning online in any capacity. You must strategically think of your site, your links, your content, and the alt tags on your images to name a few, because all of these things feed into SEO (search engine optimization), namely how your users will find your site and how seamlessly that process happens. As a business you want your users to find your site as smoothly as possible, and once on your site, you want to connect them with you product with equal ease and speed. Search is essential. On your site you will need a detailed method of filtering your products. For example: • • • •

Price Kind Type Popularity

Crucial to this is how you tag your products, blog posts, news, and features within your site. These allow for endless fluidity as the user searches, finds, sees products in similar categories and follows the links etc. As each item is clicked the search gets re-shuffled and presented in a way that meets the users needs. The quality of your search feature will rely heavily on these tags throughout your content and will influence the users overall experience of your site.

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

Another element to good SEO is the [ Meta Data ] information located within the code to your page. These are words or phrases that help users find your page quickly. They are often the types of words or phrases that users will type into a search engine like Google. It would look like the following: <Head> <TITLE> Wolsey Soap Shop - Handcrafted Natural Soap!</ TITLE > <META NAME="description" CONTENT="The all natural soaps we make can be used for any skin type. They are long lasting and mild, our soaps are a refreshing alternative to petroleum infused, store-bought soap. We use all vegetable oils. NO ANIMAL FATS! No tallow! "> < META NAME ="keywords" CONTENT ="Wolsey, wolsey soap, wolsey soap shop, handmade, soaps, handmade soap, handcrafted, handcrafted soap, natural soap, natural, natural no crap soap, vegan soap, Ontario crafts, natural Ontario, Brockville, Brockville soap, Brockville crafts, vegetable oil, vegetable oil based soap, nut free soap, no animal fats, no tallow, all vegetable oil, homemade natural soap, Canada, Ontario, Brockville Ontario, best soap, best homemade soap, best Ontario soap, made in Brockville, "> </Head>

[ CMS ] Your site has features that will require consistent small updates. Namely the seasonal information, discount/deals section, what business carry your product, the calendar which holds this information etc… A very helpful tool in giving you the control on when, how and what to update is via a Content Management System (CMS). Such as Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla etc. This gives you a login/password and a dashboard with easy access to areas you need to update frequently.

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

[ A Mobile World ] While it might not appear necessary at this moment – something you will want to consider is creating an app for Wolsey Soap. This could be any kind of app at all – the power of this is simply having something in the App Store that is connected with your business. The larger percent of people are using mobile devices to view sites and connect with businesses – having a presence through this way shows your willingness to connect with users and how they use technology. Your app could be a game about soap perhaps, or simply act as a link to your site, or could be an interactive list of your products. It will be putting yourself in that market that will matter. Related, is creating your site in such a way that it is responsive to which ever device might be viewing it. This helps with the intuitive and ease of which users will interact with your products.

[ Conclusion ] As you expressed to me – the goal of your site is to connect users to your handmade soap products and to inform your users of both who you are and what your product is (and isn’t) Our brainstorming, mind mapping and idea generating sessions have helped us take these goals and use them to shape your sites Navigation, and functionality so that your users will have an intuitive, uncomplicated time reaching your products. Your desire to grow large does not affect the above because as you grow, your sites structure will remain largely the same; it is serving the same goals regardless of your size. As you grow larger consider the above elements that would be beneficial to all to you site – namely a calendar, an extensive online store, and a more robust search feature (with basic and advance search features) to cater to your growing product listing!

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

[ Appendix A: Competitive Analysis ] 1000 Islands Soap Comp

1 [poor]

2 [weak]

3 [fair]

Rocky Mountain Soap

4 [good]

Salt Spring Soap Works

Etsy

5 [outstanding]

Home Page Y

Initially, No

Yes

N Fast

Yes Normal Slow, Products NO

Yes Normal yes, Products No

Yes (2) No (1)

Yes (5) Yes (4)

Yes (5) No (3)

Yes (5) Yes (5)

No (1) No (1) At times (1)

Yes (3) Yes (4) At Times (4)

Yes (5) Yes (4) No

Yes (5) Yes (4) At times (4)

Are labels & section headers easy to understand? Y/N Are links easy to identify? Y/N

Yes

Are links grouped logically or spread out in the doc? Descriptive links or ambiguous?

n/a

No (unless you hover) Grouped

Descriptive

Is it Informative? Y/N Does it set the context? Y/N Loading Time?

No, more display Yes Fast

Navigation Consistent global navigation? Y/N Do major sections have local navigation? Y/N

Site Organization Is it intuitive? Y/N Is it easy to understand? Y/N Do you feel lost? Y/N

Links and labels

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

Search and Search Results Is there a search feature? Y/N Is it easy to use? Y/N Does it have basic and advanced options? Y/N Are results organized? Or Chaotic? Are results relevant?

No (store yes) No Basic & Advanced (store search) Yes Yes

Yes Yes Basic

No n/a n/a

Organized Yes

n/a n/a

Yes Yes Basic (with option to filter results) Organized Yes

No (1) No (3)

No (2) Yes (4)

Yes (5) Yes (5)

Yes (4) Yes (3)

Neither

Too much Depth

More Breadth than Depth

Help

Yes (2)

Yes (4)

More Depth than Breadth Yes (4)

Blog (hard to find though)

Blog

Yes, new items posted No

In Online Store Only Amateur (1)

Yes

High (5)

Slow Yes (5) (5)

Fast Yes (5) (4)

Readability Is the font easy to read? Is information easy to scan?

Content Depth and breadth of content?

Does content help users complete tasks or hinder? Fresh Content? (blog, newsletter, etc.)

Is there a sitemap?

Products Do they display their products? Photography quality or amateur? Load time when viewing products? Is there an online store? Overall impression of the online store?

Fast Yes (1) (1) – very poor, but functional

Ease of using the store?

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

[ 3rd Party Competitor Analysis ] 1000 Islands Soap

Rocky Mountain Soap

Salt Spring Soap Works

Etsy

n/a n/a

711,738 25-35 mostly female browsing from work From USA/CDA

10,543,065 n/a

209

196 25-34 mostly Mostly Female Browsing from home and work From USA/CDA/UK/ AUS/INDIA 240,437

25 4.38 5.05 15

53 5.45 5.59 43

45 5.61 186 39

88 6.19 6.38 95

No Site Map No Analytics Duplicate Content

No Site Map

0 Things

Alexa Global Rank Viewers

Sites linking in

OpenSite Explorer Page Authority MozRank MozTrust Doman Authority

Pear Analytics Fix Immediately

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

[ Appendix B: Content Inventory ] Page Type Header Info Global, on every page Home

About

Products

Content Search Social Icons Contact New Items Old Favourites Where to Buy Search Wolsey Soap Wolsey Soap, Soap! FAQ All Products By Kind By Popularity

Specials

Seasonal Offerings Discounts/Deals

Shop Online

Online Store

Contact

Email, phone, social media Where to buy (listing of businesses that carry the product and farmers markets product will be at)

Functional Requirements Links to social media Global site search Link to contact information Links to Specials Links to Blog posts Search field Link to contact Links to products Social Media Share FAQ forms Detailed filter options Social media share options on each product Link to online store Add to basket option Checkout option Applicable visuals per season Social media share options Add to basket Checkout link Extensive search feature Detailed filtered search options Shopping basket Checkout Types of Payment listed Secure payment Link to email Link to phone (so can call directly if viewing on phone) Calendar showing businesses, Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

Footer

Site Map FAQ Contact

seasonal offerings and which farmers market the product will be at. Link to detailed site map Links to specific pages in the site map Link to the FAQ section Link to contact page

Wolsey Soap | Design Brief

[ Appendix C: Site Structure Listing ] Header 1. Global Search 2. Social Icons 3. Contact Main 1. Home a. New Items b. Old Favourites c. Where to Buy d. Search Site 2. About a. Who is Wolsey Soap? b. Who is Wolsey Soap Soap? 3. Products a. Categories b. Filtered Search 4. Specials a. Seasonal Offerings b. Discounts/Deals 5. Online Store a. Filtered Search b. Shopping basket c. Checkout 6. Contact a. Info b. Where to buy listing c. Calendar of markets/seasonal offerings. Footer 1. Site Map 2. FAQ 3. Contact/Order! Wolsey Soap | Design Brief