Gangala Landscaping

Hassle free approach to landscaping

Market Research User Survey Persona Low-Fidelity UI User flows Style Guide High-Fidelity UI Prototype Accessibility Evaluation

Where

New Jersey, USA

What

Mobile responsive website

Why

Website redesign

Role

Designer, Researcher,
Developer

Category

Client services,
Landscape & Construction

When

April 2023-
June 2023

Problem

Gangala Landscaping wanted to add an interactive portfolio section to showcase their previous projects. This was intended to demonstrate the quality of their work to customers and to provide references from past jobs for inspiration. Additionally, they aimed to improve their website's ranking on Google search.

When reviewing the original website, I noticed that the previous website had limited information and needed a redesign in order to accomplish its goals:

Create a responsive portfolio section showcasing projects that users are interested in seeing.
Ensure the website includes all relevant content for a small landscaping business to enhance SEO.

Create a responsive portfolio section showcasing projects that users are interested in seeing.

Ensure the website includes all relevant content for a small landscaping business to enhance SEO.

Market Research

Quantitative and qualitative research was conducted to better understand user needs in the landscaping space

The Claim

The market size of landscape services for the past 10 years has been growing at a rate of roughly 3.2% annually. The US market size in 2023 is projected at $176.5bn. It's estimated that homes with landscaping services see a 5-12% increase in sales value.

The Problem

After understanding why landscaping services are important to users, further research was needed to identify their specific needs. What services do customers want to increase the value of their homes?

User Survey

User survey was conducted with current customers to better understand their needs and landscaping goals for the upcoming year.

What landscaping service are you looking to have done in 2023?

53 participants

Landscape Design

43%

Masonry Work

32%

Planting

23%

Other

Notable Comments

I see a bunch of different projects in the portfolio but none for what I want.

Jennifer H.

I really want to get a patio done in my backyard but not sure how it will look.

Karen P.

The site has a lot of information but no samples I am looking for.

Kyle C.

Goals

After gathering the necessary research and information needed from the user's, better understanding of their needs and how to apply it to the design were clear in order to achieve the business goals:

Construct an responsive portfolio that showcases planting, masonry, and landscape design services
Include more business operation content (hours of operation, location, contact information) to improve SEO and google ranking

Construct an responsive portfolio that showcases planting, masonry, and landscape design services

Include more business operation content (hours of operation, location, contact information) to improve SEO and google ranking

Low-Fidelity Wireframes

Visuals were created to best understand how the portfolio could be organized and presented. Several ideas were explored before high-fidelity designs were developed.

User flows

To outline essential features, I created a straightforward flowchart illustrating the primary actions for the user.

Style guide

The old website didn't have a clear reflection to the branding of the business. A style guide was created to have a clear system to follow when creating the high fidelity wireframes.

Color Pallet

Primary, secondary, accent, tertiary, background.

Font

Mulish
Light, Regular, Bold

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHh

Organic Look & Feel

The style was achieved by using natural colors to resemble leaves and grass.

High-Fidelity Designs

Two different navigation patterns (hamburger menu and tab bar) were created that could be used for A/B testing.

I also tested different backgrounds. A version with a white background and green overlay and one with two different shades of green to give an organic look & feel.

Prototype

I connected the high fidelity designs into a clickable prototype. That will allow me to test the site on a first group of users.

The live prototype can be found at link

Impact

Following the launch of the website, there was a significant increase in the conversion rate. As of June 2023, Gangala Landscaping is ranked 3rd in Google search results for their desired business location.

A survey of users revealed that the discoverable portfolio addition was especially appealing to them. Additionally, by the end of the year, Gangala Landscaping saw a 6% increase in planting, landscape design, and masonry work compared to the previous year.

3rd

Google Ranking

Sales Increase

Learnings

A key takeaway from this project was the significance of prioritization. With so many possibilities available when redesigning a website, it’s easy to lose sight of the core tasks. By focusing on the most important elements for both users and the business, I was able to concentrate on what truly mattered. This approach helped me avoid getting sidetracked by potential additions of uncertain value.