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Las Pilitas Nursery

Plan to Restructure LasPilitas.com

Emily N Cannon, Briana Vann, & Katie Veeninga

INFO 246: Information Architecture

San Jose State University School of Information

Spring 2021

copyrighted photo used with permission of laspilitas.com

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“This website is dedicated to Bert Wilson. His genius continues to inspire us.” –LasPilitas.com

copyrighted photo used with permission of laspilitas.com

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Background & Challenge

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Business & Design Objectives

Business

Objectives

  • Attract first-time visitors and increase time on site
  • Bring users back to the site
  • Convert users into purchasers AND advocates for native ecosystems

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Las Pilitas Mission

  • Education
  • Advocacy
  • Retail sales

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Design Objectives

  • Surface resonant categories
  • Develop intuitive navigation for different user flows
  • Apply clear and consistent labels

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User Personas

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User Research

User Testing

Qualitative usability testing and user acceptance testing

Card Sorting

Exploratory card sorting exercise using OptimalSort

Additional Research Recommendations

Google Analytics and search log analysis

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Content Strategy

Content Inventory

Taxonomy Exploration

Competitive Analysis

Design Heuristic Review

  • 500+ distinct pieces of content
  • URL structure → taxonomy
  • Iterative inventory process to define review criteria
  • Classify pages by function, keywords, quality
  • SEO tools highlight opportunities
  • Personas & information needs

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Burt Taylor - “The Lifelong Gardener”

Gardening

Native plants

Ecosystem

DIY

Solutions

Inspiration

Tried & true

Innovation

Functionality

Beauty

Advice

Facts

An active member of the local chapter of the California Native Plant Society, Burt’s garden boasts a variety of mature trees and native plants, and he’ll gladly tell you all about each of them. Friends come to him for advice, and he’s often experimenting with his latest rare find.

Hobbies: Cycling, travel, photography

Motivation: Community connection & education; environmental conservation

Location:

Status:

Career:

Encino, CA

Homeowner

Instructor

Profile

Knowledge & Skills

Seeking...

Age:

66

Favorite Plant

Persona

Epipactis gigantea, stream orchid

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User Task Flow: Google to Purchase -- Current State

Shop for Plants

Visitor must locate “Shop for Plants” in global navigation, then filter or search

Plant Group Page

Top hit on Google for “ceanothus” -- packed with text, images, videos, links

Plant Detail Page

Rich content, but difficult to find the way back or browse related content

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User Task Flow: Google to Purchase -- Proposed Redesign

Shop for Plants

Direct link from plant detail, structured layout of results and filters

Plant Group Page

Keep navigation links together, streamline lists of varieties and related content

Plant Detail Page

Consolidate purchase information, add browse components and tooltips

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Outcome & Projections

Project Proposal

Project Overview

Objectives

Information Needs

Scope of Work

Users & Stakeholders

Content Strategy

Drafted Components

Executive Summary

Business & Design Objectives

Content Strategy

User Research Plan

Presentation

+User Personas

+Task Flow via Search

Final Report

+Content Inventory

+User Scenarios

+Site Model

+Further Recommendations

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4/18

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Feedback

Discussion

  • Brainstorming how to simplify processes for complex and content heavy sites
  • User information needs we haven’t considered
  • Any other ideas of processes or methods to complete ideation of user flow

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Thank you