CoTripper Redesign Project
Cotripper is a start-up looking to inspire single moms to travel more with their kids, and part of that goal includes a bi-monthly newsletter. I sought to discover development opportunities to grow the Cotripper subscriber base, and ultimately build a community of users to connect and support each other.
The product included a website that served as a landing page for gaining newseltter subscribers. While the stakeholders liked the brand direction, the landing page could be reimagined.
Tools: Figma, Lyssna, Adobe Illustrator, Canva
Timeframe: Sept. 2023 - December 2023
Role: UX Research, Product Design
Initial Assumptions
Users need the ability to get more information about Cotripper
Adding more trip images or user generated content could build trust and provide context
The site is intriguing, but doesn’t provide enough details on what Cotripper actually does and leaves unanswered questions
Based on the stakeholder interview, Cotripper does more than the site represents
Initial site landing page:
Screenshot of Cotripper’s initial landing page
Gathering Insights
I started this project with a competitive analysis. I learned there is fine balance with the amount of content to put on the landing page before users commit to reading more in a newsletter. It can’t be overwhelming, but it needs to be informative to provide a clear understanding of the organization’s goal.
If one of the ultimate goals is to create community, then a key takeaway from this analysis was the importance of providing a variety of ways for the community to connect.
Additional notable finds were:
Frolo provides multiple modes and entry points for connection - Discovery, chat, feed, meetup
SheHive provides ways to "continue the conversation" in workshops and on social media to build community. Also has 8 anchor categories for organization.
Newsette focuses on getting you in and offering instant gratification
Motherly has a lot of information - but also unique opportunities for audience participation, trust building and identification of affiliates
Defining the Problem
The next step was to conduct interviews to try and understand user pain points. Two user interviews were conducted with single moms who might be potential users of Cotripper, and two additional interviews were conducted with existing followers of Cotripper on Instagram.
““I’m immediately thinking – do I have to sign up?””
“it’s easier to trust a single mom than for me to trust a lot of people.”
Problem statements
How might we get users more comfortable with committing to subscribing?
How might we increase user engagement in the time between newsletters, outside of Instagram?
A User journey map was created to further illustrate the process a user currently experiences while identifying opportunity to increase engagement in the retention stage and understanding hesitation in the subscribing stage.
Design Process
Initial sketches were drawn to provide more information about Cotripper, including top navigation that lead to more content.
A key concept is that joining the community is joining the newsletter. Making this action one in the same creates a sense of belonging and is a friendly entry into becoming a subscriber. Selecting the join us button opens a form to select preferences and agree to the newsletter,
There is an idea of a user profile to adjust settings and content preferences within the newsletter.
The left hero image features a collage of images from recent Cotripper trips with leaves and other elements from exotic travel.
the “Meet the Moms” section allows users to see some faces behind the Cotripper community, along with their reviews of the Cotripper experience. This will foster trust and connection. In addition to including resources, social and background information, the “Trusted Travel” section is another way to build confidence in the brand.
The concept also had a section for profiles of other single moms to be viewed for connecting.
Usability testing of potential solutions
These ideas were turned into a wireframe and then built out into a functioning prototype for user testing.
What didn’t work:
An early prototype included a barrier to subscribe in order to read the full article. Though subscription was free, users were frustrated and felt pressured by this barrier.
Users thought that if they could view more of the content and gain a better understanding first to determine if the content was a fit for them, then they would be okay with providing information to subscribe to the newsletter.
“If I can see 90% of the site and you need my information to interact with the other 10%, I’d say that’s fair.”
Results
The final prototype focused on reducing barriers to information, showing the site’s value quicker, and building trust with users through clarity and connection so that users have what they need to make decisions on the Cotripper site.
The idea Is that users have all the access to information so that they can gain an understanding, but they need still to subscribe to the newsletter in order to join the community and take any actions, such as chatting with other moms, booking travel, and commenting on posts.
An about page was added to provide more context about Cotripper and welcome new users.
The Connect and Explore pages were mocked up to showcase the users ability gather information before subscribing. Note the architecture in the nav bar was adjusted to provide access to information and clarity.
The Connect page serves as a dashboard for news, resources, discussion and creating community with other single moms. There are multiple entry points to getting engaged, from small bread crumb interactions like naming a destination you would like to visit, to more in depth interactions on discussion forums. There is also a way to see people with similar interests and users who live in your area to connect with.
The Explore page is focused on the Cotripper travel opportunities.. This is where users can find more information on upcoming travel and learn more about what the experience might look like. However in order to book travel, users must be members of the community.
