To increase sign-ups of industry experts as coaches on the CourseCareers platform, enriching the mentoring experience for students in various course programs.
Reviewing the landing page, I noticed opportunities for improvement in navigation, content clarity, and aesthetics.
This led to plans for a redesign focused on better accessibility, engagement, and a smoother user journey.
My responsibilities were multifaceted, encompassing concept development, user experience design, and the technical build with React and TypeScript. Additionally, I crafted the page's copy, ensuring that our messaging resonated with our target audience and effectively communicated the value of connecting coaches with mentoring opportunities.
The redesign focused on attracting seasoned industry experts, CourseCareers graduates, and content creators across fields like technology, sales, HR, and digital marketing.
Insights from public job descriptions targeted towards each industry highlight the qualifications and experience sought in potential coaches, aligning the landing page's messaging and design to these criteria.
inspired by successful career mentoring and education platforms, the redesign aimed to create a visually cohesive, user-friendly experience. The job description and a detailed guide on the coaching program provided essential context, guiding the content strategy and design ethos.
Building on CourseCareers' current branding, the redesign focused on forging a visually harmonious experience.
Adhering to a blue color palette for brand consistency, adjustments ensured accessibility compliance.
Imagery followed a distinct "pop-out bubble" style, focusing on diversity and aligning with the brand's aesthetic.
A tabbed income section, complemented by testimonials, balanced informative content with engagement.
Direct collaboration with the coaching team ensured the messaging was strategic, professional, and conversational, matching the site's overall tone.
Originally, I aimed to keep this section compact, highlighting the features of the coaching platform. However, after team discussions, it became clear that it resembled a process flow more than a straightforward list. This insight led me to overhaul the section, ensuring it communicated more clearly to users.
I opted to test out a layout that kept the text concise, eliminating the numbers and incorporating screenshots to add a layer of social proof. Following further team feedback, it became apparent that we needed to simplify this section even further and introduce an additional income opportunity for coaches.
To declutter the screen and minimize text, I experimented with a tabbed layout to showcase the four methods of earning. The default tab, "Cohorts," is enriched with a compelling headline and a testimonial from an existing CourseCareers coach. This approach offers a clearer explanation of the income opportunities available to coaches.
I used best practice code semantics and a clear content hierarchy to enhance accessibility and focus, including screen reader support.
Additionally, I prioritized color contrast, following WCAG guidelines, to improve readability for users with visual impairments, promoting inclusivity and usability.
The page's navigation contained numerous extraneous links, leading to confusion among the target audience about their intended actions on the page.
The navigation was redesigned with coaches in mind, placing “For Coaches” prominently beside the logo for clear orientation. The buttons were updated to more clearly describe their function, moving away from the generic “Login” and “Sign Up” labels. Furthermore, a zero navigation option was introduced, offering users an easy way to return to the main website as needed.
In this next phase, after team collaboration, we recognized the need to optimize navigation space for mobile viewing. To achieve this, the “For Coaches” text was integrated directly into the logo, specifically tailoring it to the target audience. Additionally, the “Back to CourseCareers.com” zero navigation link was relocated to the left, aligning with conventional back button designs for improved user familiarity.
Designing first for desktop then refining for mobile ensured a consistent, engaging user experience across devices.
This approach was validated through rigorous breakpoint testing.
For mobile displays, the logo is condensed to its brand mark to conserve space on the navigation bar.
The final look of the landing page is something I’m really proud of. It strikes the perfect balance between sleek design and user-friendliness. I made sure to tweak the navigation so it's super clear for our coaches, ensuring they can effortlessly find what they need. The page really comes to life with genuine testimonials that give a peek into the community and success behind the program.
Getting here was a journey, but the result? A page that not only looks good but also feels welcoming and easy to use. It’s the ideal mix of reflecting the CourseCareers brand and meeting users' needs.
Despite limited data on long-term effectiveness, initial internal feedback was highly positive, indicating the redesign successfully addressed key objectives and improved the coach recruitment process.
