About the Project
Shemiah Derrick, a Chicago-based therapist and coach, operates a successful private practice, Profound Peace Psychotherapy Collective. In 2023, she sought to redesign the website for her sister company, ShemiahDerrick.com. Her goals for this venture included focusing on couples coaching, creating courses, and growing her blog.
Initial Challenges
The existing design of ShemiahDerrick.com had become slightly outdated. To appeal to a younger audience and stay competitive with local therapists, the site needed a fresh, modern look without being overly playful. Specific constraints included a limited budget and time, which required working with the existing content and prioritizing key changes. (E.g., the courses were still in development, so we omitted that part of the site upgrade for now.)
Client Requirements
Shemiah had a few non-negotiable points for the redesign:
- Migrate the site from GoDaddy to the Showit web building app using a specified template.
- Ensure her products were available for purchase.
- Enable online booking for coaching sessions.
- Migrate the site from GoDaddy to the Showit web building app using a specified template.
- Ensure her products were available for purchase.
- Enable online booking for coaching sessions.
Tools and Plugins
After researching the Showit platform, I identified the need for additional plugins to meet her requirements. The selected tools included:
- Shopify for product management.
- Square for booking coaching sessions.
- WordPress for managing the blog.
- Shopify for product management.
- Square for booking coaching sessions.
- WordPress for managing the blog.
Assessment of Current Site
The initial evaluation of Shemiah's existing website revealed several pain points:
- Excessive clicks were required to navigate to certain pages.
- Information was dispersed without a clear structure.
- There was no intuitive flow leading users to a call to action.
- Excessive clicks were required to navigate to certain pages.
- Information was dispersed without a clear structure.
- There was no intuitive flow leading users to a call to action.
Original site.
Redesign Process
1. Creating a Flow Chart
- Developed a comprehensive flow chart to map out the new user journey, ensuring ease of navigation and a clear path to calls to action.
- Developed a comprehensive flow chart to map out the new user journey, ensuring ease of navigation and a clear path to calls to action.
2. Designing Reusable Sections
- Structured the pages with reusable sections to maintain consistency and streamline the design process. This included headers, footers, and call-to-action blocks.
- Structured the pages with reusable sections to maintain consistency and streamline the design process. This included headers, footers, and call-to-action blocks.
3. Documentation for Maintenance
- Created detailed documentation to enable Shemiah and her staff to maintain and update the site independently, ensuring long-term sustainability.
- Created detailed documentation to enable Shemiah and her staff to maintain and update the site independently, ensuring long-term sustainability.
4. Installing Plugins
- Integrated Shopify for product management, Square for booking coaching sessions, and WordPress for the blog. Ensured seamless functionality and user experience.
- Integrated Shopify for product management, Square for booking coaching sessions, and WordPress for the blog. Ensured seamless functionality and user experience.
5. Connecting Domain and Launching
- Connected the existing domain to the new Showit site. After thorough testing, launched the redesigned website.
- Connected the existing domain to the new Showit site. After thorough testing, launched the redesigned website.
Navigation system site map.
Documentation for adding a YouTube video to the site.
Results
The redesigned ShemiahDerrick.com successfully achieved the following:
- A modern, fresh look appealing to a younger audience while remaining professional.
- Improved user experience with easier navigation and a clear flow of information.
- Seamless booking of coaching sessions.
- Integrated e-commerce functionality through Shopify.
- A well-structured blog powered by WordPress.
- A modern, fresh look appealing to a younger audience while remaining professional.
- Improved user experience with easier navigation and a clear flow of information.
- Seamless booking of coaching sessions.
- Integrated e-commerce functionality through Shopify.
- A well-structured blog powered by WordPress.
Lessons Learned and Future Improvements
While the project was successful, there are always areas for improvement:
- UI Simplification: In the future, I would simplify the buttons and reduce variations to streamline the user interface.
- Enhanced User Testing: Conduct more extensive user testing prior to launch to identify and address any usability issues.
- Continued Support: Provide ongoing support and periodic updates to ensure the site remains current and functional.
- UI Simplification: In the future, I would simplify the buttons and reduce variations to streamline the user interface.
- Enhanced User Testing: Conduct more extensive user testing prior to launch to identify and address any usability issues.
- Continued Support: Provide ongoing support and periodic updates to ensure the site remains current and functional.
Conclusion
The redesign of ShemiahDerrick.com not only met Shemiah Derrick's immediate goals but also positioned her brand to better compete in the local market. By leveraging the Showit platform and integrating the right plugins, the site now offers a user-friendly, engaging, and professional experience for visitors.