I'm very excited to share with you an experimental project I've been working on: a redesign of the Visit Herefordshire website. Please note, this is a personal project done off my own back just for a bit of fun!
It's something I've been doing in my spare time between projects as a hobby, whilst trying to challenge myself in trying out new ideas. I've written up this blog post to try and document my process, thoughts and general approaches when tackling website redesigns.
Started from the bottom, now we're here...
I wanted to overhaul the current website architecture, giving the user a brief overview of what the site is, what it's about and what it contains. I didn't want to limit myself by being constrained to using the current content as a model, so I decided to chop and change what was there. Keeping important elements whilst trying to clean up the user interface was a big priority of mine, whilst trying to introduce an expansive all new design.
I wanted the redesign to tackle key areas in which I think the current website could be much better. I identified the following issues:
- Static & contained design that I felt didn't showcase the best of Herefordshire
- A lack of architecture to make it easy for users to get access to the content they need
- Navigation made it hard to get to the content I wanted to view
I felt that the redesign had to have more purpose, more of an authority stamp to showcase Herefordshire in the best light possible, right from first user interaction. I identified three key areas in which I could do this:
- Introducing what Herefordshire has to offer via the homepage
- Getting more imagery onto the initial landing page
- Breaking down content into manageable chunks for easier viewing
Planning the Homepage
The current site goes straight into a big bulk of text and in my opinion doesn't guide users to what they want to find. It featured some dated infographics, and other elements which I deemed secondary to what the homepage actually needed.
I prioritised elements that I felt were more deserving of a homepage space, so users could jump right into learning about Herefordshire and what it has to offer.
The redesign on the right gives users a bold and memorable introduction, as well as a clearer, cleaner navigation for users to get to what they want to, whilst maintaining this expansive and fluid design.
Imagery at the Forefront
The Herefordshire countryside is expansive, breathtaking and unique and I really couldn't understand why the current site didn't showcase the imagery in a more immersive and fluid way. I wanted to go beyond a standard grid layout and introduce a quirky layout that engaged the user, and gave the site personality.
View the Full Piece
This was purely an expermental project in my spare time. It was designed using Adobe XD. You can view a mockup of the homepage by clicking the button below. Feel free to Tweet me about your thoughts and ideas, I'm always active on Twitter, @ryangittings.
Are you a Hereford based business? Read more about my web design Hereford services.