Southwestern
Website | Apparel
Southwestern Financial Group and its subsidiaries offer a comprehensive range of financial and investment services, including financial advising and asset management. They needed a new website and merchandise to attract and convert potential clients.
Web Design & Development
Design Brief
Southwestern’s website needed a complete rebuild to improve client intake. The old site was outdated, filled with lengthy, unwieldy lists, and lacked effective communication with its audience. The small type made it difficult for older potential clients to read, and the irrelevant photos could be confusing. My redesign addressed these issues with the goal of enhancing site traffic and improving conversion rates.
Tools
Goals
1. Increase organic traffic via SEO
2. Improve bounce rate by creating a more appealing website that connects with our target market
Results
204.3% YOY improvement in Monthly Organic Search Traffic
11.1% improvement in Bounce Rate
Homepage
Build & Development
After designing the site, I built it for Southwestern using WordPress and Divi. While Divi offers a wide range of customization options and tools, I used CSS to fine-tune the site’s appearance. Additionally, I implemented a combination of plugins to achieve the desired functionality, including a login system that restricts content for unaccredited investors and multi-page forms for smoother user interaction.
UX Improvements
To convert website visitors into leads, it was crucial to enhance the user experience. I focused on clearly communicating what Southwestern does and who they serve. Once we captured a visitor’s interest, they were directed to a form where they could easily get in touch with a team member and schedule an initial meeting.
Brief
In evaluating the previous site, I found that visitors were mainly encouraged to call and schedule a consultation. However, since the majority of our target audience works during business hours, they are more likely to visit the site outside of those hours. This led to missed opportunities and a lower conversion rate.
Solution
To address this challenge, I made it easier for potential clients to book their initial consultation at any time by introducing an accessible form in the website footer. This new form allows visitors to quickly submit their information, and our admin team can reach out to schedule the consultation at a time that’s convenient for them.
This change ensures that no potential leads fall through the cracks by giving visitors an easy way to take the next step, regardless of when they visit the site.
Brief
The previous website presented our services in a long, unorganized list, making it difficult for visitors to quickly find the services they were looking for.
Solution
To improve this, I restructured the services into four broad categories. This decision was informed by cognitive psychology—research shows that the average person can hold around 7 items in their short-term memory (give or take 2). By limiting the categories to just four, we make it easier for visitors to remember and navigate through our services.
This more organized structure enables potential clients to quickly find the services that meet their needs, streamlining their experience and reducing the likelihood of confusion or frustration.
Brief
The previous website attempted to market a broad range of services to a wide audience, which made it difficult to effectively communicate our offerings to any one group. Visitors were presented with generic messaging that didn’t address their specific needs or pain points.
Solution
To resolve this, I adopted a more targeted approach by creating four key personas, each representing a different segment of our audience. These personas allow visitors to quickly identify with a category that aligns with their needs.
For example, a young adult who is expecting or has children would see the “Planning for the Future” category. Upon reading it, they would recognize that it addresses their specific needs, making it clear that we offer services tailored to helping their family as it grows.
By refining our approach this way, we provide a more personalized user experience, ensuring that visitors quickly find the services most relevant to them and understand how we can help.
Apparel Design
Design Brief
Southwestern needed merchandise for both employees and potential clients. Since these groups span a variety of ages and backgrounds, I aimed to design merch that would appeal to a broad audience. The goal was to create a professional yet casual look, suitable for wear on a day outside the office.
Software
