Delivering a mobile-first, multilingual user experience to boost sales and share the story of a cherished community space.
McGaw YMCA is the sole YMCA in Evanston, Illinois. It offers a wide range of health, wellness, and social programs for families and individuals of all ages within the greater Evanston community. With a history spanning over 135 years, the McGaw YMCA stands as one of the oldest YMCAs in the United States.
The previous website, created in 2010, provided a frustrating user experience due to its lack of responsive design, accessibility, and translation features. This YMCA needed a website that could meet the organization’s needs for post-pandemic growth, convert first-time users into buyers, and bring more brand awareness to the Y’s vital community-based work and offerings.
Our vision was to build a website from scratch. To do this, we created project goals and scope, and analyzed similar YMCA websites to determine a structure that effectively communicated the priorities of the McGaw Y while aligning with the “gym and swim” fitness buyer experience. The web design needed to showcase the Y’s vital role in the community while also encouraging users to purchase memberships and register for programs.
I worked with internal stakeholders to determine usability and information needs, created the UX/UI strategy and worked with an external web development firm to create webpage designs following YMCA brand standards and site templates. I led the creation of a content plan, designed the site architecture, and wrote original content to effectively communicate information about programs and services to visitors.
Deliverables:
- Project Management
- Stakeholder Engagement
- UX and UI Strategy & Design
- Creative Direction
- Site Content
- SEO/Conversion Strategy
- Website Development & Management
- Communications Strategy
Results:
The website redesign exceeded expectations among all surveyed audiences, boosting visits and purchases on the McGaw YMCA website across user groups. The new mobile-first experience is functional, accessible, and supports 32 languages to connect with more prospective members and staff. The design is brand compliant, responsive, and enhances ADA functionality.
Year-over-year results demonstrate a significant increase in users and conversions since the site launched in October 2022. Specifically, total web users increased by 83%, and the number of buyers who purchased memberships and registered for programs online increased by 43%.
Home Page Design
Interior Page Design Samples (various page templates)
Campaign Page Design Samples
