Project Overview:
The Microbiology section on Illumina.com is popular with our audience but had become outdated and cluttered, leading to a confusing user experience. Recognizing this, our team suggested a redesign to better cater to our research audience. Our goal was to simplify navigation, reorganize content for clarity, and highlight key resources and products, thereby improving user engagement, conversion rates, and audience retention.
Business goals:
Clearly defined Microbiology sub-sections built around markets, customers, and behaviors. Comprehensive content and section architecture audit.
Better present the Illumina story/offering across distinct sections and position new products
Expand appeal and focus of content beyond a research-based audience
User goals:
Easy to find in organic search results (SEO optimization)
Easy to navigate across section sub-pages. Easy to find relevant resources and contextual product solutions
Easy to understand the power of genomics within microbiology research through our information-sharing, diversity of resources, and up-to-date content
Project stages & my role:
Illumina content / UX / visual design process
Participated in stakeholder interviews to further understand current pain points, business goals, content pipeline, and future opportunities to assess scalability needs
Analyzed current page/section performance using Adobe Analytics, ContentSquare, and Google Search Console. I generated reports within each platform and identified key trends, gaps, and opportunities.
SEO and engagement data analysis examples
Conducted a competitive analysis of our top direct and indirect competitors:
SEO keyword analysis to reveal keyword gaps and opportunities, metadata, and search performance
Tone of voice and brand positioning
User experience and specific UX/UI elements
Content & section infrastructure and messaging hierarchy
Sitemap content strategy:
Created a visual sitemap of current state
Created a recommended sitemap and presented to key stakeholders. My sitemap recommendations were founded in data analysis, business goals, and user flows:
Current page KPIs (organic traffic, content engagement, lead-gen, time on page, scroll depth, etc.)
Subject matter organization and consolidation
Keyword research: trending keyphrases, current gaps, trending searches
Scalable infrastructure to accommodate future topics and projects
Recommended a phased approach based on business priorities. Worked with PMs and key stakeholders to align on project phases and deadlines.
Created SEO and Strategy Details outlines for each page:
Overarching business and user goals
Relevant stakeholder input
Specific page goals and KPIs
Primary target audiences
User journey stage and emotional/contextual considerations
Recommended SEO-optimized metadata
Primary/secondary keywords
Designed content wireframes:
Upon approval of the recommended sitemap and phased approach, I created content wireframes for new pages in Figma using existing CMS patterns from our library and new component recommendations.
Content hierarchy and page flow informed by user intent, page goals, and storytelling framework.
For current pages, I used Figma to outline recommended content updates, provide new copy and resource links, and collaborate with the UX team on content structure/hierarchy updates based on content engagement metrics.
Content wireframes for new pages
Outlined content updates across other pages to promote new pages, products, and resources:
Collaborated with UX and visual design leads:
Once content wireframes were approved, I worked with the UX and visual design leads to iterate on page designs within Figma
Key stakeholder and internal team collaboration
Throughout the process, I worked closely with project stakeholders on content questions/opportunities and presented my work at each stage.
I reached out to non-project teams to inquire about additional content opportunities (Events team to promote relevant webinars, products teams to promote related new or upcoming products)
Final new page designs / live links: