DHBC Website Redevelopment
Creating an inclusive website to reflect the Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club culture
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club (DHBC) is the club for cyclists in the inner west of Sydney. I've been cycling with them for the past year and have really enjoyed my time within the supportive and diverse community. So when I heard there was a project to update the current website to something more modern and better reflect the needs of its members, I jumped at the opportunity to apply my UX skill set in the real world.
PROJECT GOALS
To build a new DHBC website and make the information more relevant to current and future members
Showcase DHBC for greater engagement
RESEARCH AND DESIGN
We conducted 10 x 30 minute interviews with a wide range of users to:
Learn about their relationship with DHBC
Learn about their experience with the website
Our questions focused on how important they felt common information was and also included some branding identification to get a sense of the perceived values of the club to inform the look and feel of the new website design.
How important do you find #topic on a scale of 1-10
3 words you’d use to describe the club
FINDINGS
Content - Rides
Ride information should follow a template and clearly explain essential information like meeting times, experience required, the route and what happens in inclement weather.
Safety protocols and bunch-riding etiquette should be front-and-centre on the rides “page”.
Content - General
People expect to find content on rules and policies, safety, contact information, membership details, testimonials, specific women’s rides, juniors and kit.
People don’t necessarily “like” Facebook but find it's a necessary evil to stay in touch with the club in a dynamic way, particularly around community involvement.
The website must contain core, static information that is integral to the club, whereas socials are for dynamic information.
The club should explore cross-posting on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
The website should highlight how strong the community is on Facebook.
Existing look and feel
Users had very little positive things to say about the existing site and generally felt confused about the current website experience.
The goal here is to “inspire me to ride”.
How people view the club: “friendly, organised and active/energetic”
Onboarding
Before someone even joins their first DHBC ride, they have challenges understanding just how rides work and what they’re like. With rides being the main piece of content people look for (new and existing riders, supplemented by safety), developing this to a high standard will have the highest value.
Navigation and Information Architecture
Users suggested fewer (and higher-quality pages) which are easier to build and manage for the club
Events
People want to know about events beyond what DHBC does; DHBC is seen as a knowledge centre about Sydney (and beyond) cycling.
Communication
Ride leaders could communicate direct club news
Monthly newsletter is great, it relieves some social-media fear-of-missing-out anxiety.
Addition of Strava rides were greatly appreciated.
Recommendations to DHBC committee:
Launch a new bare-bones site early, focused on existing rides only, to immediately add the most value to a new website.
Follow this with pages for women, riding techniques and safety protocols.
Design and content should focus on the shared identity: “Friendly, organised and energetic”
Contact pages should clearly provide links to all DHBC social media touchpoints.
Information posted must be consistent across all touchpoints
Create a site with fewer, higher-quality pages that reflect and validate the known brand experience.
Drive traffic to the website on launch. People want better, well-organised information. In their quest to find this information, they get confused, or barriers arise, particularly with new riders.
THE EXISTING WEBSITE
Based on our interviews, the current website has lots of opportunities for improvement.
"The home page image is of one cyclist, which is pretty lonely, and does not really reflect the vibe of the club."
FIGMA PROTOTYPE
GLOBAL NAVIGATION
Using the global navigation to address what is most important to our users and what they expect to find. Quality content will be focused on these key pages.
ORGANISING THE RIDES
Our research suggested to immediately add value to our website by focusing on existing rides. Using the "bite, snack, meal" framework helps existing members to quickly know what rides are on at a glance and also showcase the buzz of activity to visitors.
The existing ride pages were very text heavy and did not communicate the experience of the ride or include important details of the ride such as the route, various meeting points, terrain, and of course, the café.
I think its really easy to use and has all the most important info, so someone who’s new to the club it's right there and easy to find. This would have been amazing for when I chose to join. I think it’s fantastic, aesthetically pleasing and really easy to use.
ONBOARDING
The club is always welcoming to new members. Adopting the benefits of onboarding and guiding them them through the journey of signing up makes sure new members are insured and prepared while building excitement without being overwhelmed. This will be the next stage of the development...
