MeJah Books website evaluation and redesign
About this project:
This project started as an academic exercise and quickly turned into client work after an hour-long phone call with Ms. Em, where we got to know each other, and I learned the difficulties MeJah Books was facing. This project was a pro bono redesign of MeJah Books’ website.
My Role
I utilized the end-to-end UX process to design a functioning high fidelity prototype in Figma that solved the biggest problems with MeJah books’ website. I am currently working with a web developer to build the site.
Summary
MeJah Books’ website was bringing in no sales for the small bookstore. In light of the Covid shutdowns and in-person shopping slowing dramatically, Ms. Em, the owner, needed her website to:
help sell the stock sitting in her store
increase the number of books offered with a 3rd party e-commerce plugin
let the community know of upcoming events
None of the users tested could figure out how to buy a book on the existing site. My redesign focused on simplifying the structure of the site to make book buying easy and familiar. The users tested on the redesign prototype found it intuitive and straightforward and were able to successfully purchase a book.
Context
MeJah Books is a local bookstore owned and operated by Emlyn DeGannes (affectionately known as Ms. Em) operating in Wilmington Delaware, focused on showcasing authors from the Afrikan Diaspora and promoting racial pride. More than a bookstore, it has been a gathering place in the community for over 20 years with services and events like young author book signings, poetry readings, and sending care packages of books to incarcerated black men.
Discovery
The original developer abandoned building the site leaving it unfinished. This led to empty pages, broken links, and no way to actually buy a book. Users also found the design busy and confusing.
“The site is not creating dollars for me. It isn't doing anything.”
-Ms. Em
Design
When designing the site, I focused on simplicity and familiarity. I took inspiration from industry leaders like Amazon, single-product companies like Allbirds, and other locally owned bookstore websites. I kept the red, black, and white color palette from the original site as it represents Ms. Em’s home country of Trinidad and Tobago.
Reflections
This project really underscores the importance of simplicity and focus. MeJah books really only needed its website to help customers to buy books and discover upcoming events. We plan to have the new site live soon!