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Wedtexts

affiliate program, digital strategy, guest posts, impact, mobile app, onboarding, sales funnel, solution, web

CLIENT

Wedtexts

Wedtexts is as a SaaS app helping couples communicate with wedding guests through text messages that can be scheduled weeks in advance. While they were getting a fair amount of traffic to their page, they needed help converting that audience into users. In addition, they were launching a mobile app that needed to create the same easy experience their users were familiar with on their website. 

Branding / UI Design / Usability / Content Strategy

TEAM

Kat Ingalls, Glitchcraft
Design – UX, Visual

Caleb White, Wedtexts
Hustle – Writing, Promotion

Nay Tun Thein, Wedtexts
Development – Web, Mobile

TOOLKIT

Strategy
Google Analytics (site/app audit), PowerPoint (user journey), Google Docs (UX copy)

Design
Adobe Illustrator (logo/brand elements), Sketch (web mockups)

Development
Mailchimp (template + scheduling)

 

Challenge

Opportunities Identified

  1. A homepage that converted the traffic that they were already receiving into paid users

  2. A user journey that managed leads in a way that focused more on helpfulness and less on sales messaging

  3. More paying customers to take the business from barely-in-the-black to profitable and sustainable

 
 

Design Process

UX Strategy

UX Strategy

After meeting to understand the current business model, what was working, and what needed help, the next step was digging into the site data and current communications to pinpoint exactly where the problem was occurring.

During this audit, a few key issues were identified, which served as ‘hypothesis’ to test for the design sprint:

1. Recommended a referral / affiliate program since people in a social group often get married around the same time. Unlike other SaaS businesses, Wedtexts was unable to focus on recurring revenue due to the nature of the wedding industry (if you buy a wedding product more than once, that’s usually bad news!).

2. The current onboarding experience after landing on the homepage had a lot of opportunities for improvements: brand visuals that resonated more with the target audience, a cleaner information architecture, and clearer call to actions. The focus here was to increase the conversion rate from the homepage.

3. The current sales funnel after capturing a lead’s email also had many opportunities for improvement. The current mailing sequence didn’t have a clear strategy and gave a disorganized feeling. It also sent all emails back-to-back, meaning a new users heard from Wedtexts a lot (too much?) initially, and then later was subject to radio silence. The focus here was to help increase conversion of leads into sales by updating the mailing sequence’s content: copy, visuals, and calls to action.

4. A guest blog series was recommended to increase the amount of qualified leads. While Wedtexts was receiving a lot of traffic (primarily from social media ads), there was a high drop off rate. To increase the relevance to their audience, I recommended partnering with a few wedding-industry bloggers, since traffic from trusted influencers usually has a higher conversion rate.

Referral Strategy

Referral Strategy

While brainstorming ways to increase the number of Wedtext sales, I had an insight about the unique situation of not being able to leverage repeat sales, as so many other SaaS businesses do. So instead of trying to increase average user value through individual user retention, I recommended having each user bring in other users – through a referral program.

This shows the process of ideating options specific to Wedtext’s unique challenges and users. Ultimately, I recommended the “$X off” model, since it would have the longest lifespan for referring users. The other models only appeal during their use of Wedtexts, but not after.

Referral Design

Referral Design

I gave specifics for reward amounts, messaging triggers, and UI recommendations to the developer for implementation into Wedtexts’ website and app – including a recommendation to have an easy-to-remember personal referral link for easy sharing. Copy for website and emails to both existing and new users were provided as well.

Product Onboarding: Before

Product Onboarding: Before

The amount of information displayed after a user signed up for a Wedtexts trial is overwhelming. The amount of text is intimidating and the number of (steps? options?) are likely to cause confusion rather than action.

Adding some strong skimmable titles, separating “option” from “step” information (ex. upgrade vs group), adding some imagery, and including action-oriented buttons would help make this initial impression more friendly and actionable.

Product Onboarding: Redesign

Product Onboarding: Redesign

The information displayed on the first screen after signing up for a trial or subscription was minimized to reduce overwhelm and focused on being immediately actionable.

“Steps” have been separated into just two options: (a) Start from scratch or (b) Let us give you a blueprint. The “options” from the previous onboarding screen have been moved into the sidebar – with the new addition of “Refer a friend” to support the new referral program. Options to upgrade have been moved under “Account” (best for active subscribers) as well as a banner at the top of screen. For trial users, this is an obvious reminder about the lack of some features.

Finally, the sidebar architecture has been cleaned up, with a clearer hierarchy for navigating the different features of Wedtexts’ product.

Content Strategy: Guest Posts

Content Strategy: Guest Posts

To attract more qualified leads a guest post program was recommended to test against social media advertisements.

Design work included:

Industry influencer research and recommendations
Content topic recommendations
Outline for each blog post (key topics to cover, call to action)
Consulting on media outreach, including contact information, submission guidelines, and social media strategy (and reviewing pitch email, if needed)
Copy editing for tone and resonance with platform + audience
Visuals, if required by blogger

Wedtexts’ founder used the provided blog outlines to “fill in” the longform copy, pitch influencers, and coordinate with them to get content online.

Sales Funnel Audit

Sales Funnel Audit

The secondary call to action on the homepage (after “trial”) was to sign up for newsletter. As is common practice, an email sequence was being used to increase brand awareness and initiate engagement with potential users.

This is a snapshot of the initial sequence being sent, with recommendations to improve conversions.

Sales Funnel Redesign

Sales Funnel Redesign

Key recommendations from the audit were:
(a) Increase consistency – especially with regards to sender’s name, to facilitate building trust
(b) Have more empathy for users’ lifestyle – giving people more time between mailings to process information and help improve recall
(c) Focus on helpfulness instead of “mail for mail’s sake” – having a clear value and action for each email being sent

UI Update

UI Update

Although not part of the original design sprint, I thought that Wedtexts’ visual brand might be impacting how well the app resonated with its target audience: young women about to get married. The visual brand used the commonplace blues seen in stodgy corporate identities paired with routine typography.

A wedding should feel anything but stodgy and routine. I updated the brand’s colors to be brighter and more fun, including pink hues as a nod to the femininity of the brides-to-be. I also updated the logo with a more modern text treatment and thicker lines for readability. Finally, I recommended an update to the brand’s typography to hint at the gorgeous lettering weddings invitations are known for, while still leaving the overall feel very modern so that it fit a tech product.

Email Styling Redesign

Email Styling Redesign

I updated the visual design of the emails to improve readability, used the new styling designed to resonate with Wedtexts’ target audience, and gave a more modern and professional impression overall. I also created templates in Mailchimp so that the team could use the format consistently in the future.

Navigation Redesign

Navigation Redesign

I simplified the primary navigation to reduce the number of options a user needed to consider. Messaging about the trial being free and a link to the App Store were both prominent on the home (product) page, so these were removed. I also updated the titles for a consistent tone.

In addition, I updated the overall styling of the UI to match Wedtexts’ new visual brand, giving the site a more modern and polished feel. Finally, I organized the secondary links located in the footer by category to improve findability.

Home Page Redesign

Home Page Redesign

A comparison of Wedtexts’ site from before and after the design sprint.

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