CARP.ca

Information Audit

Following a comprehensive audit of the existing site information, and through ongoing interviews with current and prospective members, we uncovered a number of reoccurring pain points expressed among users. These included:

• Lack of clarity surrounding CARP’s value proposition, which was reported as “not immediately obvious” —notably, the index and advocacy landing page. Users suggested clearer introductions of priorities and segmentation of information for their specific needs (e.g. health resources, advocacy campaigns, retirement planning.)
• Navigation complexity (e.g. large drop-down menu categories), particularly under the advocacy resources section; users reported the site navigation as “overwhelming” and “difficult to find relevant resources”.
• Poor onboarding process. User feedback on membership services, including signup and renewals, indicated limitations including a lack of options for accepting donations and managing communication preferences. Members also suggested including personalized options for setting the frequency of [email] newsletters arriving in their inbox.

Design Prototype

Initial wireframes (desktop viewport) visualize a restructured hierarchy including a new top-level information tier (main navigation) prioritizing the information and resources users indicated as most important: Fighting Ageism, Healthcare, Financial Security, and Retirement Planning, Travel advice (Snow birds, navigating U.S. border crossings), and News relevant to older Canadian retirees.

Navigational Affordances

The introduction of category labels and breadcrumb trail enhance site navigation by providing clearer context. Category labels help users quickly identify relevant content, while the breadcrumb bar shows users their exact location within the site’s hierarchy, reducing cognitive load and making it easier to explore related content.

Simplified Onboarding Experience

Framed around CARP’s Join the Movement narrative, the updated onboarding process treats new memberships, renewals, gifts, and donations as distinct user journeys with easier to follow steps including a breadcrumb trail, overhauling the single screen format users previously indicated as “overwhelming”.

Multiple Renewal Options

To further ease cognitive load and reduce technological barriers for users, we provided the flexibility to renew memberships several ways:

Renewal via simplified Sign In screen using email and password credentials; removal of Google and Facebook account integrations, which added an unnecessary layer of complexity which members reported as “never used” during the Sign In process.

Renewal without signing in, by providing two pieces of information associated with a user’s account (i.e. name, email address, phone number, or membership number), or by simply phoning the call center, which members reported as a “convenient” option to filling out an online form.