The document outlines a series of small changes made over two weeks to improve the user experience and performance of the Victoria and Albert Museum's website. Step one involved user research showing difficulties with navigation and finding information. Step two tested removing a rotating banner and increased conversions by over 10%. Subsequent steps simplified content, improved legibility, made ticketing and shopping more prominent, and increased newsletter signups. Monitoring showed page weight and speed decreased while Google rankings increased. The changes had an overall positive impact.
10. What we did:
- Used analytics and
user research to
change navigation
- Used active verbs
such as learn, visit
and shop
- Made opening times,
‘admission free’
message and
strapline more visible
- Tidied the visual
clutter over banner
Update
13. What we did:
- A/B test run over 6
days with 46K
unique visitors
- Removed the
carousel and moved
previously hidden
content to beneath
the banner
Results:
- More than 11% more
page views for
exhibition pages,
shop and
membership
- 15% increase in
overall conversion
rate
17. What we did:
- Refined the content,
retaining only
essential information
- More prominent
opening times and
better imagery
- Usability
improvements such
as anchor links to
key content
21. What we did:
- Text is more legible
across the site
(increased line
heights, increased
font size and
consistent padding)
- All text now uses the
V&A house font
- Better balance of
text and imagery
Result:
- Improved legibility
(and therefore
accessibility)
- Now easier for
content team to
layout pages
25. What we did:
- Cost is visible up
front
- Ticketing link
opened in a new
window
- Improved button look
and feel and more
obvious call to action
- More info about
concessions and link
to membership
Result:
- 48.3% clickthrough
to 3rd party ticket
website
26. What we did:
- Included a shop
module on all
exhibition pages
- Replaced generic
‘visit shop’ icon with
compelling call to
action (CTA)
29. What we did:
- Moved newsletter
signup higher up the
homepage and
sidebar
- Changed the
language with a
more compelling
CTA
Result:
- Signups increased
27.3% compared to
the previous week
and up 225% at one
point
31. Home page weight (lower is better)Homepage download size
(lower is better)
32. GPSI score vs competitors (higher is better)
Google Page Speed Insights (GSPI)
(higher is better)
V&A vs everyone else
33. GPSI score vs competitors (higher is bett
What we did:
- Site wide
performance
improvements
Results:
- Page weight
decreased by over
1MB
- GPSI raised to 86%
(now higher than
most competitors)
- Site loads 3 seconds
faster (reduction by
half)