Introduction

Sol's Services, a gardening and landscaping company based in Christchurch, New Zealand, aims to enhance its business by establishing a captivating online presence. With a reputation built on positive word-of-mouth referrals, Sol's Services now seeks to leverage the power of the internet to expand its customer base and engage with a wider audience. The primary goal is to develop a user-friendly website using WordPress, allowing Sol's Services to easily add and manage content. The website should provide visitors with valuable information about the company's gardening and landscaping services. Additionally, it should serve as a platform to showcase Sol's Services' previous projects and client testimonials, enabling potential customers to gain insights into the company's capabilities and client relationships.

Problem Statement

Word of mouth is not enough to reach a lot of people. Having a website will help increase their reach. The website aims to achieve the following objectives: present comprehensive information about Sol's Services' gardening and landscaping offerings, showcase previous projects with visuals and narratives, provide easy contact and inquiry options, feature testimonials and reviews, and ensure a responsive design for seamless browsing across devices.

Research and Discovery

Secondary research was conducted to gather information regarding the Gardening and Landscaping Markets in New Zealand. User interviews and competitive analysis were used to gain insights into user needs and preferences.

Target Market

Sol’s Services’ target market are people located in Christchurch who have garden/s to maintain/look after and have the budget to hire an external business to provide the service. The target market is split into two groups: New Brighton residents and the rest of Christchurch.

Primary target market: Residents of New Brighton, Christchurch

Sol's Services takes pride in their strong ties to the New Brighton community in Christchurch. Sol and his team were born and raised in this vibrant coastal suburb, which fuels their passion for serving the local residents. Their deep understanding of the area and its unique needs allows them to provide tailored gardening and landscaping services to homeowners and property managers.

Secondary target market: Residents of all other suburbs within Christchurch

Sol's Services expands its reach to include all residents of Christchurch, going beyond the East Christchurch area. Their secondary target market comprises suburban homeowners in the surrounding suburbs of East Christchurch who value professional gardening and landscaping services for their residential properties. Additionally, Sol's Services caters to commercial establishments such as businesses, retail spaces, and office complexes in Christchurch, offering landscaping and maintenance services to create attractive outdoor areas.

User Personas

In order to create a user-centered website design, I have identified two key user personas that represent the typical customers of Sol's Services:

User Journey

This is the ideal journey of potential clients of Sol’s Services using the Think Feel Do framework:

Low Fidelity Wireframes

In order to gather valuable feedback and insights from users at an early stage of the design process, I have created low-fidelity wireframes for Sol's Services website. These wireframes provide a simplified visual representation of the website's structure and functionality, allowing me to focus on the core elements without getting caught up in detailed visual design. By working with these wireframes, I can ensure that the website meets the needs and expectations of Sol's Services and their target audience before investing significant time and resources into high-fidelity designs. This approach enables me to gather user feedback, iterate on the design, and create a user-centric website that effectively serves the goals of Sol's Services. The following slides will show 2 versions of wireframes and the feedback gathered from potential users.

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High Fidelity Wireframes

I have progressed from low-fidelity wireframes to high-fidelity designs for Sol's Services website. These detailed wireframes accurately represent the visual elements and interactions, ensuring alignment with the brand and target audience. They also serve as a valuable tool for gathering user feedback and insights, guiding refinements to create a user-centric website. Through this iterative process, the high-fidelity wireframes will result in a visually appealing and user-friendly online platform for Sol's Services.

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Accommodating Client Changes

After showing the initial high fidelity designs to the client, there were some changes that he wanted to try out. The first iteration was that he wanted to try the header and footer in either brown or blue despite the style preferences of potential users because he actually did not want the green due to most competitor businesses overusing the colour. The client wanted the main colours to stand out so he provided me with the shades he wanted to try out.

After seeing the versions of the website design in the client’s desired colours, he has decided that he preferred to have the original header in light grey and the footer in navy but in a darker shade. There were further colour change tests that were done to the section background colours as well:

Final Version

These final high-fidelity wireframes have received client approval, signaling readiness for web development.

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