Grand River Council on Aging Website Redesign
Creating an accessible digital experience to help future seniors discover and utilize resources, services, and community support.
Overview
The Grand River Council on Aging (GRCOA) is a nonprofit organization that supports older adults through community programs, resources, workshops, and advocacy initiatives.
As part of our capstone project, our team partnered with GRCOA to redesign their website experience with the goal of making information easier to discover, understand, and access for the next generation of seniors.
Through user research, information architecture testing, prototyping, and usability evaluation, we developed a scalable website solution focused on accessibility and long-term growth.
Tools
Figma
FigJam
Lyssna
Excel
Canva
Role
UX Researcher & Designer
Skills/Methods
User Interviews, Contextual Inquiry, Journey Mapping, Information Architecture, and Usability Testing
The Challenge
Helping users find the right resources at the right time. Although GRCOA provided valuable community resources, users struggled to discover and navigate available services due to:
-
Complex information architecture
-
Outdated content organization
-
Inconsistent navigation patterns
-
Information overload
This created barriers for users who were looking for important resources related to aging, health, finances, and community support.
How Might We...
How might we design an intuitive, scalable digital experience that supports today's 45-year-olds while evolving alongside an age-friendly community over the next 20 years?
Research
1. Understanding how users see aging-related information
To understand user behaviours and expectations, our team conducted contextual inquiries with 20 participants. During these inquiries, participants completed tasks related to:
-
Finding aging resources
-
Evaluating online information
-
Exploring GRCOA services
From this date, we analyzed behaviours, frustrations, and decision-making patterns to understand users' mental models.
Design Artifacts
Based on the inquiries, I created several user archetypes and journey maps to highlight the different type of users accessing age-related information as well as their goals/motivators.
1. The Value Seeker
2. The Socializer
3. The Optimizer
4. The Planner
Key Insights
Many participants lacked future planning and primarily searched for information after major life changes.
Design implication:
The website needed to educate users proactively, not only provide resources when users already knew what they needed.
Users feel unprepared for aging
Users prioritized sources like:
-
Government websites
-
Verified organizations
-
References and reviews
Design implication:
The redesign needed to communicate credibility and trust through clearer content structure.
Users rely on trusted sources
Participants found the current GRCOA website difficult to navigate due to:
-
Too many pages
-
Unclear categories
-
Outdated information
Design implication:
The navigation needed to reflect users' mental models instead of organizational structure.
Users struggle with information overload
2. Website Information Architecture
To ensure the new website navigation aligned with the mental models of our users, we conducted an open card sort with 10 participants. The goal was to understand how users naturally categorized GRCOA content.
Key results indicated that users showed strong agreement around the labels for:
-
Events
-
About Us
-
Contact Us
However, users struggled with categorizing:
-
Volunteer information
-
Community planning content
-
Service categories
Design Changes
Based on findings, we approached the ideation phase by focusing on:
-
Simplifying navigation categories
-
Creating clearer labels
-
Consolidating related content
-
Improving resource discoverability
Design and Testing
Validating the prototypes through user feedback
After creating our prototype, I contributed by leading moderated usability testing. Conducted in two rounds (medium and high fidelity), testing focused on:
-
Finding resources
-
Exploring workshops
-
Applying for volunteer opportunities
-
Saving resources
Medium Fidelity Testing
As the current GRCOA website was information dense, our team focused our two rounds of testing on key touchpoints of the website. Utilizing tasks, scenarios, and follow up questions, we talked to 5 participants for the first round of testing.
To gather quantitive data, we asked participants to rate ease of use and confidence after each scenario. There was a total of 5 scenarios.
Ratings:
Confidence: 4.94/5
Ease of use: 4.87/5
Success rate: 100%
Measuring Success
Overall, participants completed the tasks with ease. However, during their think-out-loud discussions, we found that users experienced confusion around:
-
Workshops vs Events
-
Users struggled to understand the difference between:
-
Virtual workshopsEvents
-
Past workshops
-
-
-
Volunteer Application Process
-
Users found the application process lengthy and unclear.
-
-
Saved Resources
-
Users did not understand the save functionality and where a saved resource went.
-
Key Insights
Iterations:
Before moving onto the next round of testing, we made several changes to our prototypes to address the issues participants were having.
-
Workshops vs Events
-
Introduced clearer labels and visual tags.
Volunteer Application Process
-
Reduced unnecessary questions
-
Added clearer expectations
-
Added direct application paths
-
-
Saved Resources
-
Feedback notifications
-
Saved resource counters
-
Example of saved resource alert change.
High Fidelity Testing
Expanding the scenario for the second round of testing, this session included 5 participants as well.
Confidence: 4.86/5
Ease of use: 4.5/5
Success rate: 100%
The high-fidelity prototype enabled participants to interact with a more realistic version of the product, revealing additional usability insights while maintaining a 100% task completion rate. These findings informed the final design refinements.
Ratings:
Overall, participants found the updated prototype intuitive and easy to navigate. Compared to the previous round of testing, users reported less confusion and responded positively to the cleaner interface.
One improvement opportunity that emerged was the ability to apply directly from a volunteer position description, reducing unnecessary steps in the application process.
Key Insights
Final Solution
The final prototype created a more accessible and scalable website experience that helps users confidently discover GRCOA resources and services. The redesigned experience focused on:
-
Clearer navigation
-
Improved content organization
-
Accessible interactions
-
Stronger trust signals
-
Easier resource discovery
Web Experience
Responsive, accessible, and easy to navigate
The redesigned website provides a clear and intuitive experience for users seeking information, resources, and community events. By simplifying the information architecture, improving content hierarchy, and prioritizing accessibility, users can quickly find what they need while reducing confusion and cognitive overload.
Mobile Web Experience
Designed for users on the go!
The mobile experience brings the same accessible and user-friendly design to smaller screens without compromising functionality. Responsive layouts, simplified navigation, and touch-friendly interactions allow users to browse resources, discover events, and engage with the community seamlessly.
Mobile App Experience
Future forward thinking
As part of the hand-off to the GRCOA, we explored how a dedicated mobile app could expand the GRCOA’s digital ecosystem by introducing personalized resources, AI-assisted search, and community features for events and volunteering.
These blue-sky concepts helped identify future opportunities to create a more accessible and engaging experience for older adults