The Shala Website Design

After receiving complaints from users struggling to use the widgets the website used on mobile devices, after attending MINDBODY University London 2014, The Shala decided to move to a full website integration with another MINDBODY Partner. After reviewing the partners' case studies, the interface and sitemap design was a major concern so they reached out to Doug, a student of theirs (and our Founding Director) to help. On reviewing the solution the flaws found in the User Journey, SEO and lack of thought to Google Analytics, we decided to build our own MINDBODY Integrated Solution and help The Shala reach their aspirations.


 



“... I am beyond impressed that Douglas compromised nothing in the process. Not only do they have an incredibly talented technical team, they gave invaluable input on every level from Information Architecture, to editorial content, social media, reorganisation of our Mind Body site and design aesthetic.....”

Ella Milroy, Head of Operations, The Shala


Truly Responsive Website Design

Truly Responsive Website Design (RWD) - not a "Click to View Mobile"), Designed for four viewports. A focus on tablets due to high use within the analytics. Each page and template fully tested. Drop-downs replaced by interactive interfaces, such as filtered class descriptions.



Highly secure from registration to cart confirmation

  • Unlike many websites we reviewed, the website is secured by SSL encryption from any point of personal data entry.
  • Speed was not compromised due to a high performance of the hosting specification.


Remove the Egg Timers for Schedule or Descriptions

  • Desktop users dislike them, Google dislikes them, mobile network users just give up.
  • Instead of your website sending a query to another service provider, the schedule is hosted on your server - no egg timer needed.


Strong SEO for Landing Pages for each Class, Workshop and Therapy

  • The other partners allowed a class description list which carries no SEO.
  • Each Class, Workshop or Therapy was given its own description.
  • SEO Friendly-URLs
  • SEO Friendly URLs that can differ from the H1 Title and Page Title
  • Structured headings down the page - H1, H2, etc.
  • Meta Descriptions for presenting in search results..
  • Hyperlinks between pages, such as teachers, locations, related services.
  • And much more…


Engaging Content for new unique users with Call-to-actions on the page

  • Why would anyone want to see the practice?
  • Do potential customers register without seeing the studio  and facilities?
  • Image accordions, carousels or sliders.
  • Responsive and streaming video for voxpox or practice experiences.
  • FAQs that show if added - specific to that class/workshop/therapy.
  • And last but not least, the most important feature was adding the next weeks schedule of signup buttons for new users that have just landed.


Google Analytics feedback on where users don't complete a purchase, sign-up or registration

The pop-up modal in the existing cart widget was the most repeated failing on the user group we surveyed, so we looked at the most successful checkout carts and emulated those journeys.

  • Order confirmation page with choice to continue and return to booking or view the account.
  • Each product has a page allowing Google Analytics to track the journey displaying: Completion with revenue, or drop-off points along the way, showing, for example:
    • All Android users are dropping off at registration.
    • Lots of men over 40-years old are landing  on Pilates, but they do not sign-up.
    • Facebook campaign "Autumn Warm-Up Workshops" doubled unique traffic, but only 1.6% registered.

 


Simplify the Navigation

  • We removed the multitier drop-down menus for simpler selection
  • Used autohide masthead to carry social and login icons to hide the clutter when scrolling/reading a page
  • Presented seven top levels for the user to progress through the website offering


Showcase the main assets - the Teachers and Therapists - and their related Classes or Appointments

  • Related teachers to their classes.
  • Made teachers fully SEO, like class descriptions - so when searching for their favourite roaming teachers, potential students find them on this website first.


Present the new centre and its community feel

  • With the existing website in dark colours and the studios so light an airy, we proposed a new lighter option which we were happy to move to.
  • Presenting each class with a shot within the studio to set a realistic expectation.
  • Present the centre's features.


Simplify the users understanding of the Pricing Options for the various Service Categories

  • We worked extensively on the MINDBODY Site to present a uniform set of options that were:
  • Simple for a user to filter  by
  • Simple for the user to gauge the levels
  • Simple for the admin team to work with on pricing options, etc.


Highlight new offerings or promotions in key areas

  • A Call-to-Action module was developed that can be dropped in on any page and customised for the offer and action.
  • Featured articles were presented on the home page.


Full Account Management and Cart in the Website without Widgets

  • Fully responsive account pages were put in place.


Allow multiple schedules per workshop with various pricing options for a bundle

  • Now a centre can choose how to present a workshop, instead of being tied down to the limitations of other integrated solutions.
  • Presentation of multiple sessions within one enrolment
  • Present bundled options per workshop - for example, choosing a single, two or three sessions from a weekend of sessions.


Bring Facebook and twitter audience back to the website

  • Publishing of blogs or articles to FB or Twitter with a click of a option.
  • FB users click on the page post and are brought back to the website. 


Allow unlimited self-build pages with unlimited design options, minimal code, and uniform styling

  • Using a responsive grid layout, the CMS user can drop in modules within the grid:
  • Full-Width
  • Full-width two-up
  • Full-width Side-bar Left
  • Full-width Side-bar Right
  • Two-up Boxed
  • Three-Up Boxed
  • Four-Up Boxed
  • Six-Up boxed


Highlight related workshops and progressive paths to users that regularly signups to the same class

  • The team are now able to:
  • Add related workshops and classes to classes.
  • Add related workshop and classes to workshops.
  • A new FAQ of Moving On from this Class was added.


Present further information in a uniform manner on the descriptions specific to that class, workshop or appointment

  • Previously, content was left to sprawl in a non-formatted manner, so key information could be lost in the general content or hyperlinks were added to a general information page with sections relating to certain groups of customers ("Tips for Post-Natal", "What to bring for Kids Classes, etc.").
  • We created common FAQs sections that only display on a description pages when completed, such as Tips for Pre-/Post-Natal, Medical Warnings, What to Bring, etc.
  • Each entry can then be specific to the service.


Individual Terms per product

  • As each class pack, intro offer, and membership has its own terms
  • Each Service Category usually has its own Pricing Option too.
  • Our new terms area allows a centre to now present these in the relevant place - opposed to:
  • Included in an ever growing Liability Waiver (why do some centres present this when registering for a newsletter?).
  • Thrown in to the already hard-to-figure pricing page.
  • We can even email the terms to the customer on purchase.