SeniorWomen.com Case Study

Background

SeniorWomen.com is a web site started by Tam Gray as a forum for sharing and discussion and support within the 'senior' community. It's a labor of love that requires daily maintenance: response to feedback, updating links, web surfing for new, interesting, and relevant stories. The links and articles on the site range from women's political, health, family and monetary issues. The articles are contributed by carefully selected 'senior' authors who are paid a nominal fee for their efforts. The satisfaction of being a part of the community is payment enough for all. Tam's goal for the site is "Through a wide and inclusive series of links we expect to touch upon concerns and joys central to being a Senior Woman. Let this be a place to find those most precious commodities: information and community...as well as a few laughs and, yes, a tear or two. We hope to bring women together, regardless of the miles (or kilometers) that separate us. Taking the title Senior Women Web and the url Seniorwomen.com for this site is a mark of pride and celebration."

Problem

SeniorWomen.com has flourished in the senior community by providing well-researched and well-written articles covering a broad range of topics. The site had grown so quickly that the navigation was not sufficient to cover the breadth of services and topics they offered. Tam Gray came to Shared Vision Group requesting a new look and feel which would be open and inviting to new users as well as professional and focused on attracting potential investors.

ScreenShot

Solution

After exploring the existing SeniorWomen.com site, Shared Vision Group realized the need for a simple and clear navigation system. The new navigation system allows users to get a clear grasp of the site from the home page. The six subject categories are the clear navigational focus, closely supported by the 'articles' and 'sightings' classifications. The content can now be explored through subject matter, by the articles of a favorite author or by looking at the editor's suggestion for links to visit Ñ which are referred to as 'sightings'. Some enhancements such as a search engine, a discussion forum and a newsletter subscription were also made to satisfy all the functional needs a user would have in the SeniorWomen.com community.