Overview
A Place for Mom's main site navigation wasn't earning its keep — it wasn't driving traffic or serving the site's actual purpose.
Problem
The existing navigation didn't reflect what users actually came to do, and content had grown duplicated and inconsistent across the site over time.
What I did
- Audited the current sitemap, top navigation, and footer, and ran a content audit that surfaced duplicated and inconsistent content sitewide
- Researched competitor navigation patterns to identify how other sites prioritized user goals
- Identified the two things users actually came to do — search for communities and read care-type articles — and the business priorities (explaining services, promoting advisors, surfacing resources), then designed two navigation directions balancing both
- Prototyped one version for user testing; users understood the new “resources” category without confusion
- Incorporated stakeholder feedback to go desktop-first, keep a two-tier nav matching the current header height, and retain care-type and city links
- Shifted to a mobile-first wireframing approach for the next round to keep the team focused on core goals first
Outcome
A validated navigation direction that organized the site around real user goals and business priorities, with a mobile-first plan for the next iteration.