U S E R E X P E R I E N C E C A S E S T U D Y
College blog
PROJECT OVERVIEW
O V E R V I E W
The Solution
The solution of creating a blog for Sophia Learning resulted in significant growth and engagement for the platform. The blog served as a hub where users could learn more about Sophia, explore educational news, and engage with relevant content.
This approach led to a 13 percent increase in the conversion rate, a 16 percent rise in views to Sophia.org, and a 24 percent increase in monthly page views. By featuring social sharing options and addressing topics aligned with Sophia’s mission, the blog boosted user interaction and increased subscriptions by 8 percent. Additionally, the blog's focus on SEO optimization helped drive more organic traffic, further enhancing Sophia’s visibility and reach.
O V E R V I E W
About the project
The primary goal of this project was to establish a dynamic and engaging blog for Sophia Learning. This blog served as a central hub for educational content, resources, and information related to online learning and college-level credit courses. Additionally, the blog was to aim to enhance search engine optimization (SEO), attract new users, and boost subscriptions to Sophia Learning.
Sophia Learning is a well-established online learning platform that offers over 60 college-level credit courses. With a decade of experience, Sophia Learning provides affordable, self-paced courses accessible anytime and anywhere, catering to students at various stages of their educational journeys. The blog will play a crucial role in enhancing user engagement, increasing visibility, and driving growth for Sophia Learning
O V E R V I E W
The Challenge
Developing a blog for an online college like Sophia Learning presented several challenges.
Content Development: Crafting engaging, high-quality content that resonates with a diverse audience of students and educators was a significant challenge. The blog needed to address topics that were both highly relevant to the target audience and aligned with Sophia Learning’s educational mission.
SEO Optimization: Ensuring the blog posts were optimized for SEO while maintaining readability and authenticity was a delicate balance. The content team needed to incorporate strategic keywords, meta descriptions, and backlinks to help boost search engine rankings.
User Engagement and Retention: Beyond attracting new users, maintaining long-term engagement with blog readers required continuous content updates and interactive features like comment sections or embedded videos. Keeping the content relevant and engaging over time was a primary
These challenges required careful content strategy, consistent SEO efforts, and an ongoing focus on user engagement to ensure the blog became a valuable resource for both current and potential students.
O V E R V I E W
Tools used
I utilized several tools to streamline the process and ensure efficient collaboration. Quip was used for note-taking and organizing ideas, while Miro facilitated strategy development and user research, allowing for a clear visualization of workflows and user journeys. I created low, mid, and high-fidelity wireframes and mockups in Figma. For communication with developers, Jira was instrumental in tracking progress and addressing technical concerns, while Asana was used for project management, keeping tasks organized and deadlines on track.
EXPLORATION
E X P L O R A T I O N
Scope of work & responsibility
Research
To understand user behaviors, needs, and motivations and to gather insights that inform the design process
UX Design
Ensure the product is easy to use & enjoyable by addressing users' needs and problems through design solutions.
UI Design
Ensures that a product’s interface is aesthetically pleasing, consistent, and easy to navigate
Prototyping
Creating a mockup to test and visualize its design, functionality, and user interactions.
WORK PROCESS
P R O C E S S
DISCOVERY
September - October
RESEARCH Competitor & User Journey
Project Timeline
DESIGN
November - January
UX User flows & Journeys
UI Design Main flow & Future concept
CONTENT Copy
TESTING MVP Flow
DELIVERY
February - April
INTERFACE Interactions & Final design
RESEARCH PROCESS
R E S E A R C H
Card components with color coded category tags
Conducted surveys
Gathered feedback from users about their experiences, and behaviors when interacting with blogs
Competitor analysis
During the competitive analysis phase, I reviewed six key competitors—MasterClass, StraighterLine, CareerFoundry, Salesforce, Coursera, and WGU—to gather insights into how they structured and presented their blog content. I focused on comparing the layouts of homepages and individual blog post pages, as well as evaluating whether each blog categorized posts using specific category pages.
This analysis helped me identify effective design elements and best practices. For example, one competitor utilized floating social media icons for easy user access, which inspired my approach to integrating seamless social engagement features. I aimed to design a simple, user-friendly layout that allowed readers to quickly navigate between individual posts and the homepage, ensuring smooth transitions throughout. By incorporating these findings, I developed a visually compelling and intuitive blog for Sophia that highlights its content while staying consistent with the brand’s guidelines.
Drop down menus to organize the tabs of the blog
Blog laid out in cards. Search option at the top of the page for user
Header banner when user lands on blog. Blog organized in sections
Floating social icons follow user down the page as they scroll
R E S E A R C H
Research goals & objectives
For the research phase of this project, I worked with the user researcher and we conducted a competitive analysis of leading online college blogs to gather inspiration and identify key design elements. Our goal was to create a blog that not only provided an intuitive and user-friendly experience but also engaged readers with compelling content. We focused on understanding how other educational institutions structure their blogs, present information, and maintain user interest. This research informed my approach to ensuring the blog for Sophia stood out while maintaining simplicity and ease of navigation. Below are the key research objectives that guided my analysis.
Competitive analysis
Conducted a competitive analysis of key to identify gaps and opportunities and discover ways to enhance the design
Informal user testing
Ran informal user tests to evaluate how users were interacting with the designs and see where I could improve
Grid layout for blog posts. Blog posts are organized depending on relevance
R E S E A R C H
Key metrics
29%
The percentage of internet users who read blogs at least once per month
-Source: Master blogging
R E S E A R C H
User surverys
21%
Of participants said they referenced a blog from their online college to keep them up-to date
54%
Percentage of college students took one or more of their classes online
-Source: Hechingerreport
To gain a deeper understanding of user needs and behaviors, I conducted user surveys with respondents from various regions across the U.S. market. The survey focused on gathering insights about their experiences, habits, and preferences when using online educational blogs and resources. I asked respondents about their typical browsing habits, what features they found most useful, and any pain points they encountered while navigating blogs for educational content. These responses helped me identify common user needs, such as easy access to information, clear categorization of topics, and mobile-friendly designs. The insights from these surveys guided my decisions in creating a blog that is user-centered, intuitive, and responsive to the audience’s real-world needs.
33%
Of participants look at blogs or have looked at online college blogs for educational content
61%
Percentage of Americans spend 3X more time-consuming blog content than emails
-Source: Optinmonster
54%
Of participants took online classes to get their college degree
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
I N F O R M A T I O N A R C H I T E C T U R E
Ideation Sketches
After completing the research phase, I transitioned to the wireframing process, using insights to inform the initial ideation sketches for the blog's information architecture. I began by sketching the layout for both the homepage and individual blog post pages. As a team, we decided to forgo category pages for the project’s initial launch to ensure there would be a sufficient number of blog posts in each category. For the homepage, I envisioned a layout featuring clickable card components that display an image, headline, and short content blurb. To enhance the user experience, each blog card would include a category tag, organizing the homepage into easily navigable sections.
The homepage design included key elements such as a navigation bar, a headline banner, featured posts (highlighting the most popular content), the latest posts, and categorized blog sections. Once I finalized the homepage layout, I moved on to sketching the individual blog post page. Users would access this page by clicking on a blog card, and I designed it with clear breadcrumbs for easy navigation back to the homepage, followed by the blog's headline banner, title, image, date, byline, and content. I added a call-to-action (CTA) at the bottom, encouraging users to sign up for Sophia Learning.
Drawing from my competitive analysis, I integrated floating social sharing buttons that follow the user down the page and designed a sidebar for users to subscribe to Sophia’s monthly newsletter. These sketches focused on creating a streamlined, user-friendly experience, offering all necessary information without overwhelming the user. After refining these ideation sketches, I translated them into low-fidelity wireframes to present to key stakeholders for feedback and further iteration.
I N F O R M A T I O N A R C H I T E C T U R E
Landing page
Blog page
Low Fidelity Wireframes
Once I finished the initial sketches for the homepage and blog post page, I shared them with my team, including the product manager, SEO manager, design manager, and scrum master, to gather feedback on the layout and functionality. Based on their insights, I began creating low and mid-fidelity wireframes to refine the design. These wireframes served as a more detailed visual skeleton of the pages, giving a clearer sense of how the elements would be structured. I also developed a small user flow to visualize how users would navigate through the blog. The low-fidelity wireframes outlined the design of key components such as the clickable card elements, section spacing, and overall layout. For the blog post pages, I focused on designing a user-friendly experience with clear navigation, content hierarchy, and integrated design elements. Once the wireframes were reviewed and approved by the team, I progressed to creating the final, high-fidelity designs.
13%
Increase in conversion rate
16%
Increase in views to .org site
34%
Increase in page views per month
11%
Increase in subscriptions
DESIGN PROCESS
D E S I G N P R O C E S S
Color palette
#D0DF00
#3F826D
#055973
Aa
D E S I G N P R O C E S S
Fonts & typography
Sofia Pro font family
#250E62
#F9F9F9
COMPLETED PROJECT
K E Y T A K E A W A Y S
Final Designs
After completing the final designs and handing them off to the development team, the blog successfully went live, leading to notable improvements in Sophia’s online presence. The blog increased SEO performance by 8%, boosted user subscriptions on the .org site by 11%, and attracted new blog subscribers on a monthly basis. Key takeaways from this project included the importance of effective communication and collaboration with teammates. I had to balance meeting stakeholder expectations with ensuring the blog’s aesthetic appeal and usability to engage users. This project deepened my involvement in user research, where I partnered with our user researcher to conduct informal user tests, competitive analysis, and investigate key success factors for educational blogs. It highlighted the critical role of thorough research in UX design and taught me how to manage a project from ideation to final product.
