Sykes cottages
Sykes Cottages is a leading holiday rental company offering self-catering accommodation across the UK and Ireland, with over 20,000 properties listed on their website. They provide a range of holiday homes, including cottages, apartments, and larger properties, in a variety of settings.
Including A Search Feature on navigation
The Brief
In this project, our team aimed to improve the user experience of the LYP pages on Sykes Cottages website. We hypothesized that updating the mobile header and navigation would help users navigate the site better and increase property leads. Additionally, we proposed testing the idea of moving the search feature from the page content to the navigation menu across all devices as a key insight from personal research showed on Contentsquare that users were struggling to find further information but once they had, they were inclined to click it.
Our reasoning for this was based on data from Google Analytics, which showed that over 50% of sessions landed on the homepage and 67% of sessions were on mobile devices. We also identified that the current mobile menu was outdated and could be improved.
The Design Solution
The solution I came up with introduced an amended navigation bar that included a ‘search’ feature which changed depending on the platform the user was accessing it. When the button was clicked, a modal would pop up and allow users to search for information. I decided to label the button in as much detail as i can within the constraints of real estate as I believed for accessibility reasons that describing the action would help users understand better what clicking on it would achieve. I also had to ensure that the outcome would be consistent with everything else on the page
Experiment Results
From the 39 days it was running, the results were:
14.23% increase in qualified properties (274 vs 313)
19.01% increase in visits booked (121 vs 144)
This meant that the experiment was a success and was turned on 100%.
Improving Access to the FAQ Page
The brief
From the success of including the search feature in the navigation, we decided to iterate on the search section and signpost on other areas of the owner acquisition site in hopes to improve access to information. By doing this we believed we would allow the user to come to a more informed decision, and maintain or increase the level of quality leads into the funnel.
The design Solution
When coming to a preferred solution, we had to ensure that the design was easily compatible with being placed in different areas of the site whilst not breaking the purpose of that specific page. Research showed that showcasing the solution at the bottom of the page would not interfere with the specific purpose for that page. We also ensure that the design was compatible for all devices.
The experiment results
From the 48 days it was running, the results were:
28% increase on session to visit booked
11.87% increase in qualified properties
This meant that the experiment was a success and was turned on 100%.
Out of date information on LYP
On the LYP homepage, the information in a section was outdated but when removed, they would see a negative impact on metrics. I was asked to speak to stakeholders within the company to help change the narrative from how we can help the owner to empower the owner and work as a partnership.
From the research we found 6 themes that owners found important to why the joined Sykes Cottages. From there speaking to various stakeholders to ensure that the content was the most up to date, I formed a draft of copy which was sent to a copywriter to ensure that it stayed with our tone of branding.
The design solution
With the new content, I replaced the icons mirrored the new content. I also changed the CTA from ‘start your listing today’ to ‘Get in touch’ as i believed that the previous button may of sounded as too final to the user.
The experiment results
The results were flat that meant it was a success as the new content didn’t affect the metrics.