Ford’s Theatre Website Redesign
Ford’s Theatre’s had historically under-invested in digital, relative to their aspirational peers. Some of the redesign efforts simply brought the site up to benchmark standards – such as a fully responsive design, a simplified informational architecture, and a significantly improved user experience.
Redesigning fords.org aimed to bring Lincoln’s legacy alive in the 21st century, to reimagine the site’s user experience to improve ease of use, to better clarify Ford’s branding, and better integrate a CRM to support data capture.
Goal.
The website must accurately promote the four physical experiences (the museum, the theatre, the Petersen House, and the Center), while engaging users around the world who are seeking to learn more about Lincoln’s assassination and legacy.
The new website needs to expand Ford’s Theatre’s digital footprint and engage everyone who is passionate about Lincoln and his legacy.
My Role.
As product manager, I led a cross departmental team through concept to launch while managing an external vendor responsible for design and development. I wrote an RFP, Statement of Work and contract with the outside design agency and developer, while tracking and maintaining the scope of work and budget.
I was directly responsible for conducting user research, landscape analysis and a complete content audit of the existing website.
While working with various stakeholders throughout the institution, I led design-thinking workshops to align vision, goals and key performance indicators.
By leading collaborative exercises, I successfully aligned the team on major information architecture changes and overall content strategy. Then, I coordinated and managed content production from multiple contributors, while also leading trainings covering user experience concepts to build a human-centered culture.
After launch, I regularly met with departments to present reports and recommendations for ongoing optimization.
Card Sorting Exercise
Usability Testing
Before & After
Success Measures
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Increase in online ticket sales
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NPS increase from 3/5
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Drop in abandoned carts
Key Takeaways.
From the beginning, our lack of a clearly defined interpretive plan presented challenges when defining the information architecture, content and functionality of our new website. Invest additional time in reimagining content and prioritizing objectives before starting the process.
When starting projects and initiatives that have the potential to cause internal disagreement (such as prioritizing content and overall vision), lean on data, user stories and your external website vendor to facilitate, mediate and guide major decisions. Test assumptions with users to validate ideas or concepts. Users are there to save you from yourselves.