What did the customer ask for?
Since 2016, the site has been filled with information, grown and developed, but in the end it became incomprehensible. The entrepreneur opened the portal and did not find the necessary information, which means he did not receive the benefit. To create a new website, the customer’s representatives turned to Recisru - we have been supporting their portal for a long time, creating designs for social networks and organizing events.
The task was complicated by the structure of the organization. The Foundation consists of centers. Each center has its own tasks and support measures. In them, an entrepreneur can receive free business assistance: register a company or trademark, consult on obtaining the status of a “social enterprise” or list on marketplaces. On the new website it was necessary to provide information about all the centers and their support measures so that the user could quickly navigate and receive an answer to the request.
This is only part of the site map in the old version. Even without reading the names of the sections, it is clear how much there is and how difficult it is to understand
The customer did not have a clear understanding of how to create such a website. Just a rough idea of the final result - we need an updated portal with a clear structure and stylish design. Therefore, after preliminary analysis, we, together with the customer, drew up a technical specification and began development.
Conducted an analysis, formulated the main problem and drew up an action plan
We analyzed the site’s performance in Yandex Metrics. We saw which sections people actively use, which they cannot get to, and which are outdated and no longer needed in their previous form. For example, some pages only had two unique visitors.
Secondly, they evaluated the “My Business” sites of other regions. They wanted to understand what they have and what they don’t have in order to build their own convenient project structure.
After this, we conducted a thorough brainstorm with the client, during which we formulated the main problem of the site users:
This was what had to be resolved.
Based on the results of the analysis and the main problem, a plan was drawn up to improve the portal:
- Focus not on support centers, but on measures. It does not matter to the entrepreneur who provides the advice or service. What is more important is what exactly he can get.
- Display all support measures on the website: archived, current and those that will appear soon. This is necessary so that entrepreneurs can see all the options. For example, there was a service, but applications for it stopped coming - they froze. And a year later it became relevant again - they returned it. Therefore, it is important to display the support measures that exist, were and will be.
- Simplify the content. The site consisted of uninformative or unattractive pages: a lot of text and a complex structure. We decided to rework it and make it readable.
- Create a unified page structure. Each support center published content as they wanted, which made it difficult to find information. Therefore, they suggested making a template so that all support measures and details looked the same.
The customer approved the action plan, and we began work.
Developed technical documentation and prototypes
The documentation indicated what the blocks on the site should be and how they would interact with each other. Imagine, a user enters the portal, clicks on the “Get support” button and gets to the desired page or sees a dialog box asking you to sign up for a consultation. All these subtleties are prescribed in technical documents.
We created prototypes, wrote out detailed technical specifications for the development of the site, agreed with the customer and proceeded to the next stage - structure and design.
Changed the structure of the pages and updated the design of the blocks
We changed the site blocks so that they solve the main problem of the site visitor.
We highlighted support measures on the main page. Now the focus is on the measures, and not on the center providing the service - “Support measures” we highlighted in red and pinned when scrolling. Popular services were brought to the main screen so that the user immediately understood where to click.
We have posted all support measures on the website: archival, current and new. Archive ones are marked with the signature “acceptance of applications has been suspended”, and for future ones you can pre-register for a consultation.
Entrepreneurs are aware of more measures and apply more often
We moved the reference information into one section. Previously, it was scattered throughout the site, which is very inconvenient. Therefore, we came up with a special section “Directory”. It contains all the useful information and information about services that entrepreneurs may need.
We simplified the presentation of information. The customer reworked the texts, and we designed the tables into neat, clickable cards. Now entrepreneurs do not need to wade through complex terms and figures of speech.
We made a single template for pages of centers and support measures. On the old website, each center had its own page with summary information: what kind of center it is, what it does, what support measures it offers. The customer wanted to make the page so that it would be useful primarily to entrepreneurs.
We created a page template so that everything follows the same structure and style. We made it customizable, that is, the center can disable irrelevant blocks. This simplifies page administration and helps the user quickly find the information they need in different centers.
This template was made not only for the center pages, but also for the support measures pages. Each measure now has its own page, on which the entrepreneur will see the same set of parameters: what kind of service is it, who is it suitable for, what is needed to receive it. We added different modules: who can apply, what requirements, contacts - they can also be changed.
Designed pages based on prototypes
And some prototypes were abandoned. This is logical, because it is impossible to imagine everything perfectly at once. For example, we changed the main page:
At the prototype stage, we agreed on this main thing. It seemed logical to put a big banner with a call to action at the beginning
But during the discussions we realized that it was better to immediately highlight support measures
Redesigned pages with support measures:
We approved this structure with the customer, but during the layout process we finalized the section
We changed the appearance of the page and introduced two new tools (we'll tell you about them later :) )
We came up with and implemented convenient tools for searching for support measures
In the process, two ideas were born: to create a support measures navigator and an interactive assistant. This is another way for the user to find information and get answers faster.
Imagine an employee of an exporting company comes to the My Business website to find out how to get a loan. Goes to the section “support measures” - “Support for exporters” and ends up on a page with a lot of text, where there is not a word about a loan. It was like that before.
In addition, the search engine on the site did not work well. It didn't produce what was needed and was useless. For example, if you typed “credit” into a search engine, you received only news, but no useful information.
We made a list of all measures on the website with a clear filter. For this purpose, we developed a document with a grouping of services, which became the basis for the navigator.
On the left are support measures (names, uniqueness), on the right are parameters: what is required, status, direction of business. The main column is “Support Type”, this is what was added to the filtering on the site
During layout, we added filtering by municipalities, types of support and keywords
If you enter a keyword into the search and select the type of support, the navigator will sort the information and show relevant results
Helps when an entrepreneur does not know where to start. Asks clarifying questions about the algorithm, narrows the search range and leads the user to the level of support that is needed.
See how it works:
1.Go to the “Support Measures” section and immediately see the interactive assistant, click “Start”.
2.Choose an answer option.
3.The assistant finds the required amount of support.
We introduced new technology so that the site loads in a second
To use the site comfortably, it must load instantly. Therefore, our team wanted to make the new portal not only beautiful and flexible for scaling, but also fast.
We used a bunch of technologies - vue. js and Bitrix back-end. Thanks to it, the site loads quickly on any device, less time is spent on the layout itself, and the user seamlessly navigates between pages.
The site has become user-friendly
- With the help of filters and an interactive assistant, entrepreneurs quickly find the right support measure. Previously, you had to go to the page of each center and look for a measure of support. Now this can be done in an average of four clicks.
- Information on different pages is presented in the same way, the user gets used to the format and finds what he needs faster. Centers quickly publish information on the website because they use a template and standards.
- The time spent on the page increased from 1 minute to 3.5 minutes. When an entrepreneur couldn’t figure out something on the website, he called the Fund. Now the user thoughtfully understands the support measures and submits an application on the site. The call center has less workload.
- Thanks to new layout technology, the site loads three times faster - in about a second, regardless of the weight of the content on the page. Previously - in 3-8 seconds, and sometimes 30, if the pages have heavy content.
The customer was also satisfied. See review below:
This feedback was left to us by Olga Mikhailovna Sagadieva, head of the public relations department of the Yugra Entrepreneurship Support Fund “My Business”
In 2023, the portal for the Entrepreneurship Support Fund “My Business” of Ugra won 3rd place in the Runet Rating competition. And in 2024 he became the winner of the All-Russian “My Business” Award in the “Best Internet Communication” category!