Competitive Analysis - Site Redesign

Date created

May 25, 2021

Analysis by

Our profile

  • Mission: Create a easy to navigate and visually pleasing website

  • Key objectives: Website that attracts sponsors and new members

  • Potential Capabilities: Simple animations, pictures, blogs, videos

Goal

to determine the strengths and weaknesses of other websites as well as strategies that may help us identify our unique advantage

Inspirations

 

Date created

 

Contributors

Solar Cars: @Madhav Anugopal (Unlicensed) @Vanessa Szymanski (Deactivated) @Colman Tsang

Volunteering Websites: @Ryan Lott @Lily Ding (Deactivated)

Hosting Platforms: @Ryan Lott @Colman Tsang @Phoebe Wang (Unlicensed)

 

Solar Car Websites

Websites

Features

Advantages

Disadvantages

Opportunities

Websites

Features

Advantages

Disadvantages

Opportunities

MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team

  • Landing page has more information with an about us and a link to the vehicles.

  • Team Pictures have information overlaid on top so name and position is seen when the mouse hovers over it.

  • Obvious Join Us Page

  • Keeps the Viewer engaged and interested

 

  • Keeps the information clean and neat and makes the team photos look more uniform

  • Ensures those who are looking know how to join the team

  • Menu Bar and other information is hidden so this may seem like it is everything

 

  • They use photos from a specific location with team shirts, we don’t have that due to covid so it may not come out as good as they did it.

  • Security issues with how the page would function

  • Add more information in the landing page but don’t hide the menu bar

  • We could use the overlay to give more personal information like name course and graduation year while still separating according to teams.

  • Can have a join us page but keep a secondary page linked from there that isn’t obvious like on our our team page to link to the area with our confluence slack and email account.

UniFi OS

  • Landing page has more information than ours: video with text overlay, sponsors carousel, about us, team, link to newsletter

  • Their footer bar has more info (location of the team, mini site map, social media)

  • 'Contact Us' button is large, obvious, and located on the top navigation bar

  • News page allows potential members or sponsors to easily view the latest team updates

  • The top navigation bar disappears if you scroll quickly down but reappears if you start to scroll up (don’t have to scroll all the way back up; it’s pretty intuitive).

  • Simple, intuitive website - not too much information overload

  • Layout doesn’t look quite as modern

  • No clear links, buttons, or pages that explain to join the team. Their ‘Team’ page only features the team leads but doesn’t give any other info.

  • No page that talks about the team’s history or past cars

  • This team features a monthly newsletter on their page which keeps things engaging

  • Contact info of team leads is on the website (LinkedIn, email)

  • Social media is linked on the top navigation bar as well as the bottom

http://blueskysolar.utoronto.ca/

  1. Landing page has a bit of about us

  2. About us with a collapsable boxes with sub team names that expands with a general summary when mouse hovers over it

  3. Does the team in a similar style to MIT but adds in a logo place holder for team members who didn’t give in a photo

  1. Gives a bit more information about the team

  2. Looks really neat without the mouse over it and looks short and sweet while also providing information when mouse hovers over it.

  3. More cleaner as it shows names when hovering over it only but provides program as well

  1. Not that I can see

  2. Information is slightly hidden as it is at the bottom of the page and not intuitive as there is no indication that it expands.

  3. Not many disadvantages

  1. Add more information in the landing page

  2. Can use this method to make the page look crisp and clean in a sense that information is short and straight to the point while still keeping the same information.

  3. Can use this style as it looks more modern and professional compared to our current layout.

Calgary Solar Car

  • The landing page encourages you to go to a page about the car they are currently building. There is a dedicated page about their current car, and there is also a separate page about all of their cars (past and present).

  • ‘Join Us’ button links to an email address so you have to reach out to them to join the team

  • Their ‘Support Us’ page is a really clear, simple page that illustrates 3 ways in which people can donate or sponsor

  • Top navigation bar stays at the top of the screen even when scrolling

  • Their bottom navigation bar contains a lot of useful info (navigation menu, social media links, address, email)

  • All of their members are displayed on the website, but it is a bit annoying/laggy to scroll through and would be impossible for Midnight Sun to keep up with

  • UI is not my favourite

  • They have separated the sponsors list from the ‘how to support’ information. On one page is a simple list of sponsors; the other is simple instructions on how to donate or become a sponsor.

WATonomous

  • Sponsorship package is available for download on their website, and the amount you have to contribute to achieve each level (bronze, silver, platinum, etc.) is also featured on the sponsor page.

  • Bottom navigation bar has a reduced amount of links, but is more specific. Attuned to what sponsors and potential/current members would look for (contact, sponsors page, application, member resources)

  • Very clear process for applying to join the team, and very clear information on what kind of roles are available.

  • Top navigation bar disappears when scrolling but reappears if you scroll slightly up (optimal in my opinion)

  • Between the ‘Apply’ and ‘Resources’ dropdown menus, and ‘About’ and ‘Team’ pages on the top navigation bar, I feel like there is a lot of information overload. A lot to take in and since there’s so much, it’s hard to format it all nicely.

  • Homepage is a bit confusing and maybe even overwhelming (not sure if it’s just me), I think the homepage should be as minimalistic and clear as possible.

  • I like how all members of each subteam are listed on the website (just their names). If there was a way for us to keep the leads featured with a photo, but just list everyone else’s names, that could be good.

Waterloop

  • Clear landing page with a slogan and ‘join us’ button shown on the first screen. If you scroll, they have a short blurb on their mission and vision, followed by ‘what we do’ blurbs, and then a sponsor highlight.

  • Has a simple ‘Join Us' page with a blurb about joining the team, followed by information on whether they are currently recruiting.

  • Really great branding and aesthetics. I especially love the illustration on the landing page (I also tested it on various screen sizes; it’s responsive and the image adapts well to different monitors). Very clear colour palette too.

  • Their ‘Past Geese’ (pod) section is a bit weird because it has a carousel of images of their past iterations but the accompanying captions look awkward and are hard to read as you scroll through the carousel.

  • They have a link to sign up for their mailing list (although it’s not super easy to find), which I think could be a great way to let prospective members see what the team is about before joining and just pick up a general audience.

  • The page about their pod includes a list of features, which gives a bit more of a technical overview than what we have available.

  • This website is just very clear and aesthetic in my opinion.

https://www.bridgersolarteam.com/

 

 

 

 

 

General Outreach Websites

Websites

Features

Advantages

Disadvantages

Opportunities

Websites

Features

Advantages

Disadvantages

Opportunities

Habitat for Humanity Canada | Home

  • Volunteering links

  • alternative ways to give links

  • news and reports from volunteers, projects, and donors

  • Big “donate” button in top right corner that is very visible

    • Clicking it takes you straight to an easy to understand form that allows you to donate directly from it

  • Interactive map on where to volunteer

  • Links are clear and easy to differentiate in navbar

  • very clear mission statement first thing

    • good for volunteering websites

  • takes a lot of links to find what you want

    • ie. like 4 links to get to another specific location website for habitat for humanity

  • Design of website is a little all over the place and difficult to follow

    • Not very structured content

  •  

  • make navbar very clear for projected audience

  • Maybe a particular “donate”/”sponsor” link like the donate button on their site

Convoy of Hope | Nonprofit | Humanitarian Organization

  • In depth landing page

  • Many links to past projects and what they’ve done

  • Lists multiple ways to help out

  • Organized and easy to navigate menu

  • “Because of you” used multiple times - connects personally with readers/volunteers

  • Their impact is highlighted through achievements and stats

  • Multiple calls to action

    • Top right donate button that scrolls and links on the page itself

  • “What we do” section small and easy to miss

  • Is not clear immediately the mission statement/what the organization does specifically

  • Perhaps a section of the landing page (if we were to do a more in-depth one) honouring our sponsors, like “because of our sponsors, we can….”

  • Donate button with the menu maybe

Home | Rotary International

  • One of the biggest volunteer organizations

  • Lots of confident wording - “no challenge is too big for us”

  • Landing page with a specific flowing narrative

  • Lets you pause the home page videos

  • Both a “join” and a “donate” button right at the very top, and again at the bottom of the page

    • Multiple calls to action on the page

  • Causes and mission very clear from the start

  • States their name multiple times on home page

  • The big drop-down menu can be a bit overwhelming

  • Menu can only be accessed if you scroll back up to the top of the page

    • Lots of things aren’t linked on the landing page

  • Find ways to incorporate “Midnight Sun” outside of the logo

  • Have multiple calls to action to sponsor us

Peace Corps

  • many call to action buttons

  • quick and clear statement

  • large and easy to ready words

  • Nice Video reel at top of landing page

  • call to action is great, gives so many options to get to the same link from one page

  • accessible font size and weight

  • nice drop down menus from navbar

  • easy to find stories for emotional connection

  • Navbar takes up a lot of space

  • A little cramped

    • not a whole lot of spacing between elements

  • consider easy to read and accessible font sizes/weights

  • Make our media easy to reach and navigate

Home - Food Banks Canada

  • pop up menu on the bottom

  • Carousel of photos at top of landing page

  • infographics on landing page

  • infographics make information easy to digest

  • pop up menus are an easy access way to get additional info and take up less space on a landing page

  • blogs are laid out with dates they were posted

  • calendar to search for time period of blogs

  • news updates are in a strange spot and organized kind of poorly

  • left side nav column on some pages makes the site a little cluttered

  • add infographic to site

  • put dates on blogs

Project CURE | Donate Medical Supplies For International Medical Relief

  • Style very consistent on the landing page

  • Massive section for sponsors

  • Many many call to action buttons

  • Highlights achievements immediately through achievements and stats

  • Many calls to action

  • Team page opens into more info

  • Buttons have cute icons

  • Lack of contrast makes some of the buttons really hard to see

  • News section formatted strangely with a lot of inconsistency

  • Some pages only accessible through the footer

  • Implement a more in-depth team/leads page

  • Add some graphic assets to make the page more visually interesting

 

Web Hosting Platforms

Hosting Site

Main Features

Advantages

Disadvantages

Opportunities

Hosting Site

Main Features

Advantages

Disadvantages

Opportunities

Wordpress/Elementor
Website Builder — Create a Website Now- Elementor

  • Drag & Drop Editing

  • Customizable with in-depth code

  • Lots of plugins/themes

  • Cheaper than current

  • Lots of templates and pre-mades to choose from

  • Lots of plugin options

  • Front-end display

  • Impressive list of features and customizability

  • Mobile + SEO support

  • Have to rebuild completely from scratch

  • Have to know how to connect domain + manage ssl

  • $49/USD a year (1Pro Website)

Bootstrap Studio
Bootstrap Studio - The Revolutionary Web Design Tool

  • Drag & Drop editing

  • Customizable with in-depth code

  • Cheap (one time payment for editor)

  •  

  • Have to understand bootstrap a little

  • Rebuild from scratch

  • Not much templates to choose from

  • Have to know how to connect domain + manage ssl

  • One time payment of $69

Wix

https://www.wix.com/

  • Drag & Drop editing

  • Customizable with in-depth code

  • lots of plugins/themes

  • 1 Year free domain

  • Lots of premade themes

  • Have to rebuild from scratch

  • Kinda pricy ngl

  •  

  • $20USD/Month (business basic)

    • or $14/month (Unlimited plan)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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