On The Snow
Making it easier for skiers and snowboarding to access important data on the go
Role:
UX Designer, UX Researcher, Content Strategy
Duration:
February - March 2020
The Problem
Owned by Vail Resorts, On The Snow is a website that allows skiers and riders to track current and historical weather conditions for ski resorts around the world.
With 40M users per year and over 250M page views, they are the largest snow forecasting website in the world.
But their page views in the US were down 30% YOY. The site lacked brand direction and had a cluttered UI that forced users to dig for content that is readily available on competitor’s platforms.
Solution
Our process of research, prototyping, and iteration led us to create a site with clear information architecture, direct brand positioning, and addressed the need for customization.
Continue reading to see more of our process.
Research
Analytics
Having access to the client’s Google Analytics account allowed us to determine what pages were viewed the most, where people dropped off, and much more.
One of the major insights was that a massive portion of their users dropped off before their first interaction. Diving further into GA, we learned that new users make-up nearly 70% of traffic, and the average user spends 50 seconds on the website.
Card Sorting
Feature prioritization and information architecture that matched the typical user’s need was essential.
Competitive Analysis
We identified Open Snow, Snow-Forecast, and the IKON Pass app as some of On The Snow’s competition. This validated our card sorts by telling us that the user wants to personalize their information to fit their needs.
OpenSnow
On The Snow
Colorado Ski
Insights
Improve information architecture
The content strategy did not reflect the needs of the user based on our research. Organizing the home page to fit the users’ priority was essential.
Clear brand positioning
There was an absence of almost any brand voice throughout their website. Their brand has a rich history and much to be proud of, and the content on the website should reflect that.
Explicit user interface
The previous UI for On The Snow was muddy and unclear. It did not comply with modern web trends e.g. a full width site.
Need for customization
All of On The Snow’s competitors have a customization option. Each user has unique favorite resorts, skills levels, and more. This would require an account creation as well, which could boost brand loyalty.
Design
Mid-Fidelity (Home Page)
The home page needed a complete redesign. We wanted to focus on content hierarchy, brand positioning, and designing an easy to read interface.
Hero section and value propositions to establish brand position
Below the fold, showing brief overview of snowfall in selected locations
Youtube video of weekly report OTS’ meteorologist, which was greatly underused.
Final Designs
Home Page (Onboarding)
Resort Detail Page
Clickable Prototypes
Home Page (Onboarding)
Resort Detail Page
Measuring Success
We pitched our recommendations to the client and suggested measuring # of account creations, and length of time per screen view, and drop off rate in order to track success.