Research
Content auditing
Wireframing
Prototyping
Usability testing
Sketch
Axure
Google Suites
Zoom
5 weeks
Research
Content Audit
Wireframing
Prototyping
Usability testing
Research
Content Audit
Wireframing
Prototyping
Usability testing
Sketch
Axure
Google Workspace
Otter
6 weeks
Launched
Dovetail
Adobe Analytics
Zoom
Figma
Fullstory
5 months
In development
TherapyWorks is a Chicago-based healthcare startup aiming to simplify the pediatric therapy treatment process. Parents can use the online platform to find licensed therapists for at-home therapy visits, book appointments, and pay for sessions.
During our kickoff meeting, the co-founders and web developer outlined their main goals:
Improve user conversion
Discover content preferences
Minimize back-end work
Learn about insurance needs
To get a feel for the current style and practices in healthcare websites, we did an analysis of competing providers in the Chicagoland area.
Our team met with TherapyWorks stakeholders to get more details on the starting project goals.
Afterwards, we spoke with users to get a better look at their experience with TherapyWorks' business offerings and therapy services.
"I felt like I could trust them [the co-founders] to find a good fit for my child "
- Anjelina, user
Over half of the drop off occurred after users received their insurance coverage report. We assumed the cost of sessions was more than they expected, leading them to look elsewhere.
Therapists could not update their schedules themselves, leading to frequent discrepancies between their online and actual availability.
The co-founders were spending hour poring over intake forms, checking insurance coverage, and preparing cost estimates. They also maintained the online schedules and frequently matched clients with therapists.
The website developer had created the majority of the website content without testing it with users. Some pages, like the therapist profile pages, were too sparse, while some were overloaded with text.
Users discovered TherapyWorks and other healthcare services through peer referrals, online parenting groups, and healthcare professionals.
They were also directly referred to their therapist by the co-founders, and they admired this level of personal care.
Users said insurance was important to them, yet only one was using their coverage– and the discount was negligible.
Our users candidly admitted that therapy was expensive, but they would always strive to give their children access to high quality care and find a way to "make it work".
Pediatric therapy treatment is a long, intensive process, which can be overwhelming for families. Users wanted to be informed without feeling like they were reading a textbook.
They wanted TherapyWorks to present a tone of warmth, empathy and understanding. The current website sterile look and medical terminology came off as cold and impersonal.
The bottom line: users were not using the TherapyWorks website besides setting up their online payment. Online scheduling, messaging, and therapist search were seldom used. Communication was done directly between parents and therapists via phone, text, and email.
We went over our research findings with the TherapyWorks team at our next meeting. The reliance on referrals and website avoidance was a concerning revelation, leading them to pause their Google ad campaign to re-evaluate their marketing strategy at a later time.
Referencing our research insights, we created a user persona that could benefit from TherapyWorks' services.
Our team narrowed in on what problem to address for the Reeds during the design phase:
Families new to pediatric therapy need an educated way to select a therapist that best fits their child's needs
To guide our design process, we selected design principles that reflected the sentiments our users' were most passionate about.
Give users adequate information to help them understand the pediatric therapy treatment process.
Build a tone which humanizes treatment and helps users feel comfortable with TherapyWorks.
Use visuals that instill the positivity, trust, and care TherapyWorks provides to their clients.
We created four landing page concepts and tested them with parents who had children in pediatric therapy.
Strong usage of images, videos, and testimonials introduces visitors to TherapyWorks and its services.
Users loved the idea of more learning with less reading, and testimonials aligned with their need for referrals.
Complete a responsive intake form and receive a therapist recommendation based on your answers.
This was the most well-received by users. It aligned with their preference for referrals and created a sense of care and curation. It also eliminated back-end tasks for TherapyWorks.
Jump straight into the intake process directly from the landing page.
While convenient, this was unanimously dismissed by users for being transactional and uninviting.
Create a posting describing your child's needs and receive connection requests from therapists who meet them.
Users were open to the idea of therapists initiating contact, but preferred to be matched with one instead of choosing their own.
We decided to expand on the Therapist Match idea while incorporating the following positively-received elements from our other concepts:
Users really emphasized their desire to learn about TherapyWorks directly from the co-founders, clients, and therapists. We recommended TherapyWorks hire a professional production company to make an introduction video.
Language, wording, tone– these terms constantly reappeared throughout our research and testing. Users needed to feel a trusting, emotional connection with the platform. We strongly suggested TherapyWorks perform an audit to evaluate their current content with users and amend it according to their findings.
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