SWLAW Website
Maximizing user flow for prospective students
Redesigning the website for Southwestern Law School.
Web Design
UX
UI
AI
Project Overview
Client: Southwestern Law School
Project Type: Web Design, UX/UI
Tools: Figma, ChatGPT, Claude, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator,
My Role: Lead UX/UI Designer
Status: In development
42 secs
Avg. time users spent on the current website
Google Analytics (2026)
85%
of user interviewees said they left the site quickly and googled their questions instead.
Focus Group Study (2025)
My Task
Redesign the navigation and prospective student entry experience to make key information easy to find and increase progression toward Applying.
Scope
Homepage Redesign: Clarify the hierarchy and userflow for prospective students.
Top-Level Navigation: Update the visual design and organize labels, tab structure, and dropdown contents.
Webpage Templates: Create a small set of core page templates to support a cohesive launch.
Findings
Unclear Information Architecture
Users didn't understand where to look for their answers on the site.
"I didn't understand why the navigation bar was split so far apart and what the sections on the page were for. I just left the site and googled my questions."
The navigation model must be simplified and reorganized so users can predict where information lives.
Primary Actions Aren't Obvious
Primary actions in the hero lacked clear affordance. Users didn’t recognize clickable elements.
"I didn't even know the virtual tour text on the image was clickable."
Make primary actions explicit (buttons/CTAs), clarify hierarchy, and reduce ambiguity.
Lack of Desirable Information
The homepage didn’t answer top early-funnel questions (cost/aid, programs, how to apply/visit), forcing users to hunt for info unsuccessfully.
"A lot of the information on the main webpage weren't things that I was looking for when I was a prospective student."
Homepage needs an information map for prospective students + direct paths to top tasks.
The Most Common Questions
Why this school? What's the value and is it credible?
What can I study? What programs and concentrations are available?
What's campus life like? How can I get connected?
Can I afford it? Is there financial aid?
Designing a Pathway to Apply
The inital approach of an updated navigation and visual refresh improved the site’s polish, but research showed the underlying issue was findability.
Instead of relying on navigation alone, I redesigned the homepage as a guided entry point by surfacing common questions and routing users to the next step with minimal friction.
Concept 1: Visual Refresh (Original Plan)
Goal: Improve polish and clarity through an updated navigation and refreshed homepage UI.
After several iterations, I produced a high-fidelity concept and reviewed it with a third-party UX designer and a follow-up focus group. The feedback showed the concept was an improvement, but didn’t fully solve the core findability problem.
What Wasn't Working
Users didn’t feel guided through a sequence. Modules read as disconnected sections rather than a cohesive flow toward a next step.
The homepage didn’t surface the highest-value topics early enough for prospects.
The Nav was still hard to scan. Too many dropdowns created overlap and confusion, and the logo needed to be included.
Solution?
Design SWLAW’s homepage as a guided entry point for prospective students, surfacing the most common questions and routing users toward our goal (Request Info, Visit, Apply). The navigation was condensed and restructured to reduce dropdown overload help users find what they need if it wasn't included on the mainpage.
Pathway Map
I devised a map using what we data we gathered from our focus groups and competitors. The map contains sections that each answer a top prospective student question and routes to a deeper page in 1 click.
Hero Section
What is SWLAW + primary CTAs (Request Info / Visit / Apply)
Why SWLAW?
Credibility/proof (recognition and differentiators)
Programs
How students can learn (Online, in-person, accelerated, part-time)
Financial Aid
Affordability, scholarships, aid
Student Experience
Community, campus life, events, news
Next Step
Application process, request info, visit campus
A Guided Homepage Pathway
What Changed
New Module Card Examples
Partnerships
Development Team
I partnered with SWLAW’s third-party engineering team to align the design with CMS/budget constraints and define a launch-ready build plan. To help the developers I created a Design Style guide and component library that defines the rules for the web design.
Accesibility Manager
I worked closely with SWLAW’s accessibility manager to ensure the web page met accessibility standards. Together we reviewed the colors of the site for readibility, verified touchpoint sizes, and ensured text sizes me standards.