Tuki Covers and Custom Amp Covers have three main competitors:

• Large online music stores
• Amp manufacturers who sell branded covers
• Boutique manufacturers who offer custom fit covers

In general, large online music stores and most amp manufacturers sell a less expensive, but less durable cover. They run sales promotions and offer free or reduced shipping, but they have a much smaller selection with hundreds of covers. Larger stores don't tend to offer padded, customizable or custom made to fit covers.

Only a few custom boutiques offer the same level of selection as Tuki Covers and Custom Amp Covers. Many of these sites are outdated or have UX flaws such as horizontal scrolling, non-responsive design, custom order forms without math error checking or units of measurement, not showing photos for individual products, poor search capabilities, or no way to purchase products on the site.

Learning from the the other sites analyzed, we implemented the following:

• Search in header on every page with drop down results to allow users to find a cover easily no matter where they were on the site
• Clear labels for Shop and Get Free Custom Quote which tested better than the previous labels Speaker Covers & Bags and Find Your Cover
• Message at the bottom of category pages directing the customer to Get a Free Custom Quote if they didn't find their cover to help users find the custom order forms to fill out
• High quality photos of almost every cover offered to decrease abandonment rate for purchases
• Large lightbox images to show extra features on product pages like color, piping, hem binding, pockets, bottom strap, or bottom flap instead of redirecting users to a new page and away from the product they are purchasing
• Diagrams and photos of dozens of custom types of amps and music equipment to help find the correct diagram to place a custom order to replace the previous text only version of the menu
• Dimensions and math error checking on custom order forms to help customers fill in the correct measurements for complicated forms where certain dimensions need to add up to another dimension
• Infographics to help guide filling out the custom quote form

After speaking with Pam, I learned about Tuning Detroit's competitors and did further research into the field.

• Websites focused on explaining the concept of biofield tuning and what happens during a session
• Other practitioners allowed patients to book appointments on the site
• Sites included information about healing and health benefits
• Some sites were stark and clinical, while others are warm and inviting

After considering the sites that were analyzed, we decided on the following:

• A warm, vibrant color palette with images of people having fun to give the site an approachable and professional look without being too clinical
• FAQs page with information about how to make an appointment and what is involved with different types of sessions. Tuning fork therapy is a new field, so it is important to explain what happens during a session so clients will know what to expect ahead of time.
• Biofield tuning information page with detailed information about the science behind biofield tuning to give clients trust in the site that Pam is a professional, trusted practitioner of biofield tuning
• Calls to Action to "Schedule a Tune Up!" in the header and throughout the site to make it clear and easy to set up an appointment. We looked at a few scheduling solutions, but Pam saw Acuity scheduling used successfully on multiple other biofield tuning sites, so we decided that was a great choice.

I research the competitive space to learn about mobile hairderssing and shared the findings with Ashleigh. Mobile Cuts and More's competitors are other mobile hair cutting businesses that:

• Offer mobile hair cut services in homes as well as at hospitals, nursing homes, hotels, and offices
• Have clear COVID-19 policies on website and offer outdoor services when weather permits
• Have policies on cancellations, refunds, payment, and hours of service
• Offer discounts and rewards programs
• Partner with makeup artists for special group events like weddings and proms

Learning from the the other sites analyzed, we implemented the following:

• Photos of people receiving hair services that are similar to the clients Mobile Cuts and More hopes to book
• FAQs page with information how to make an appointment and other policies
• Call to Action to see COVID-19 policies to inform clients about masking protocols and whether outside appointments were possible
• Discount for purchasing a Mobile Cuts and More Tshirt and wearing it during an appointment

For the Mobile Cuts and More website, we chose a premade theme for hairdressers to fit Ashleigh's budget. I handcoded changes to the theme and reworked the template using php files for the header and footer to make them reusable for every page. We used free stock photos from Unsplash and Pexels.

In 2021, Mobile Cuts and More had gained clientele and become busier. Ashleigh realized that her target client had changed more from families to senior citizens. Ashleigh sent me a new image of senior citizens to replace the original hero image of families. The busier Ashleigh was, the less time she had to book appointments by phone. We looked into adding scheduling to her website and decided to use Square's built in scheduling because they were already her payment provider. I added large calls to action throughout the site to tell clients they could book an apopintment through the website if they lived within certain cities.

Steve had a few coaches that he personally followed and liked the layout of their sites, and a few that he did not care for. I researched the business space and the sites recommended by Steve. Knowledge Action Success's competitors are other business and life coaches. Here is what we learned about the competition:

• Websites focus on offerings like programs/classes, events, private coaching, speaking engagements, podcasts, videos, blogs, and books
• These sites focused on concepts like personal development, entrepreneurship, following passion, time management, and money management
• The business model focused on offering low cost or free resources to provide benefit for clients and to entice them to purchase higher priced offerings
• Pain points of potential clients helped define the different types of coaching offered. Common pain points included difficulties with time management, staying motivated, setting goals, managing finances, and gaining skills.
• Social proof was important throughout the site and could include testimonials, quotes, and videos of personal and corporate clients

Steve and I discussed which pieces he wanted to offer on his site. We considered what we learned from the sites we analyzed to begin to write copy for the site. Instead of writing completely new copy for the site, which would have many pages, we leveraged the content from Steve's two podcast series. Steve is very personable on air and had a goldmine of great information that could be repurposed into copy for the website. I used a tool to transcribe Steve's podcasts and used that to guide how we wrote the copy for the website with Steve editing and refining afterward. We ended up creating:

• A home page highlighting all of the services offered
• Copy throughout the site based on themes from the Knowledge Action Success podcast series
• Individual pages for coaching, classes, books, podcasts, a blog, and praise from satisfied clients
• Calls to Action to learn about different services or to schedule a free introductory call

I have been a member of a small virtual book club focused on anti-racism for a few years. Our members met during the breakout sessions for a seminar on anti-racism and we decided to keep meeting monthly to learn more about the topic. Some of us use ereaders and some read physical books.

Small face-to-face virtual book clubs facilitate close friendships and in depth study of a topic, but they lack some of the benefits of large online book clubs with apps. I wanted explore some of the benefits of larger groups and see if there are ways that members who read digital books can share notes with members who read physical books.

How might we enhance a social justice virtual book club with the following?

• Central place to communicate between meetings
• Better ways to share notes between members
• Vetted list of opportunities to volunteer, donate or support minority-owned stores

I looked at a few competitors in the online book club space to learn more about what works and what doesn't work in this domain.

Reese's Book Club App and Bookclub.org are competitors in the online book club space.

Areas where current virtual book clubs succeed:

• Zoom events like presentations from authors and book discussions
• Online forum discussions for books in progress
• Supporting diverse writers and promoting of underrepresented voices
• Videos with author readings, Q&A, and celebrity chats with authors
• Personalized events, books read, and books in progress section
• Many genres of clubs to choose
• Discussion guides for popular books
• Find a book section
• Community forum to promote new clubs or ask questions
• Calendar view with all book club events

Areas of improvement for current virtual book clubs:

• Large group so it is harder to form connections with people
• Cannot make online donation without purchase
• Some clubs aren’t very active
• Club discussions are in discord for the club I joined
• Search for clubs by location did not work well
• Many features only available on app, not on website (not available on older phones)

I used a variety of testing, but found the most useful results from A/B testing, user testing with a clickable prototype in Axure, and an expert evaluation.

• A/B Testing showed users preferred drop down lists to buttons for adding a book to a list and toggle buttons instead of checkboxes for filtering book lists
• User testing with the clickable prototype highlighted workflows that could be improved such as adding a book to the app without purchasing it, searching for a club to join, joining and viewing multiple clubs, and adding notes and highlights from a physical book into the app.
• The expert evaluation gave me ideas on consolidated my layout and improving the information architecture by rearranging elements on the screen and moving less used categories into the menu. The evaluator also cautioned against reinventing a model that already works well for users like the Kindle eReader.

Users were asked to complete the following journeys with the clickable prototype:

• Search for a book
• Open a book to read
• Organize books into lists
• Add a book to the app
• Purchase a physical copy of a book
• Change the bookstore where you make your purchase
• Donate or volunteer
• Add notes to a book by typing, speaking, or taking a picture of a physical book