Mobile Cuts and More
Overview
2020 - Timeline: Less than 1 month; Ongoing support provided
I've known Ashleigh Jimenez for years as our family's hairdresser. When Ashleigh started talking about opening her own business as a mobile barber and hairdresser in 2020 I offered consulting, UX, and web development services pro bono to help her begin her new venture. Ashleigh wanted the focus of Mobile Cuts and More to be on serving families and senior citizens. We wanted a site that was easy to use for busy families as well as senior citizens who might not be as technically savvy. The site would also need to explain how it works to get a haircut at home. We needed to consider what equipment Ashleigh would need to bring in and what responsibilities the client might have in terms of pre-visit hair care and providing a setting for Asheligh to work. We also needed a clear Covid-19 policy to let clients know what was expected to protect their safety and Ashleigh's. This site was created on a tight budget to respect Ashleigh's business plan. How could we help inform her clients about mobile haircuts and help them schedule an appointment?
Competitive and Domain Analysis
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.
Personas
The original target persona for Mobile Cuts and More was a busy mom who is looking for a way to quickly and easily get her entire family's hair cut at the same time. As Mobile Cuts and More grew, Ashleigh found that her customer base changed from families to senior citizens. The target persona changed to Rose Murray, a senior citizen in a nursing home.
Busy mom Shondra Crawford
Senior citizen Rose Murray
Hero Section
The original Hero section for Mobile Cuts and More is an image of a family to target the Shondra Crawford persona.
Family hero image
The updated Hero section for Mobile Cuts and More is a diverse image of senior citizens to target the Rose Murray persona.
Senior citizens hero image
Page Design
The page design was built using a purchased theme that I then highly customized with hand coding. Pages include the home page, contact, faqs, a gallery of photos of real clients showing the services Ashleigh offers, pricing, and an about page. There is a link in the header for the Covid-19 policy that directs to the Covid-19 section on the faqs page. The scheduling feature opens in a new page. It would be preferable to allow users to stay on the Mobile Cutws and More site when booking an appointment, but we decided that the free scheduling feature offered by Square that opens in a new page fit better with Ashleigh's budget. The site is responsive and usable on any device at any resolution or size.
User Testing
We discussed the tasks that our persona should be able to accomplish on the site and came up with a list to test with users. We chose informal testing with 3 friends/family members and included a senior citizen. Testers were able to successfully answer the following questions:
- What are your options for how to pay for a service?
- What is Mobile Cuts and More's COVID-19 policy?
- What are the hours of business?
- Can you find the price for a service you would like to try?
- Can you make an appointment?
- How would you contact the owner of the site with a question?
Next Steps
Technical Challenges
Mobile Cuts and More uses a purchased theme. We handcoded php files from the original HTML theme to create a reusable header and footer for the site. We integrated scheduling with SquareSpace.
Client Response
"Stephanie is Amazing at what she does!!! I am incredibly happy with my experience working with you on my website you have had so much patience with me as I didn’t completely know what I wanted for my design and I appreciate all of the suggestions, ideas and examples that you have given and shown me. I love the way everything turned out even better then my expectations!!!"
ASHLEIGH JIMENEZ