Strategic UX for Community Education

The Opportunity

Middle Way Acupuncture Institute needed more than a visual refresh. The institution offered strong academic programs, but its website functioned as a static information repository rather than a guided enrollment journey.

Nearly half of site traffic was mobile, yet the experience was not responsive. Academic programs and clinic services were structurally blurred. Conversion pathways were unclear. SEO foundations were underdeveloped.

The business objective was straightforward:

Increase student enrollment.

Achieving that required reframing the website as a strategic product rather than marketing collateral.

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Product Framing

We repositioned the website as a growth platform with:

• A clearly defined primary audience: prospective MAc students
• Structured acquisition and conversion pathways
• Defined performance metrics
• A mobile-first experience
• A scalable technical foundation
• An iterative post-launch optimization model

One key structural clarification drove the architecture: the Community Acupuncture Clinic is a service arm of the school, not an academic program. Separating these journeys immediately reduced confusion and cognitive load.

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Research & Discovery

Internal Stakeholder Survey

We conducted a Google Form survey with faculty and staff to understand:

• Recruitment challenges
• Program differentiators
• Messaging gaps
• Friction points in the current experience

Current Student Survey

A separate survey of enrolled students revealed:

• Why they chose Middle Way
• What information influenced their decision
• Where clarity was lacking on the previous site

This lightweight validation helped prioritize structural decisions with the highest enrollment impact.

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Strategic Execution

Information Architecture Overhaul

We redesigned the sitemap around a primary conversion journey.

Key decisions:

• Elevate the Masters Level Diploma in Acupuncture (MAc) as the central pathway
• Separate clinic services from academic programs
• Simplify top-level navigation
• Reduce hierarchy complexity
• Structure program pages around decision-making progression

The goal was clarity. Clarity builds trust. Trust drives action.

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Mobile-First Experience

With approximately 50% of traffic on mobile, responsiveness became a strategic growth lever.

We rebuilt layouts mobile-first:

• Streamlined navigation
• Clear CTA placement
• Simplified content blocks
• Improved inquiry form usability
• Reduced friction in conversion flows

Mobile was treated as a primary experience, not a secondary breakpoint.

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Conversion-Focused Program Pages

Program pages were redesigned as structured decision frameworks rather than static brochures.

Enhancements included:

• Clear value propositions
• Logical content progression
• Strengthened inquiry prompts
• Improved visual hierarchy
• Defined next steps

The MAc page became the primary conversion engine.

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Visual System Refinement

We did not rebrand the institution.

Instead, we elevated the existing identity:

• Improved typography scale and consistency
• Strengthened layout cohesion
• Introduced custom on-site photography
• Increased visual credibility through disciplined hierarchy

The result feels modern and professional while remaining authentic to the institution.

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Technical Foundation & Iteration

I led the WordPress implementation using Astra and Spectra, focusing on:

• Scalable backend structure
• Performance optimization
• Structured SEO framework
• Analytics setup and tracking
• Clean content architecture

The MVP launched in May 2025, less than two months after kickoff.

Post-launch, we continued iterative optimization through September and beyond — treating the site as a living product rather than a finished deliverable.

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Results

The impact validated the strategy:

• 96% increase in unique visits
• 200%+ increase in MAc program page visits
• 47% increase in homepage visits
• 167% increase in MAc program conversion rate
• SEO site score improved to 100%

The most meaningful metric was the conversion lift, demonstrating that structural clarity directly influences enrollment decisions.

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My Role

This was a collaborative two-person engagement.

In addition to collaborating on design strategy, information architecture refinement, and content development, I led:

• Technical architecture
• WordPress implementation
• On-site photography
• Backend configuration
• SEO setup
• Analytics tracking
• Performance optimization

We worked directly with one stakeholder, aligning strategy with measurable business outcomes.

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Reflection

This project reinforced a core principle:

A website is not collateral. It is a product that shapes perception, trust, and action.

By applying product strategy to an educational institution’s website, we transformed a fragmented experience into a measurable growth platform.

Clarity drove credibility.
Credibility drove enrollment.