Website Redesign & Data Visualization for The Fourth Floor

introduction

This case study highlights my work with The Fourth Floor (now The Fourth Effect), a growing startup that wanted to improve its website experience and better communicate its impact.

Their website worked well on desktop, but it wasn’t optimized for mobile or tablet. Since many users visit websites on their phones, this created usability issues.

They also had valuable membership data, but it wasn’t being shown in a way that clearly demonstrated their growth and engagement.

▶️ Problem Statement:

The website had three main issues:

• It was not designed for mobile or tablet screens, making it harder to use on smaller devices.
• Important membership data (growth, engagement) was not clearly displayed.
• The design did not reflect the polish and professionalism expected from a growing startup.

Because of this, the website was not fully supporting their growth or clearly showing their impact.

My goal was to make the website fully mobile-friendly and turn their membership data into clear, visual insights that strengthen their credibility. Also, I wanted to transform raw membership data into meaningful, visually engaging insights.

▶️ Approach:

I followed a step-by-step process to understand the problems and improve the experience:
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📋 Research & Competitive Analysis
I conducted a competitive analysis of similar membership-based startups.
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🔁 Responsive Redesign
I audited existing layouts for breakpoints and usability issues, redesigned key pages for mobile and tablet, and improved navigation items and structure.
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📈 Data Visualization
I analyzed membership data (growth, location data) and designed clear visualizations to integrate into the website and business pitches.
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✏️ Integration and Refinement
I adjusted the layout for scannability, made components visually consistant, and optimized the site for all devices.

learn

▶️ Research & Discovery:

To identify usability issues, I evaluated the website across multiple screen sizes. I focused on how easily users could navigate the site, find key information, and understand the organization’s value. I also reviewed competitor websites to see how other startups presented their content and data.

▶️ Competitive Analysis of Similar Startups:

▶️ Who:

The primary audience includes prospective members and investors, who want to quickly understand what The Fourth Floor offers and how it will benefit careers for women in business. I created a persona for each.

▶️ Analysis and Plan:

After reviewing the site and competitor examples, I identified key opportunities:

📍 Navigation:

• Simplify the navigation bar to 6 core links: Home, For Women, For Companies, For Investors, About Us, Events
• Evaluate whether “Partnerships” needs to be in the main navigation or if it can live in the footer to reduce clutter
• Ensure each primary audience (Women, Companies, Investors) is clearly represented and easy to access

The goal is to make the site feel focused and easy to navigate without overwhelming visitors.

✨ Content Highlight:

• Update all membership numbers (members, candidates, companies, investors) so they accurately reflect current growth
• Reconsider whether pop-ups are necessary; if they are, shorten them, especially on the Investors (“Back Room”) page
• On the homepage, we currently highlight “For Individuals” and “For Companies”, add clearer visibility for Investors as well
• Move testimonials higher on the homepage to build credibility earlier
• Add a clearer link to the press page on the homepage

The goal is to ensure content feels current, credible, and strategically organized to build trust quickly.

✏️ Design:

• Make the entire site mobile and tablet responsive
• Standardize accent colors across pages (currently some use red, others use orange, and the About page uses both)

The goal is to create a more cohesive and polished look across the entire site.

MAKE

I redesigned key website pages to improve usability and responsiveness.

▶️ Wireframes for Navigation & Footer Responsiveness:

Desktop, Tablet, & Mobile View of Nav/Footer

▶️ Data Visualization:

Using a large member location dataset, I created a world map data visualization:

Additionally, I analyzed membership growth to feature on the website and business pitches.

next steps

Given more time and resources, the next step would be to conduct usability testing with real users to validate the redesign decisions.
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Due to the constraints of a startup budget and the limited timeline of my three-month internship, formal user testing was not feasible during this phase of the project.

However, testing with prospective members, investors, and partners would provide valuable insights into:

• Navigation clarity
• Messaging effectiveness
• Mobile/tablet usability
• Overall credibility and trust perception

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