A re-architected and redesigned website

OVERVIEW

U.S. Taekwondo Academy is located in Harford County, Maryland. USTA was founded in 1987 by a family of former US Taekwondo national team head coach and national champions. Unlike its competitors (other Martial art schools), USTA is only focused on the official Olympic Taekwondo style. USTA offers regular Olympic Taekwondo classes, training for competition teams, self-defense classes, after-school and summer camp programs. It is “ONLY ACTIVE SCHOOL in the state of Maryland to produce National Champions.”

CHALLENGES

The website was built in 2006.  Many out-dated content and marketing strategies had created a negative impact on user experience. Many of the contents were irrelevant not only to users’ needs but also USTA’s business practice. It needed major structural overhaul and redesign.

Structural challenges

• limited ability to update content.
• Very limited ability to integrate video content and social media interactions into the site.
• Poor support for existing customers.
• Abusive marketing practice – very poor user experience.

Design challenges

• Limited visual presentation -“One of the Many Martial Art Schools.”
• Unclear target audiences.
• Not able to find any of the “National Champions.”
• lack of authenticity despite its legacy and history.

RESULTS

We added the CMS feature to enable the ability to update content daily bases such as notifications, upcoming events, and achievements. We added “USTA Family” to provide a better online experience to current students. We reduced the accessive marketing but put more emphasis on the core value of the institute throughout the website. We created an online community through social media.

Structural Changes

• Ability to update content daily basis by using the Content Management System.
• Video content integration and social media interactions into the site.
• “USTA Family,” new content for existing customers.

Design Changes

• It is the”ONLY ACTIVE SCHOOL in the state of Maryland to produce National Champions”
• Enhanced credibility by presenting the “National Champions” and history of the school
• Less marketing elements, more interaction with users.