KALTUMA

READY-TO-WEAR MODEST FASHION

Project Goals

  • Optimize website flow

  • Develop upcoming collections pages

  • Revise copy

  • Offer potential solutions for increasing site traffic

  • Provide offline recommendations

A woman wearing a light pink hijab and sweater standing on a modern escalator in a building with large glass windows.

Caption: Somali fashion designer, Kaltuma

Website homepage for KALTUMA featuring a woman with dark wavy hair wearing a white blouse against a deep red background with a shopping cart icon, search icon, login link, and navigation menu at the top.
Three women modeling different dresses against plain backgrounds, with price tags and labels indicating the dresses are out of stock or limited edition. The first woman wears a white gown, the second a yellow dress, and the third a rust-colored dress.
A woman modeling a long, orange Dahlia Dress with puffed sleeves and a ruffled hem, standing against a plain light-colored background.

UX Audit

A few highlights…

  • Website is not mobile-friendly

  • Inconsistent fonts and images

  • Lack of representation of the customer base

  • Process of pre-order is not clear

Survey & Interview Insights

Main trends that we noticed during research:

  • Most customers are influenced by Instagram posts to make a purchase.

  • There’s a fear of having to make a return of dresses doesn’t fit right.

  • It’s easier to make a purchase if customers can predict the look and fit of the outfit.

Have you ever pre-ordered an outfit before?

What's the longest you waited on a dress order?

Would you buy formal attire w/o seeing your body type represented?

Competitive Audit

Main trends that we noticed during research:

  • Sizing of dresses are clear and model details are listed

  • Product navigation easy to use

  • Use of hashtags and social media gallery promoted directly on the home page

  • Organized footer

  • About Me page w/bio and photo

  • Use U.S.-based manufacturers

A woman wearing a black hijab and an orange blazer, smiling while sitting at a table outdoors with palm trees in the background.
LOUELLA BY IBTIHAJ logo in black text

Louella by Ibtihaj (louellashop.com)

User Persona

A woman with a light gray hijab, wearing a denim jacket and a silver watch, posing outdoors with sunlight on her face, near a window and a brick wall.

Farah Amin

Age: 29
Occupation: Psychologist
Location: San Francisco, CA

Farah is a recent phd graduate, which means she will now have a lot more free time to go to events and start dating again. Her closet is primarily casual and business clothing, so she needs to start building up a modern and formal wardrobe for the events that she’ll be going to. She dresses modestly, but wants clothing that is unique and let’s her express herself through style. She has trouble finding clothing at online stores that fit her as expected and is sick of returning items all the time.

Highlights

Motivations: Wants to express herself while still being modest.

Needs: Needs a new clothing brand she can trust that will fit her properly and can order from them time and time again.

Frustrations: Modern fashion is typically not modest and she has a hard time finding formal wear she would feel comfortable in

"Modest doesn’t need to be frumpy - it can be fun and modern."
-Kaltuma interviewee

A woman wearing a grey hijab and denim jacket, looking into the camera with a hand resting on her face, standing outside near a brick wall and window.

Problem Statement

Farah needs to feel confident that when she orders stylish, modest clothing it meets her expectations of fit and quality.

Farah's journey map for wedding dress shopping includes steps: discover, consider, realize, decide. She is excited about dressing options and browsing Instagram. She feels intrigued, unsure, and hesitant, with a mindset of curiosity and doubt about her choice.
A woman wearing a light pink hijab and beige pants sitting outside, looking at her phone, with a drink in her hand, behind a black metal fence with green plants.

Ideation Insights

  • Social media is influential in decision to check out a new business.

  • People want a way to visualize how the clothes will fit.

  • Reviews are important in decision to buy.

  • The process of making returns need to be easy and clear.

New Site Map & Userflow

A website sitemap diagram for Kaltuma.com displaying main sections: Home, Shop, About, My Account, and Customer Service. The Shop section expands into categories: Collections, Dresses, Pant Suits, Coats, and Hijabs. The Collections category further divides into The Artist's Garden: S/S '21 and Parting the Red Sea: F/W '21.
Flowchart of an online dress shopping process, including sign-up, browsing dresses, size selection, adding to cart, and checkout steps.

Solutions and Recommendations

Wordpress Plug-ins

We recommend adding a free WooCommerce plug-in to keep customers updated with their purchase via email and through log-in feature.

Two options we recommend are:

  • Order Tracking for WooCommerce by VillaTheme

  • YITH WooCommerce Order Tracking by YITH

Reviews

Five yellow stars in a row.

From our research, customers would feel much more comfortable making a purchase if they saw reviews from other customers. Another suggestion is for customers to share

images of themselves in your apparel. When they post on social media, they can tag you and you can reshare their image.

Build Email Subscription List

It’s very important to collect email addresses from not just customers but anyone that visits your website. Have pop-up signup on your homepage. This is a great opportunity to hand out coupons and announce new items.

Subscriber Platform Suggestions:

  • Constant Contact

  • MailChimp

A woman wearing a beige headscarf and cream-colored sweater holding three red flowers with dark centers, set against a split blue background.

Social Media Management

From our research, many people shop for clothes through social media. You already have an Instagram account, and you can really increase traffic to your website with an active account.

Social Media Management Platform Suggestions:

  • Sprinklr

  • Cloud Campaign

  • Hootsuite

Social Media Content Plan

  • By investing 3-5hrs a week, you can increase your current social media engagement by over 100%.

  • Post at least twice a day, promoting collections, modest fashion tips, and inspiration, and a weekly email blast.

  • Partner with influencers.

Photoshoot Tips

When it comes to shopping for clothing, we learned that customers like to see representations of themselves and clear views of the apparel. The current photos you have now are more “magazine-style” whic is great for marketing and press. But for the website, it’s recommended to have photos more “catalog-style”.

Three women in stylish outfits; the first wears a red satin dress, black hijab, sunglasses, and black boots, holding a book; the second wears a black and silver sequined dress, leaning on a black surface; the third wears a beige jacket, green hijab, and round sunglasses against a maroon background.
Four models in dark-colored fashion outfits posing in front of plain backgrounds, showcasing outerwear and tailored clothing.

An example of clear photos of the apparel in all angles to help customers make the decision to make a purchase.