UX Product Design: MGIC Website Evolution (2005-2016)
Context of Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (MGIC) websites
MGIC provides private mortgage insurance (PMI) to mortgage lending clients while educating lenders, brokers and homebuyers about the mortgage market and the role PMI plays in it.
Problem
Clients and the sales team were in need of self-service opportunities to find business-critical information and materials. There were multiple, disparate audiences that needed different information but we were trying to have one site that was all things to all users.
MGIC had one corporate marketing website that was dated, hard to navigate and not being used. It was not the go-to resource for many clients, so they would call the company with whatever questions they had, resulting in the customer service department repeatedly fielding the same questions about how to find rates, apply for insurance or file a claim.
An ancillary challenge was that the sales team did not have a centralized place to find, customize and order sales and marketing materials, also taxing the marketing department with calls and requests for things they wanted to be able to do more independently.
Impact
- Grew MGIC’s digital presence both externally and internally – from 1 external site to 5 targeted sites, and 0 internal sites to 3 - to make business-critical information readily available to co-workers and clients, reducing calls to customer service and the marketing department.
- Reimagined an outdated corporate website to improve the overall user experience and make it easier for customers to find information on rates, how to apply for a policy, and claims information.
- Expanded to a suite of responsive marketing websites targeted to different audiences, primarily Credit Unions, Homebuyers, and Investors.
- Created a self-service internal site for sales associates to find and order materials like flyers, leave-behind sell sheets, business cards, personalized email templates, etc. reducing calls to the marketing department for these items and creating efficiencies for the sales team.
- Created a company-wide intranet for co-workers that consolidated employee information and company newsletters.
mgic.com Before
The original marketing/corporate website.
Challenges included:
- Confusing navigation/information architecture
- Inconsistent content structure and organization within pages
- Language clarity and consistency
- Inconsistent interaction patterns
mgic.com After
2016 version - there were many design iterations over the years but the information architecture and content structure held true.
Improvements included:
- Surfacing often-searched-for information
- More transparent navigation
- Consistent content structure and writing
- Consistent interaction patterns within and across sections
- Opportunities to include marketing campaigns and promotions
Information Architecture and Content Strategy
Collaborating with stakeholders, I had the leeway to start from scratch and create an end-to-end vision.
- Current state analysis and heuristic review conducted to understand how the information was being presented.
- Revamped information architecture to increase findability and align with client expectations.
- Created an overall content strategy to ensure consistency and clarity in the information presented.
Wireframe and Design
- Wireframes created that outlined the navigation, content and functionality for each screen.
- Worked with graphic design team for the visual design – we updated/rebranded the site every 3ish years to keep things fresh and relevant to what was happening in the mortgage industry.
A challenge in providing essentially one insurance product is finding creative ways to market and promote the value when the product itself doesn't change, nor is it a product everyone wants but many need. So we would update the site look and feel on a fairly regular basis, but the information architecture and content structure stayed true.
Build and Maintenance
- Followed projected timeline.
- Prototype created and tested/approved.
- Web team (me at the time) coded XHTML and CSS to build the site. (We did move to a CMS over time).
- Coordinated the QA testing and launch with the technology department and other stakeholders.
- Created a process for updating content that included a ticketing system to track requests and quality control.
Credit Union Audience
Once we established a process and successfully launched the first iteration of the "new" mgic.com, we expanded the digital suite to focus on specific audiences.
Information architecture and content were similar for Credit Unions, but rate information and overall language were tailored to that audience.
Homebuyer Audience
Part of the reimagining of mgic.com was to break out relevant information and education for disparate audiences.
The Homebuyer audience was interested in education, resources and tips related to new homeowners.
We created a site that spoke to those topics without confusing users with lender-specific information that didn't pertain to a homebuyer.
Investor Audience
Again, instead of trying to be all things to all users, we created a small but targeted site for investors.
The focus was on providing stock prices and other SEC and financial filings without making analysts and investors navigate through content that wasn't relevant to them.
Sales Portal
In the spirit of providing more self-service options for users, we created a site for the sales team to find, customize and order materials: flyers, leave-behind sell sheets, business cards, email templates, etc.
We followed a similar process:
- User research with sales reps to understand needs, including findability and quick interactions with the content.
- Requirements from the marketing team to streamline their efforts in creating customizable materials.
- Wireframes and prototype created, tested, and built out.
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