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CXPR case study · Information hierarchy

Same design. A clearer story.

A stronger homepage does not always need a redesign. Sometimes the useful move is helping the existing content work together.

Published
ByTara O’Doherty
Reading time3 min read
Customer journeys
Original Tara O’Doherty homepage: service description at upper right, large headline, supporting copy, actions, experience statement and bottom slogan.
This articleSame design. A clearer story.
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The headline worked. The portrait added a human presence. The primary button stood out. The opportunity was in how the supporting information was arranged.

Context: This is a founder-owned website reviewed using CXPR’s approach and Jaspurr’s Hero Hierarchy Reference. It is published here as a CXPR case study. Evidence status: The recommendations draw on published guidance and expert interpretation. No conversion lift, faster comprehension or measured eye path is claimed.

01 · Identify

The ingredients were strong. Their relationship could be clearer.

Business objective: help prospective clients understand Tara’s services and start a conversation. Visitor task: establish what she offers, see why she is credible, and choose whether to contact her or explore client results.

The screenshot showed a service description at the upper right, separate from the main copy. The left eyebrow repeated the headline’s broad promise. A further slogan sat below the experience statement. The supporting copy, action, and proof were spread over a large vertical area.

Original Tara O’Doherty homepage: service description at upper right, large headline, supporting copy, actions, experience statement and bottom slogan.
Before: the supplied desktop viewport. This is an observed layout, not an eye-tracking result.

02 · Diagnose the opportunity

Help the supporting content earn its place.

Our diagnosis: the service description could be easier to encounter beside the main message. Repeated promises could make room for specific credibility. Tighter grouping could make the explanation and next steps feel more connected.

The intended sequence is headline → explanation → primary action → experience, with the service descriptor providing context. This is a design intention, not a claim about how every visitor looks at a page.

What we identified, why it matters, and what changed
ObservationOpportunityRecommendation
Service description detached at upper rightBring the concrete offer into the main content group.Use “Research, strategy, and hands-on delivery.” as the left eyebrow.
Large gap between headline and explanationStrengthen their visual relationship.Reduce headline size slightly and tighten the following space.
Bold secondary action beside the primary buttonPreserve a clear action priority.Keep the ivory “Let’s talk” button; use regular weight for “Explore client results”.
Another slogan below the experience statementGive specific credibility less competition.Remove the repeated slogan and retain the 20+ years statement.
Annotated concept with four callouts: service description placement, tighter headline and copy spacing, primary action priority and experience as proof.
Approved concept: generated mockup with editorial callouts. It illustrates recommendations; it is not a capture of the live website.

03 · Recommend & verify

Keep the character. Refine the hierarchy.

The implementation retains the charcoal and peach palette, existing typefaces, two-line headline and original portrait. The content is live HTML rather than text embedded in an image.

Implemented homepage with service descriptor above the headline, closely grouped explanation and actions, and the experience statement beneath a divider.
After: browser capture of the implemented desktop hero. Before and after captures use different viewport sizes; compare hierarchy, not pixel dimensions.

Responsive implementation: desktop retains the portrait on the right. Phones place the explanation, actions, and experience before the portrait in the visual flow. Tablet spacing is adjusted separately. Text can expand naturally instead of being clipped to a fixed-height canvas.

Verification boundary: targeted viewport and control checks assess implementation. They do not establish whole-site accessibility conformance or prove a business outcome. The portrait is descriptive, and the actions remain real links with keyboard focus.

The rationale behind the changes.

  1. NN/G: Visual Hierarchy in UX explains how scale, contrast, and grouping communicate importance. The precise spacing, type size and placement here are expert applications of that guidance.
  2. NN/G: The Layer-Cake Pattern of Scanning Content on the Web reports scanning research. It does not validate this particular hero or prescribe one universal reading path.
  3. W3C: Understanding Contrast (Minimum) provides the applicable text-contrast criteria. A screenshot alone cannot establish full conformance.

Research supports the principles. Context shapes the recommendation. Measured visitor and business outcomes remain unvalidated.