The site was originally divided into four separate pages: Home, Press, Mexico/Colombia, and Contact. The Mexico tab is information about a balloon festival the company attended in 2009, so it seemed unnecessary to include that information in the proposed site redesign. 

One of the main issues of the site, besides the organization of information and inconsistent fonts/graphics usage, was they only take orders via phone or e-mail. This is was a huge missed opportunity for customers who researched the site and were subsequently eager to purchase.

I first came up with three personas and noted what they visited the site for and their needs:

PERSONA A: Male, 53 
Tasks: Purchasing flight for wife's birthday
Needs: Pricing, schedule, cancellation policy/what happens if weather does not permit

PERSONA B: Female, 45 
Tasks: Purchasing flight for teenage daughter's birthday
Needs: Safety, directions to launch site, pricing

PERSONA C: Male, 24 
Tasks: Purchasing hot air balloon flight in order to propose to girlfriend
Needs: How crowded are the balloons? Can I get a private ride?

In reviewing the needs of both users and the business, I was able to identify the over-arching user goals, as well as business goals.

 

USER GOAL: Engage with information in organized manner, review available pricing and online scheduling, as well as having an option to purchase rides online.

BUSINESS GOAL: Generate increased revenue as well as notarity of being a safe supplier of balloon rides. Additionally, offer balloon rides online instead of taking orders over phone as current. Manage customers' expectations, as their business is extremely weather-permitting.

JOURNEY MAPPING
 

The original site had only four tabs, with most of the helpful information scattered among the main page. My proposed redesign allows users to get to the section they need quickly and easily without being overwhelmed.

Rough draft for the site map.

On to the wireframes!

One of the business goals was to manage customers' expectations for flying. As it turns out, hot air ballooning is extremely dependent on weather cooperation. In my research, I discovered it takes months or even years for some to take their flight. Therefore, it seemed important the site managed expectation with potential customers to help improve customer satisfaction and encourage repeat business.

 

An additional concern to site visitors was safety. The site takes special note to this topic as it is featured on this page as well.

Aamodt's offers three different levels of flights, with increasing privacy. The proposed wireframe above explains the difference between each flight package, along with upfront pricing (another user goal)--without needing to call or email the business. The shopping carts serve as the first call to action, sending the user to the Scheduling tab.

From the Scheduling tab, the user is able to search for a specific date and time. This should satisfy Persona A. 

 

When clicking through the Search button, the user is eventually brought to the same e-commerce site that the shopping cart on the previous page delivers to. The weather policy is back again from the About tab, in case the user missed it earlier. This ensures they understand there is a possibility of their flight being postponed.

This tab allows customers to leave reviews about how safe and fun the flights were, instilling confidence in prospective hot air balloon fliers. There are also links to local press the company has received.

Instead of viewing just a regular street address for Aamodt's location, the customer can enter their address and view custom directions from whatever location they choose. This should make Persona B very pleased.

 

Also included is a flight status line, where the business can periodically update the daily ballooning forecast. This helps users stay updated on the status of their flight (one of Jakob Nielsen's top ten usability heuristics). It also prevents an employee from needing to contact scheduled balloon customers if there is bad weather and the flight is cancelled.