Dezire Dance Website
A vibrant digital platform designed to bring the energy and expression of contemporary dance into the online realm. The site harmonises bold imagery, fluid navigation and responsive layouts to create an immersive experience that guides users — whether dancers, instructors or audience members, seamlessly from inspiration through to performance booking. My contribution focused on user research, interaction design and visual refinement to ensure the site delivers both high aesthetic impact and usability across devices.
Overview
The website redesign for the dance school sought to communicate three core objectives:
1) positioning the school as friendly and welcoming yet professional,
2) making the class schedule & enrolment process easy for both parents and adult students, and
3) Ensuring mobile-first accessibility and clarity of navigation for a diverse age range of users.
Target Users
Parents of young children (2½ – 10 yrs) seeking dance classes.
Teenagers & adult learners looking for ballet, tap, modern, jazz, and Pilates classes.
Existing students and prospective students want the timetable, class info, and enrolment.
Teachers/administration need to update schedules, classes, and contact information easily.
Key User Journeys
Parent Journey: discovers the school → views “Our Classes” page → selects a class for child’s age group → views timetable → signs up / contacts the school.
Adult Learner Journey: visits site on mobile → views adult classes section → checks availability/timetable → books or contacts.
School Admin Journey: the site needs to support clear updates of timetables & class listings (modular content blocks).
UX/UI Decisions
Clear hierarchical navigation: Home → About Us → Classes → Timetable → Meet the Team → Contact. This supports both “just browsing” and “ready to register” users.
“Our Classes” section divides content into Kids Classes & Adult Classes—reducing cognitive load for different user groups.
The timetable page uses a weekly schedule layout with predictable days/times—supporting quick scanning.
Use of award badges and school credentials immediately in “About Us” to build trust and social proof (e.g., “Dance School of the Year”).
Mobile-responsive design: large tappable buttons and easy-to-read timetable blocks for on-the-go users (parents in transit).
Emphasis on imagery showing dance classes in action and friendly teachers and students — creating approachable branding.
A simple contact form and booking link to streamline conversion (i.e., register for a trial/class).
Accessibility & standards: the site states classes are taught by qualified teachers with DBS, first aid & insurance—reflecting the school’s professionalism.
Branding & Visual Style
Colour palette: energetic yet approachable (likely bright accent + neutral background) to appeal to both children/parents and adults.
Typography: legible sans-serif for body text; more expressive headline font (to capture “dance” feel) while maintaining readability.
Photography: dynamic dance poses, happy students, teachers interacting, communicating, community and energy.
Iconography/visual cues: simple icons (e.g., ballet shoes, tap shoes, adult class silhouette) to help scan class categories quickly.
Use of awards/badges visually to emphasise credibility (e.g., “Award Winner 2020/21”).
Consistent visual language across pages: uniform class cards, timetable blocks, and team bios.
Content Structure
Home Page: Hero image showing students/teacher + tagline “Award-Winning Dance School” + CTA “View Classes”.
About Us: Mission, vision, awards, studio location/address, teacher qualifications.
Classes Page: Breakdown by age and style (Ballet, Tap, Modern, Jazz, Parent & Toddler, Adult Ballet/Tap, Pilates) with brief descriptions.
Timetable Page: Weekly layout, class times by day, separate for kids & adults.
Meet The Team: Teacher bios with qualifications, photo, and experience. Builds trust.
Contact / Enrolment: Form + phone/email + map & address: Bewbush Barn Church, Francis Edwards Way, Crawley RH11 8GG.
UX Highlights & Solutions
Clear user segmentation: parents vs adults vs kids—each finds relevant content quickly.
Scannability: The Timetable page and class list present information in digestible chunks.
Trust signals: Awards, ISTD affiliation, and teacher credentials reinforce legitimacy.
Conversion focus: CTAs (“Book a trial”, “Contact us”) are present in multiple sections to prompt action.
Responsive design: prioritises mobile users (likely many parents using phones), while desktop supports full timetable view.
Content maintainability: The site structure allows the school admins to update classes, times and team bios with minimal complexity.
Metrics of Success
Increased enquiries/trials from mobile users (e.g., parents browsing between drop-offs).
Reduced bounce rate on “Classes” and “Timetable” pages (more users find what they came for).
Improved conversion: number of bookings/trials → students.
Positive feedback from users praising the ease of navigation and clarity of information.
Enhanced brand perception: Aligning the site with “multi-award-winning” status helped raise premium positioning.
Reflections & Next Steps
Consider adding video testimonials from students/parents to further build an emotional connection.
Integrate online booking/payment fully (if not already) for a seamless end-to-end user journey.
Explore personalised recommendations: “Based on your child’s age/interests, try these classes.”
Implement analytics dashboards showing drop-offs/funnels (class view → timetable view → contact/booking) to continuously optimise.
Improve accessibility further (e.g., WCAG compliance for visually impaired users) and expand content for SEO (blog posts on dance benefits, adult class stories, etc.).
