Site Navigation RedesignAligning User Discovery, Business Strategy, and SEO at Scale
role: director of ux/product design
disciplines: navigation strategy, information architecture, ux leadership, data synthesis, stakeholder alignment
timeline: january 2024 - november 2024 (launched)
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Actions I Led
Led a phased, data-driven navigation strategy grounded in heuristic evaluation, competitive analysis, analytics synthesis, and user testing to balance discoverability, SEO performance, and business priorities. Partnered closely with Product to define scope and sequencing, aligning cross-functional stakeholders around a streamlined global navigation framework targeted for a November launch.
Leadership in Practice
Shifted stakeholder conversations from opinion-based debates to evidence-backed decisions, bringing clarity and alignment across Editorial, SEO, Commerce, Lifecycle, and Product teams. Broke down a complex, high-visibility initiative into actionable steps that reduced friction and kept delivery on track amid shifting priorities.
Results at a Glance
Delivered a simplified, more intuitive global navigation that improved content discoverability while creating intentional space for high-performing SEO links. Established clear KPIs—including Organic Traffic, PVPV, Nav CTR, Bounce Rate, and Session Length—to measure post-launch impact and guide iteration.
Why This Matters
This project demonstrated how navigation is not just UI—it’s product strategy, governance, and cross-functional alignment at scale. By grounding decisions in data and user insight, we created a durable framework that served both user needs and evolving business objectives.
The Strategy // Define → Ideate
Healthline’s global navigation had grown organically. While functional, it no longer reflected current business priorities, evolving content strategy, or how users actually navigated the site.
Key Tensions Users needed to find content quickly & intuitively VS SEO and Growth teams needed to surface high-performing links
Competing internal business priorities
Limited appetite for large structural change
The challenge wasn’t just redesigning navigation — it was aligning a diverse set of stakeholders around a shared, data-backed strategy that balanced user needs and business goals.
The Challenge // Empathize → Define
I led a phased, data-driven navigation strategy that prioritized clarity, speed, and alignment over reinvention.
Leverage existing structural patterns to reduce risk
Use data to drive decisions
Balance discoverability, SEO, and user comprehension
Design a framework that could evolve beyond launch
our guiding principles Framed the problem and phased approach, breaking a complex challenge into actionable steps that fit the timeline and constraints
Partnered closely with the Product Manager to define scope, prioritize tradeoffs, and keep the project on track amid shifting demands
Partnered with UX Research to user-test navigation concepts, ensuring key pages, products, and content were discoverable
Actions I Led // Define → Ideate → Test → Iterate
Led a heuristic evaluation of the existing navigation to identify friction and opportunity areas
Synthesized data from a focused analytics pull to ground decisions in real behavior. Click data visualization across current site nav experience.
Cyan = highest clicks
Gold = middle/top of clicks
Red = lowest clicks
Reviewed and reconciled URL priorities across Commerce, Growth SEO, PMM, Editorial, Lifecycle, and Bezzy.
Color coding applied to these designs show where each vertical’s desired URLs/content are represented
Leadership & Team Impact
This project required navigating ambiguity, time pressure, and competing priorities.
Provided clarity and momentum during a highly cross-functional initiative
Shifted conversations from opinion-based debates to data-informed decision-making
Empowered stakeholders with a shared understanding of tradeoffs and goals
Maintained quality and alignment while meeting a hard launch deadline
Results // Launched October 2025
Balancing User Needs + Business Goals
User found what they were looking for faster
Highlighted the breadth of Healthline’s content and offerings
Created intentional space for SEO to surface top-performing links
A streamlined, clearer global navigation
This established
Clear direction for ongoing navigation evolution
A solution-oriented plan stakeholders could rally around
A navigation framework aligned with the overarching strategy
Reflection
This project reinforced that site navigation isn’t just UX — it’s strategy, governance, and alignment.
By grounding decisions in data, leveraging existing systems, and bringing stakeholders along through a phased approach, we delivered a navigation solution that served users, supported the business, and created a foundation for the future.
