Can small adjustments improve sustainability communication through corporate websites? 3/3

After two months, the consulting field study project has finally reached its final stage. I am grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with Värnamo of Sweden and the Business Lab to explore how sustainability communication can be improved through corporate website design.

To investigate whether small design adjustments could improve users’ speed of noticing and interacting with sustainability information, increase their exploration range, and enhance their perception of sustainability communication, I redesigned the website based on field observations, literature review, and VSME framework. One of the key design principles was placing the main navigation menu in a higher position rather than at the bottom of the page. Another important strategy was the repetition of sustainability-related content across different touchpoints. Finally, I conducted an experiment involving 22 participants using eye-tracking devices and questionnaires, and I analyzed how users perceived and interacted with the two website versions.

The findings showed that the version with higher navigation placement and repeated sustainability content performed better in several aspects, including notice speed, intuitive guidance, and viewing range. However, one construct related to user perception did not show a significant difference. This suggests that although improvements could be observed in user behavior, users’ subjective perceptions may still remain similar, highlighting the challenge of measuring and influencing user feelings and attitudes.

Overall, this experience not only deepened my understanding of website design and user behavior, but also provided valuable insights into sustainability communication. Although the journey was sometimes bittersweet, it inspired me to continue exploring sustainability strategies more deeply in the future!