A key constraint was the need for a low-cost and low-tech solution.
The owner managed the business primarily through phone calls, and the challenge was to design a professional platform that honored his existing manual processes and allowed for a seamless transition.
Tackling the creation of a digital presence for this service presented several key challenges:
Bridging the Gap: I needed to translate a trusted, human-centered, and phone-based service into a credible digital experience without over-engineering the solution.
Contextual Constraints: The website had to perform well on low-end smartphones with slow internet connections, making a lean, accessible design a top priority.
Building Trust: In a market with a few competitors offering outdated platforms, the design needed to quickly build trust and legitimacy through a clean visual identity and transparent communication.
My design process began with understanding the context and the market.
Instead of extensive user interviews or surveys, I performed an in-depth competitive analysis and leveraged an agile form of user research: direct collaboration with the owner.
This project marked a pivotal moment in my UX journey. AlloTaxi challenged me to dive deeper into user research while recognizing my own limitation at the time. This experience ultimately inspired me to pursue formal UX training to strengthen my research capabilities.
Methodology
Competitive analysis of local (MTZ SARL, SolaDrive) and global services (Uber) revealed a positioning opportunity: professional digital presence for local taxi services. Through communication with the founder, I identified key user patterns around trust, efficiency, and communication preferences.
This approach provided valuable qualitative insights while highlighting the importance of direct user validation, ultimately driving my decision to pursue formal UX education.
Personas
Two personas were developed to embody these insights and guide the design decisions:
Rachid, 42, self-employed artisan: Demands efficiency and speed. His emotional frustrations revolve around the uncertainty of finding a trusted taxi. The digital interface had to immediately reassure him that he could get a ride easily.
Emily, 33, visitor from France: Less familiar with the local context, she seeks reassurance and clarity. Her physical discomfort is exacerbated by a lack of digital fluidity and uncertainty. The website had to deliver a feeling of safety and simplicity.
My empathy for these users became the driving force behind my design decisions.
How might we design a taxi website that provides a trustworthy and intuitive first-visit experience, which encourages contact without overcomplicating the existing service model?
That problem statement was a guideline for the whole design goal. The solution was not a complex, feature-rich application, but a single-page website that was laser-focused on a single user flow: encouraging contact. All content was structured to answer key trust questions quickly, such as "Why is this service trustworthy?" and "What areas does it cover?", and lead the user directly toward a decision to make a call.
Design objectives
With a clear vision in mind, I moved into the design phase, applying core UX fundamentals: reduce friction, elevate clarity, and highlight trust signals.
The overarching objective was to create a strong, coherent brand identity that would instantly differentiate AlloTaxi from its competitors. The seamless integration of visual elements, from the logo to the color palette, was essential to build instant credibility and professionalism.
Visual Identity
The visual identity was designed to reflect the local energy and cultural context of Cotonou. The color scheme used warm yellow and deep green, inspired by the iconic color of local taxis and the city's vibrancy. The website features a single main contact form and simple navigation, with large, mobile-friendly Call-to-Action (CTA) buttons for quick access via phone or WhatsApp.
Based on direct stakeholder insights into local user habits, I made the strategic decision to implement persistent contact buttons. This prioritized the primary business goal (immediate contact) over conventional UI patterns, aligning the design directly with user behavior in this specific market.
Color Palette
Yellow communicates accessibility and immediacy and is a color commonly associated with taxis around the world. While blue balances the palette, adding depth and a feeling of safety. This contrast also improves accessibility and legibility, especially on mobile.
I recognize that certain color combinations chosen at the time presented accessibility challenges that I would now resolve with a more refined approach.
Typography & Iconography
I chose a clean, legible font for headings and body text to ensure maximum readability on small, low-resolution screens. The use of simple, universally understood icons and a clear visual hierarchy further guides users through the interface without confusion.
Logo Design
The logo was designed to be immediately recognizable and easily adaptable. The visual language is friendly and clear, aiming to build instant trust and reflect the informal yet reliable nature of the service. The logo cleverly uses the letters "o" and "a" from "AlloTaxi" to schematize a small car, creating a memorable visual pun.
To accelerate the process, I integrated the prototype and site development simultaneously for a faster delivery.
Prototyping
I used the WordPress Visual Builder, which allowed me to quickly prototype and iterate in a real environment. This approach, similar to low-fidelity prototyping directly in the browser, was a strategic choice to meet the client's budget and expectations, while still focusing on the user journey and visual hierarchy.
Working within significant client and technical constraints, this project honed my ability to prioritize ruthlessly and solve complex business problems. It demonstrates a core principle of my work: delivering maximum user and business value, even in imperfect conditions.
The iteration process was centered around stakeholder feedback and real-world needs rather than formal usability tests.
The addition of persistent phone and WhatsApp buttons was a direct result of this. While not an ideal UX pattern for some contexts, this decision directly reflected the priority of instant communication in the local market. This iteration was crucial for aligning the design with actual user habits and client constraints.
The project’s effectiveness was ultimately validated post-launch. Since the site went live, traffic and inbound requests have shown strong adoption, confirming that the simple, visible, and trustworthy approach was the right solution for the market.
The strategic design process elevated user confidence and brand perception from the very first interaction.
By meticulously crafting a frictionless digital experience, we not only simplified the user's journey but also established a foundation of trust and professionalism that is crucial for building lasting brand equity and fostering customer loyalty in a competitive market.
Measurable Impact and Business Outcomes
To validate the design's effectiveness beyond qualitative feedback, the booking form's performance was analyzed. It generated 91 qualified leads for the business, with a solid 3.07% conversion rate (based on 2960 views). These numbers are a conservative indicator of the site's true impact, as they don't include the many users who opted for direct contact via call or WhatsApp, the primary local conversion channels.
Impact on Users:
A simplified and faster booking experience.
Reduced stress from delays and forgotten appointments.
Increased clarity and trust, leading to a sense of professionalism from the first digital touchpoint.
Impact on Business:
Better appointment management and reduced delays.
Fewer last-minute cancellations and no-shows.
Stronger brand equity, fostering differentiation.
Increased bookings and customer retention, validated by a +12% increase in site sessions and +22% in page views.
Key lessons:
This project highlighted the importance of adapting user research to specific constraints.
I learned how conciseness and clarity in UX writing are essential for users with busy agendas.
The deep understanding of emotions and latent "pain points" transformed this project into a rich and meaningful user experience.
Outcome
Next projects.
(2016-25©)
