How to get users coming back to your website

Golden Languages is a long-term EU-funded project that creates a framework for teachers to learn a new language. I was tasked with designing and developing a website in the project’s five languages, which could inform those interested of the scope of the project, receive updates during the project and acquire “products”. The client had a clear idea of how the website should look, but I implemented my own design decisions at key points.

Role: Designer, Developer

Tools: Figma,  AI, Wireframing WordPress,, Divi, Affinity

Year: 2026

Preliminary Phase

“The Goal of the Website was to encourage users to sign up to the newsletter” 

 

During the introductory call, it became clear that this is an evolving project and thus the indicated goal was for users to stay informed on the project. This would occur via the Timeline page. The client assumed that users would come back to the website organically. I explained that users would not consistently return to the website and suggested adding a newsletter. Therefore, the initial goal of the website was to encourage users to sign up to the newsletter

User Research 

 

There was not a lot of time for user research, as the first version of the website needed to be online as quickly as possible. The main focus was to gather insights on the main demographic for the website – seniors. I planned to do further research during the prototyping phase through iterative testing.

 KEY INSIGHTS

1. Seniors (and others interested in the project)  need an overview of the project so that they are aware of the scope and progress of the project

2.  Seniors need information displayed clearly so that they can easily understand the project and feel encouraged to sign up for the newsletter..

3. The distributors of the newsletter need to be able to define a method so that the newsletter can be sent without friction

 

Solution:

Solution: Prominent CTA on every page that leads to a simple sign up form

Design (The Timeline Page)

The Structure of Golden Languages

 

Effective planning was essential for this project, as the website is available in five languages. Therefore, I developed the English version of the website for approval so that the pages could be duplicated and later translated with minimal design changes. Of course, with multiple stakeholders, there will always be adjustments to make, but working this way saves a lot of time. With one exception…

The Timeline Page

 

The rest of the UX process will focus on this page

This is the most complex part of the website and the most challenging to figure out. The client indicated that they wanted a circular timeline to represent the iterative process of the project and suggested a clock graphic. After evolving the idea, I concluded that the clock was too messy. I was given 3 requirements that the graphic should adhere to.

  1. The graphic must be circular
  2. The scope of the project needs to be instantly clear.
  3. The user should be able to access more information.

 

Ideation

 

I looked online for inspiration but was unable to find a one to one example of what I was looking for (AI services also didn’t provide what I needed).  I started sketching possibilities and after a lot of trial and error, came to what I coined a “two-panel solution”. The left panel would show the circular graphic, while the right panel should be multi-functional. Initially it shows an overview of the project and becomes a detail section upon click.

Prototype

 

I made a paper prototype from the sketches I had made and tested it myself. Next, I looked for visual inspiration to make it hi-fi. I found something on Pinterest and made my own version in Affinity. The right panel was built largely with AI (ChatGPT, Claude).

Test

 

Key Test Results: 

  • Users clicked on the graphic as well as the panel
  • A few issues with text across the text (during later testing)
  • A different solution was necessary for tablet and mobile

The first two issues were addressed head-on and fixed quickly. The solution for tablet and mobile ended up being simply the right text panel. While budget constraints played a role, I believe that this ultimately is the best solution for these devices. 

Other Functionalities

Included on different parts of the website

 

  • Polylang plug-in for multi-language capability
  • Statistics tracker

Reflection & Final Thoughts

“Being part of an initiative which is contributing to a good cause is fulfilling”

Golden Languages is a project which is still ongoing, but I am proud of the work done thus far. Being part of an initiative which is contributing to a good cause is fulfilling, and I am intrigued to participate in the next steps of the website.  Sign-up requests for the website are already flooding in

The Golden Languages website was a fun challenge to work with as the website has features that I had not worked with before.  Especially the multi-language feature was an insightful plugin to learn and figure out. This plugin had a few quirks which I needed to figure out. My “favourite” one has to be when I uploaded a testing plugin which I have used in earlier projects, which broke the website! It showed the importance of a backup, which I am glad to say that I had set up (as with every project).