The City Tutors Web Audit
The City Tutors is a NYC nonprofit helping underserved learners succeed through free tutoring and mentoring. But despite strong community interest, their website unintentionally made it difficult for people to get involved:
94% of visitors left without taking action
Volunteers messaged staff directly instead of using the sign-up process
Students missed events due to unclear navigation and dead links
Visual and accessibility issues blocked mobile and assistive tech users
If people can’t sign up, they can’t benefit or help others.
“We need people to understand what we do… and stick around long enough to sign up.”
— Stakeholder Interview
That’s where I stepped in.

Role
Lead UX Researcher,
Product Manager
Team
Product Manager,
UX Designer, UX Researchers,
Stakeholders &
Security Expert
Tools
Figma, Figjam, Slack,
Miro, Zoom,
Bubble Notetaker &
Google Suite
What I did
Product Strategy, Team Management,
Produced Audit Report,User Interviews,
User Research, Usability Testing, and
Wireframing
Timeline
March 2024 - Aug 2024
The Problem
Critical UX and navigation issues were causing:
Major drop-offs on sign-up pathways
Confusion between Tutor vs Mentor roles
Lost engagement due to hidden Events
Accessibility failures (WCAG 2.2 issues)
Decreased volunteer retention from lack of information clarity
These barriers reduced the organization’s impact and directly affecting student support.
Project Goals
To address these challenges, we defined clear goals that would directly improve user engagement and support successful volunteer sign-ups.
Improve signup usability & reduce drop-offs
Clarify volunteer roles & pathways
Enhance accessibility & inclusivity
Increase event discoverability and engagement
To accomplish this, I led the team in understanding what was really breaking the user journey.
Research Stratergy
To understand where the experience was breaking down, we recruited a diverse mix of users aged 20–50 that reflected the platform’s real audience. All sessions were conducted through The City Tutors’ Zoom account to ensure consistency and transparency.
Participants
4 Mentors, 4 Tutors, 4 Students, 4 Non- Users
Method
User Interviews (16 participants)
Moderated Usability Testing
Analytics Review
Competitive Analysis
Affinity Mapping
Purpose
Identify motivation, needs & frustration
Observe errors & behavioral breakdowns
Validate high-impact problem areas
Benchmark UI patterns & best practices
Identify recurring pain points & themes
Key Insights
With user feedback, testing observations, and analytics combined, clear patterns began to emerge. These insights revealed the most critical barriers preventing users from successfully engaging with the site.
Navigation Breakdown
“I don’t know where to click.”— Tutor
Users struggled to reach events, sign-up, or program info quickly.
Role Confusion
“Am I supposed to mentor? Tutor? What’s the difference?”— Prospective Volunteer
Lack of clarity led to decision paralysis → abandonment.
Accessibility Failures
“The text blends into the background. It’s hard to read." — Mentor
Lack of clarity led to decision paralysis → abandonment.
Motivation Blocked
“I don’t know if I’m making a difference."
— Mentor
Mentors felt disconnected due to no feedback
loop.
User Persona
Based on our research findings, we developed three user personas: Andrew, Robin, and Sara. These personas highlight the unique needs, goals, pain points, and technological usage of different user groups interacting with City Tutors. However, I’m presenting one persona here to illustrate our findings.
ABOUT
Andrew is a retired professional in his 60’s with a passion for giving back to the community. As a volunteer mentor, he bring decades of experience and wisdom to help guide and inspire the next generation. His goal is to empower students and young professionals, sharing insights and support to help them navigate their careers and life choices. Mentorship is his way of staying connected, contributing meaningfully, and continuing to learn from the bright minds of tomorrow.
GOALS
Make a positive difference in the lives and careers of his mentees
To enhance his knowledge and skills through the process of teaching others
To enhance his knowledge and skills through the process of teaching others
NEEDS
Have a support system or network of fellow mentors for collaboration and inspiration
Receive feedback on the impact of his mentoring to understand it’s effectiveness
Obtain more information about his mentees to tailor session to their needs
PAIN POINTS
Rarely receives feedback, and hence struggles with not knowing the impact of his mentoring efforts
Unable to find the event section of the website
Faces frequent technical issues, which can hinder him from accomplishing task
Cannot find student names on the portal, making the clock-in clock-out process frustrating
TECHNOLOGIES
Google Chrome
Zoom
Gmail
Andrew
AGE
65
JOB TITLE
Mentor
STATUS
Married
LOCATION
New York City, NY
COMMITED
CURIOUS
EMPATHETIC
PASSIONATE
“I find joy in helping students learn and grow, but I often wonder about the impact I have made on their journey...”

Usability Score
2.2 / 5 — Very Poor
Largest task failures:
Find “Events” → failed by most
Complete sign-up → high error rate
Identify service offerings → unclear
→ Clear evidence that users couldn’t succeed on the current site.
Accessibility Audit
The website meets 65% of evaluated WCAG 2.2 AA standards. We identified the following key barriers impacting users who rely on accessible design:
Key Barriers
Low color contrast affects readability
Missing form labels make sign-ups difficult
Inconsistent headings limit screen-reader usability
Vague link text reduces clarity of navigation
Improving accessibility will help ensure all users can participate fully and complete essential tasks without frustration.
Top Recommendations (Prioritized for Business Impact)
Once we identified the key barriers affecting navigation, clarity, and accessibility, the next step was to translate those insights into action. I focused on solutions that would remove friction, support decision-making, and ensure every user could engage confidently with the platform. These recommendations were prioritized by impact and directly addressed the issues we observed during testing.
No
1
2
3
4
5
Focus Areas
Clarify Mentor vs. Tutor Pathways
Reorganize Navigation & Clear CTAs
Improve Event Discoverability
Enhance Accessibility & Readability
Better Content Hierarchy & Service Clarity
Why It Matters
Users struggled to choose a role or understand
the difference
Users got lost or backtracked to find
basic tasks
Many participants couldn’t locate events
on their own
Low contrast + missing labels blocked
users on assistive tech
Unclear messaging on who qualifies and
what is offered
Expected Impact
Reduced decision friction → More
completed sign-ups
Faster task success → Lower bounce rates
Increased attendance → Higher
volunteer engagement
Inclusive access → More users able to complete key tasks
Greater trust → Fewer drop-offs and inquiries
Why does these changes matter?
These improvements focus on real human needs. They help students access the support they are seeking and help volunteers feel confident and engaged in their contribution. Most importantly, they ensure the mission of The City Tutors is clearly communicated, so more visitors understand how to get involved and complete the steps needed to participate. By reducing friction and improving clarity at every touchpoint, the redesigned site will increase engagement and allow more people to benefit from and contribute to the program’s impact.
Lo-Fi Event Flow
To help stakeholders clearly visualize how a simplified experience could improve engagement, I created a low-fidelity user flow focused on one of the most important tasks: discovering and registering for events. This flow demonstrated how fewer steps, clearer pathways, and stronger calls-to-action could significantly reduce drop-offs and encourage users to take action.
Proposed Flow
User arrives on the landing page
User selects Events from a prominent button or navigation item
User browses upcoming opportunities and chooses one
User taps Register Now on the event card
User completes a streamlined registration form
This visual and strategic approach helped stakeholders understand the power of restructuring key task flows. It showed that by simply removing friction and improving clarity, more students and volunteers would successfully engage with City Tutors programs.
Based on these findings and the demonstrated potential of the redesign, leadership aligned around a full site overhaul to ensure the platform better reflects their mission and supports community participation at scale.
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Projected Outcomes
With these solutions in place, we can anticipate measurable improvements in how users move through the site and successfully take action. The projected outcomes below outline the specific impact these changes are expected to have on engagement, accessibility, and volunteer sign-ups.
Projected Business Impact - After Redesign
Landing Page Drop-off
Before
32%
Goal
↓ to < 40%
Signup Success
Before
Low
Goal
Usability Score
Before
2.2 / 5
Goal
↑ ≥ 4.0
Event discoverability
Before
1 / 5
Goal
↑ 4 / 5
Leadership & Reflection
As the lead on this project, I directed the research approach, coordinated the team’s workflow, and turned complex findings into clear priorities that informed the organization’s next steps. I ensured that every decision stayed focused on user needs and accessibility, while aligning closely with The City Tutors’ mission and goals.
This experience helped me strengthen my ability to communicate insights in a way that drives action and supports collaboration. It also reinforced the importance of clarity and inclusivity in creating experiences that empower users and remove barriers to participation.
Most importantly, this project deepened my passion for using UX to expand educational opportunity. By improving this platform, more students can receive the academic support they deserve, and more volunteers can confidently contribute to their communities. That is the kind of impact I strive to create in every product I work on.