Streamlining and modernizing a marketing website for an open-source AI and search product

UX/UI Design and Content Strategy

Client: Amazon Web Services OpenSearch.org (now OpenSearch Software Foundation)
Project Duration: 12 months

Digital illustration of interconnected shape layers to illustrate the semantic search layers provided by OpenSearch.

Strategy and Approach

  • Keep true to the grassroots nature of OpenSearch while also providing the necessary structures for growth.

  • Support content navigation and discoverability through an updated site map.

    Drive engagement and click-through by displaying relevant content and blog posts on child pages.

  • Take inspiration from the limited branding and expand it into a design system that is recognizable and replicable

  • Future-proof the site to ensure scalable growth while keeping the site maintainable by a small team

Design Updates

OpenSearch homepage featuring a blue and white design, with a prominent headline about data interpretation, a menu bar, and icons representing capabilities like machine learning, search, observability, and security analytics.

The new site reduces the monotony of plain text by infusing the site with colorful illustrations, infographics, and iconography to illustrate the various capabilities and technologies of OpenSearch.

Previous home page

A view of the old home page with a single graphic image and dense text
Screenshot of OpenSearch.org navigational mega menu featuring platform capabilities, products, and an illustrative link to the product roadmap.

A mega menu expands the navigation to provide the user with context at a glance.

Using affinity mapping to assess site goals allowed the clients to prioritize and plan work for the project. We used the below diagram as a progress checkpoint and ended up fulfilling 90% of the list.

A mobile site navigation was created to align to the mega menu navigation structure but formatted with less text to allow for essential page navigation. The site was designed to be modular and responsive which kept production efficient and focused on feature specific components that needed mobile consideration.

Detailed capabilities pages are peppered with explanatory graphics and iconography. Site exploration is encouraged by providing additional resources including blogs, documentation pages, and relevant conference sessions.

OpenSearch webpage discussing vector search technology with sections on fast search for unstructured data, scalable vector database platforms, and links to related blog resources.

Impacts

  • Blog traffic from organic search increased 80%

  • Registration to the 2023 OpenSearchCon doubled within a month of launching supporting event pages

  • 10% increase of page views quarter over quarter post launch