The Story Behind the Audit
In the health and supplements sector, trust is the primary converter. Customers need to feel safe, informed, and confident before adding a product to their cart. Norsan, a respected brand specialising in high-quality Omega-3 supplements, was facing a critical disconnect: their products were trusted, but their digital store was failing them.
Despite a strong brand reputation, their French website was experiencing significant slowdowns, a sky-high cart abandonment rate, and a worrying trend: customers were bypassing the website entirely to place orders over the phone. This wasn’t just a technical glitch; it was a signal that the online user experience was creating too much friction for people trying to make healthy choices. They needed more than a quick fix; they needed a deep diagnostic and a clear path forward.
The Challenge
Why were customers abandoning their carts and calling instead?
The stakes were high. Every abandoned cart represented a loss of revenue and, more importantly, a break in the customer journey.
- The Performance Barrier: The site was suffering from critical loading speeds. In e-commerce, every second of delay directly correlates to lost sales.
- The Trust Gap: Users were encountering confusion in the checkout flow and inconsistencies in the visual identity, leading to hesitation. If a health site feels "broken," users question the quality of the products inside.
- The Accessibility Issue: A significant portion of their audience (often older or health-conscious demographics) found the interface difficult to navigate, violating basic accessibility standards.
- The Data Blindspot: The team knew something was wrong (high call volume, low conversions), but they lacked a structured, evidence-based diagnosis to pinpoint exactly where the leaks were.
The goal was to uncover the root causes of this friction and provide a strategic roadmap to transform the website from a barrier into a seamless sales channel.
Our Approach & Methodology
Our approach was forensic and collaborative. We didn’t just guess; we used data and empathy to find the truth, working as an extension of the Norsan team.
1. Deep-Dive Discovery & Alignment
We started with a collaborative workshop to align on business goals and user expectations. Our team reviewed their brand guidelines and analysed their current analytics (Google Analytics, Search Console) to establish a baseline. This ensured our audit wasn’t just about "pretty design," but about solving specific business problems.
2. The Forensic Audit (Usability, Speed & Accessibility)
We conducted a comprehensive analysis using tools like Google Lighthouse and Semrush, combined with manual heuristic evaluation.
- Performance: We identified critical bottlenecks causing slow load times.
- Journey Mapping: We traced the user path from landing page to checkout, pinpointing exactly where users were dropping off.
- Accessibility Check: We audited the site against WCAG standards, ensuring it was usable for everyone, regardless of ability.
- Brand Consistency: We highlighted discrepancies between their premium product positioning and the actual visual experience.
3. Transparent Collaboration via Notion
Transparency was key to our partnership. We set up a dedicated Notion workspace where Norsan could follow the audit’s progress in real-time. This allowed for continuous feedback and ensured the client felt involved, not just "audited." It created a single source of truth for both teams.
4. From Diagnosis to Solution
An audit is useless without action. We delivered a bilingual (FR/EN) detailed report that didn’t just list problems but prioritised them by impact. Crucially, we didn’t stop at theory: our design team created a high-fidelity homepage mockup in Figma. This visual prototype demonstrated exactly how to implement the recommendations, showcasing a faster, clearer, and more trustworthy interface.
The Real-World Impact
This project provided Norsan with the clarity and confidence to overhaul their digital presence.
- Root Causes Identified: We moved from vague feelings of "the site feels slow" to specific, actionable technical and design fixes that directly address the abandonment rate.
- A Clear Roadmap: The bilingual report gave the development team a prioritised list of "quick wins" and long-term improvements, removing ambiguity from the redevelopment process.
- Visual Proof of Concept: The new homepage mockup served as a north star, showing stakeholders exactly what a high-converting, accessible experience looks like for their brand.
- Restored Trust: By addressing accessibility and performance, the proposed solutions pave the way for a site that feels as reliable and premium as the supplements they sell.
- Reduced Support Load: Implementing these changes is expected to significantly reduce the volume of support calls and emails, as customers will finally be able to complete their journeys independently.
The Result: Norsan now has a strategic blueprint to transform their e-commerce performance. We turned vague frustrations into clear data, and complex problems into a designed solution. The path is clear: a faster, accessible, and trustworthy website that lets their products speak for themselves.