Challenge
A content architecture overhaul for a global pharmaceutical client
Design + content systems, content governance, information architecture
Business Need
The client's site navigation was inconsistent, with information often buried under sub tabs with large amounts of repeated content scattered across multiple sections, creating a confusing, repetitive experience for users trying to find what they needed.
Proposed Outcome
Streamline the site's content architecture for better UX, focusing on specific user journeys when designing flows so specific user sets could find what they needed faster without getting lost among repetitive pages.
Context
- 42 sub-navigation menus existed across the site, many leading to duplicate or near-duplicate content
- Three distinct user types: job seekers, investors, and doctors. All needed very specific paths through the same site
- Needed a structure that could hold up against industry standards while still serving this client's specific user journeys
- No competitive benchmark existed for how peer pharma companies structured their navigation
- Desktop was the primary focus, with mobile layouts reviewed and incorporated throughout to ensure consistency across devices
Solution
A research-backed content architecture overhaul built around real user journeys and competitive benchmarking across the 10 largest pharma companies.
Built it by:
- Conducting a competitive audit of the top 10 pharma websites, presented directly to the client's marketing team, to establish industry standards for navigation structure and content hierarchy
- Collaborating with Monigle's brand team to develop three user journeys mapping what each user type (job seeker, investor, doctor) would be thinking and feeling, what actions they'd want to take, and what their next step would be at each stage
- Building a visual content architecture document from scratch — a structured table mapping all proposed navigation sections and subsections — to give the client and design team a clear, actionable picture of the new site structure
- Iterating on wireframes with the lead designer to ensure new layouts matched the proposed sitemap and served each user journey
- Collaborating with the lead designer on menu behavior across desktop and mobile, making decisions on how the navigation would function at each breakpoint
- Condensing the overall content architecture, reducing sub-navigation menus and removing repeated content pages
Outcome
- Sub-navigation menu items reduced from 42 total items to 19
- New navigation and sitemap approved by client leadership
- Competitive audit research was used by the client's marketing team beyond the navigation project — informing page content and broader marketing decisions
- User flows required significantly fewer steps, reducing time to find information and bounce rate on duplicative pages
- Site traffic increased 39.96% in the three months after launch
What I'd Revisit
The user journeys for this project were provided by the client rather than derived from actual site data, and the new architecture launched without prior user testing. If revisiting, I'd draft user journeys directly from site analytics and use time-on-page data to determine how much content each page actually needs — using real behavior to simplify further rather than relying on assumed journeys.
By the numbers
42 > 19
Number of sub-navigation tabs before and after redesign
39.96%
Traffic increase over a three month after new site launched
