Society of Behavioral Medicine
UX Strategy | UX Design | Web Accessibility | Content Design & Optimization
The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) is the nation’s leading group of multi-specialty professionals representing over 20 healthcare disciplines dedicated to improving health and quality of life through behavioral science. Since 1978, SBM has provided vital support to its members as they work towards better health outcomes for individuals, families, and communities.
Northwoods’ Data-Driven UX Design Delivers Double-Digit Traffic Increases Across Key Conversion Pages
As a longtime client of Northwoods and a member of Executive Director Incorporated (EDI, another Northwoods client), SBM first engaged us for our expertise in SEO and digital advertising. When the time came for the organization to refresh its website UX strategy and design, the team quickly turned to Northwoods based on our consistent, measurable SEO results and deep knowledge of their organization and goals.
The Situation
- SBM needed to modernize its digital strategy and address website accessibility challenges, such as improper header nesting and poor interaction clarity for users with screen readers.
- The previous website was outdated, difficult to navigate, and content-heavy, creating friction for users.
- Visitors experienced lengthy pages that required excessive scrolling, confusion about what elements of the site were clickable, and subtle, text-based CTAs that were frequently overlooked.
- SBM wanted the new site to focus on corporate, organizational, and member recruitment messaging, and provide more educational content.
The Solution
- Leveraging user testing, heatmaps, stakeholder surveys, and SEO analysis, Northwoods applied data-driven insights to guide the redesign and prioritize key conversion pathways.
- We restructured the navigation for a more intuitive experience, added breadcrumbs to help orient users, and incorporated accordions to make content more digestible.
- Our team developed mood boards, iconography styles, vector artwork, and prototypes, while adapting the existing brand color palette to meet accessible color contrast ratios.
- In close collaboration with SBM, we optimized content drafts for both search visibility and visual hierarchy, ensuring alignment with user intent and organizational priorities.
- We introduced CTAs on the high-traffic Healthy Living blog, helping to boost engagement in key conversion areas such as membership, donations, and volunteer opportunities.
Mobile Design
The mobile design for the blog prioritizes readability and visual balance to ensure this high-traffic section remains engaging and easily navigable on smaller screens. While SBM’s bold colors could easily overwhelm mobile layouts, we carefully balanced them to maintain a polished, accessible experience. Content, cards, filters, and navigation elements stack seamlessly, enabling intuitive scrolling and effortless content discovery.
“Northwoods was a true partner in our website redesign, taking the time to listen to our stakeholders and gain a deep understanding of our organization. They delivered a vibrant, professional site that connects users to key content, improving engagement and boosting SBM’s visibility.”
– Amy Myers, Senior Communications & Membership Manager, Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM)
The Outcome
- SBM’s modern, vibrant, and intuitive website provides a more accessible experience for all users, with clear, keyboard-accessible navigation, improved color contrast, and visible focus states to help ensure WCAG 2.2 Level AA compliance.
- Within the first month following launch, the new site has driven higher traffic to key conversion pages:
- Annual conference registration page traffic increased 58.3%
- Membership page traffic grew by 47.4%
- “Become a Member” page traffic increased 35.4%
- Content optimization efforts improved organic search visibility for static pages that weren’t previously ranking, along with increasing engagement – a key goal for the SBM team.
- Many new user paths were developed to drive traffic to and engagement on key pages and sections, all of which are being tracked to provide clearer insight into user behavior.
The Design
The newly designed website delivers a modern, visually engaging experience while maintaining clear navigation and usability. One of the primary redesign goals was to clarify clickable elements of the site. To accomplish this, we introduced a bold gradient purple-to-pink button style and used it strategically to help users of all abilities distinguish interactive elements. We also reduced reliance on text hyperlinks, opting for clear visual cues and structured pathways to key information.
SBM’s bright color palette plays a central role in the design. We emphasized its vibrancy while balancing it with intentional whitespace to keep the layout open, approachable, and easy to navigate. To reinforce SBM’s internal use of color across service areas and content types, we incorporated distinct color accents throughout the site. A new icon style and vector artwork further integrates the palette in a way that feels purposeful, cohesive, and on brand.
