Though TACO Desk was intended to be an easy point of access, the original website wasn’t serving its audience. 

Users ran into several obstacles:

Unclear direction: Visitors weren’t sure what to do or click after landing, causing high drop-off and low interaction with the question submission flow.

Disjointed branding: The site was a default Zendesk template, making it feel disconnected from a University of Texas entity,  TACO’s identity.

Lack of clarity: Many users left asking, “What is this site even for?”. Users didn’t want to submit questions because they didn’t know what kind of questions to ask. Those who did submit often asked about how to apply to UT’s engineering school. Although we are always welcoming of new and prospective longhorns 🤘 this isn’t meant to be an application help hub. 

Intimidating topic: The word “nuclear” created a barrier. The general public knows little about the topic outside of Chernobyl and the Simpsons. The content felt too complex and unapproachable.

These issues limited the site’s ability to inform and engage its audience.