Guiding Scouts through Clarity and Usability:
UX Content Design for Scouting America Web Experience
Client Scouting America
A national non-profit on a mission to empower young people through values-based leadership training.
Role UX Content Designer
Timeline September - October 2025
Team UX Content Designer on a cross-functional team with Project Manager and Web Developers.
Scope of Work
Scouting America’s website serves more than 1 million youth members across the country. The organization wanted to make the process of completing and tracking award requirements more intuitive and engaging for young Scouts.
I was hired to audit existing content and craft new copy and user flows that improved usability, reduced cognitive load, and helped Scouts clearly understand how to achieve each requirement for a merit badge.
Lead content strategy for 10+ webpages, restructuring information architecture to ensure intuitive navigation and adherence to UX best practices for an audience of 1 million+ Scouts ages 11-18.
Deliver audit of website blueprint and user flows, producing actionable recommendations that improve usability and consistency across digital products for thousands of Boys and Girls Scouts nationwide
Produce dev-ready UX copy (menus, CTAs, notifications) that increased clarity, accessibility, and engagement across desktop experiences
UX Content Design for Scouting America
Before.
Family Merit Badge Awards Web Page
The Challenge Scouts and their counselors were finding it difficult to navigate the award requirements online, and did not understand how to earn a merit badge.
Many users were unable to determine which steps were mandatory, which were optional, or even where to begin.
The exisiting pages were text heavy and inconsistent in tone and structure.
/User and Stakeholder Pain Points/
☒ Outdated design and copy
☒Unorganized informational architecture and design
☒ Inconsistent user journey and brand voice
This led to:
☒ Drop-off during award progress
☒ Confusion around completion status
/Objectives/
Increase comprehension and completion for award requirements through clearer and structured content design.
☐ Review current website blueprint and content/user flows
☐ Provide recommendations on improving: user flows, UX copy, activities outlined across desktop, mobile, and app
☐ Organize and structure content to ensure a seamless and intuitive user experience
☐ Write updated UX copy, including buttons, menus, descriptions and notifications as needed
☐ Ensure content is clear, concise, and accessible, improving usability across digital products
Process.
Family Merit Badge Awards Web Pages
1. User Research & Content Audit.
I began with Scouting America user research which identified:
Majority of users stated there was too much text
Users preferred a more accessible font
User engagement disrupted by too much video content
Users range from ages 11-18, with majority of users being ages 12-16
I led a content audit, noting patterns in user pain points.
Key insights included:
Dense paragraphs/walls of text obscured key information
No copy existing differentiating which actions were required vs. optional
Video content and Scout activities were not introduced. Ie. Scouts were unlikely to navigate webpage with knowledge of what would come next in the user flow
Redundant copy appeared across multiple steps
Brand Tone & Voice.
Scouting America’s aims to be “relatable but appropriate.”
3. Write Copy.
3. Writing Copy.
2. Methodology & Information Hierarchy.
I led content strategy by developing the user journey:
I Identified a content flow that would clearly guide young users through completing each award requirement and minimize drop off.
Content Hierarchy Framework.
I developed a content hierarchy framework that grouped tasks by completion type.
Required steps are clearly labeled to be easily identifiable
Suggested activities are presented as optional but engaging
Included consistency in headers in style guide. Headers title case, sub headers sentence case
End of section reflection were adapted to final quizzes to increase engagement opportunity
Wrote captions for screen reader labels to increase accessibility and implemented mobile optimization
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User Journey.
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I rewrote the award requirement copy using:
Age appropriate language (ages 11-18, with majority of users 12-16) keeping consistent the brand voice of “relatable, but appropriate”
Clear action verbs to guide next steps and to create interactiveness (ie. Create, Do, Think About, Check Out, Share)
Headings, sub headers, bullet points, tool tips, and progressive disclosure to improve scannability
Gamification to increase user engagement, motivation, and participation
Greatly reduced copy across all paragraphs, limited to key information user needd to increase understanding of key topics
Short active sentences
4. Collaboration & Testing.
I worked closely with the project manager and web developers to refine page templates and ensure that the new structure worked responsively across devices and with accessibility needs.
They conducted internal usability reviews, gathering feedback on usability and clarity.
Results.
Family Merit Badge Awards Web Content
Impact.
Clearer information hierarchy enables Scouts to readily identify next steps and required steps
Concise copy improves scannability and comprehension for Scouts
Clear headlines that indicate user benefits
Consistent style guidelines: ie. all headers title case, sub headers sentence case. Consistent brand voice; relatable but appropriate
Award requirement flows that set the standard for organization-wide consistency across the digital platform
User survey and platform metrics showed:
Scout drop off rate reduced by 83%
92% of users indicated that copy was clear and informative
93% of users knew what information to anticipate
90% of users indicated reduced cognitive load
/Objectives/
☑ Review current website blueprint and content/user flows
☑ Provide recommendations on improving: user flows, UX copy, activities outlined across desktop, mobile, and app
☑ Organize and structure content to ensure a seamless and intuitive user experience
☑ Write updated UX copy, including buttons, menus, descriptions and notifications as needed
☑ Ensure content is clear, concise, and accessible, improving usability across digital products