My analysis is of the well-known La Leche League International website, and suggestions for improvement.
As a user of the LLLI.org site, and a breastfeeding veteran, I am a fan of the organization, the website, the LLL publications, and the public forum on the site. Many long nights have been spent on the website and the advice and information obtained therein helped get me and my daughter through some very challenging nursing challenges. Without this organization and the website, we would not have completed a year and 2 months of breastfeeding. My daughter never had a drop of formula, and my family owes a debt of gratitude to La Leche League’s website for this great start to my little girl’s life.
It has been a pleasure to review La Leche League International’s website and I offer the following observations and suggestions for further improvement, so even more mothers and babies can benefit from a successful breastfeeding relationship.
About the Mission of the Site:
According to La Leche League’s “About Us” page (http://www.llli.org/ab.html?m=1): “Our Mission is to help mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information, and education, and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and mother.”
This statement is a very succinct and accurate measure of what the website offers at this time. These goals encompass a large amount of information, so expansion is not really advised. It is important to maintain a focused area of expertise while leaving the door open enough to include as much helpful information as possible.
The Home Page and Design Throughout the Site:
Because this is an international website, there are many navigation options available on the home page. La Leche website techies have done a great job keeping the home page simple and allowing the user various, easy-to-find language choices. These links lead to the chosen version of the website appropriate for the user. The main page actually looks a bit stark, though. A few nice graphics play inter-changeably on the page, and there are some graphics and links located along the right-hand side. Instead of cognitive overload, this page appears a little lacking on first visit, and could better showcase the information contained within.
Adding a more “current” color scheme (changed from peaches to bright greens) recently has helped, but I would suggest also condensing the material on the front page to avoid so much blank space. Perhaps a subtle yet colorful background would help make the home page a little more interesting. Additionally, a professional photographer would be a great investment, and could provide thematic, quality photos of “real “La Leche League mothers and babies in various settings and situations for which the website advocates, such as breastfeeding various ages of babies, consultation of a lactation consultant, proper latch images, pumping, various feeding positions, storing breast milk, public nursing, etc. These would not only add to the beauty of the website throughout all pages, but could be used as supplements to instructional materials.
When choosing a language version of the site from the homepage, the visitor is taken to a text-based page with a list of resources and links. This is great for someone looking for specific information, but it doesn’t draw the casual browser into the “guts” of the site. Adding more color, graphics, and visual interest to these pages may be a key to increased site usage.
Mothers who are already sleep-deprived and in need of quick information may have a difficult time navigating the site. Topics are numerous, and some things are not readily apparent to the searcher. Re-organization of the material should be considered.
It is easy to see links at the top of the page referring to community links, such as forums and how to become a community leader (or a breastfeeding consultant). But the home page may further improve this sense of community with a La Leche League social media feed such as Facebook or Twitter. These are widely used platforms in which people of many cultures enjoy and participate. On deeper pages of the site, LLLI may include links to other platforms such as Pinterest and YouTube, or appropriate social media platforms for the language of choice (ex., China has banned Facebook).
There is a donation button there on the home page, but it’s not very noticeable, as it’s so small and overshadowed by the graphics above. The other problem is that the seasonal shopping guide is about six months behind. It says “summer” and it is now winter (at least here in Ohio)!
The Home page is also pretty good at identifying what’s available on the website, but I would not know to look for law information under resources. This may be better listed separately.
The tone of the website is friendly and welcoming, yet serious, using a third-person perspective (with articles), and establishing a feeling of authenticity and authority. Evidence-based information is presented with citations. An exception to this would be in the forums and the Marketplace (affiliate ads), and store (LLL’s products). It should be noted that “Marketplace” and “Store” may seem like the same thing to unfamiliar users of the site. “Marketplace” would better be named “Sponsors,” because it’s misleading (or a marketing ploy?).
As mentioned previously, the site has two large distinctive portions: The Resources section and the Forums. While the Resources page is very focused on providing expert advice and evidence-based information that is updated infrequently, the Forums are more laid-back with mothers (and others such as lactation consultants) sharing stories, advice, asking questions, and supporting one another on their journeys, in a nearly real-time manner. This does not discredit the site in any way. In fact, it seems to be a popular gathering place for those looking for anecdotal information and real-life advice or support in addition to the scholarly information contained in the depths of the site. It is a compliment to the “expert” nature of the site.
The Audience:
The expected target audience is expectant mothers and those who are breastfeeding babies. However, as a user of the site, I can say that there are some other types who make their way into the community forums. Here are several “others” that I have witnessed there.
• Healthcare and Birth Professionals: More and more frequently, I see doulas, lactation consultants, and midwives participating in the forums. Many of us have noticed the lack of traditional healthcare providers such as mainstream OB/GYN physicians and OB nurses. (This is an area which could be cultivated with more informational links on the home page).
• Friends and family (support people) of nursing mothers. These are sometimes grandmothers of new babies, close friends, and even husbands or partners of new moms who wish to help a loved one sort out nursing issues.
• Lobbyists: Those trying to prevent or push breastfeeding legislation.
• Media: Anyone reporting positive or negative news about breastfeeding, on or off-line.
• Children: Curious children who stumble onto the site.
• Attention-Seekers: People with false identities posting disturbing stories or questions on the forums.
• Perverts: People seeking pornographic material or wanting sexual encounters.
These unexpected participants are a concern and should not be ignored. Administrators of the site should be on the lookout for anyone with undesirable or inappropriate participation, and ban them if necessary. Publicly available information should continue to be well-supported and referenced with links to scholarly materials, to support the ideas espoused by La Leche League.
It is concerning that LLLI’s “Abstracts” link is buried under a third-level of navigation. I would suggest moving their evidence-based informational links to research studies to the very front page, so it’s easy to find and showcases LLLI’s commitment to providing accurate, evidence-based information. This information is valuable to just about everyone who visits the site, and placing it “front-and-center” establishes LLLI’s reputation as a reliable source of accurate information.
Another concern is the media. The site could include a Press Kit with basic information about LLLI, and links to information that would encourage media to cover LLLI and the breastfeeding movement in a positive light. There is a Press Release area, but it is buried under the “help” section and would not be an apparent place for media to find this information. Perhaps a “News” link on the homepage would take care of this issue.
About the Information Contained Within the Site:
This website is a commercial content website with hierarchical menus (Garrand, 2006, pp. 165-166, 183).
The writing style and presentation of the website varies with the information presented. The “Answer Pages” are more formal presentations of resource material for nursing mothers. The “Mother-to-Mother” forums are very casual and the content there is written by community members, categorized by category form boxes. In the “Resources” area, there are links to scholarly research articles.
Answer Pages:
These pages contain a huge amount of information and are divided into categories down the page. Clicking on one category takes you to a page where the following divisions of information may found: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), PDF Tearsheets from The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, Articles from New Beginnings, (a bimonthly publication of LLL USA), articles from Leaven, (their publication for leaders), articles from Breastfeeding Abstracts, (their research-based publication), and podcasts (audio files). Since all of this content comes from professional publications of the organization, it is well written. The FAQ section is also easy to understand and well-written. The only issue is that it is difficult to find information because there are so many topics and subtopics with the publication with which it is associated. Perhaps a better way of organizing this material would be to only organize it by topic, regardless of the source, and just note the source somewhere in the article link.
Mother-to-Mother:
This is a traditional style forum with discussion topics listed on the main page and clickable interactive forum threads. This portion of the website is well-used, but fails to offer a specific topic search tool, which can be quite annoying when searching through so much information for one particular discussion thread.
Since the site encourages “mother-to-mother support,” La Leche League must strive to maintain this focus and showcase it. The site is interactive in the forum area, and is easy to find. However, this particular feature could be showcased on the home page, not only to add a little visual appeal, but to draw mothers into the community immediately upon visiting the page. Engagement and participation will keep visitors returning over and over.
We also must remember: breastfeeding remains a “controversial” issue; more in some places of the world than others. Even when the website is used for its intended purposes, mothers can be quite judgmental and hard on one-another’s methods and choices. Breastfeeding is a very personal experience, and no two nursing relationships are alike. Therefore, rules and guidelines must be established and upheld in the LLLI forums.
Further, there are many acronyms used in forums. When I was a new mother, not only did I have to learn to overcome my breastfeeding challenges, but I had to learn all the acronyms to understand the advice people were giving in the forums.
Political-correctness is a huge issue in the breastfeeding world. For example: One major hang-up is the “Breast is Best” motto. While we do believe breast milk is, in most cases, the healthiest option for a newborn, saying this on any forum, despite good intentions, can bring a barrage of shaming. It doesn’t sound so bad to the outsider, but nursing evangelists take issue with the phrase. Attacking a newcomer for their unawareness of this hot-button isn’t attractive and doesn’t lend to the sense of community.
Resources Area:
This area of the site provides links to the above-mentioned sources, plus links to find lactation consultants, information and resources for care providers, legal information, and more miscellaneous links to other sites LLL feels may be helpful for those seeking information. There is some redundancy on several of these pages, which both overwhelms, but also offers a second chance to find the information if the searcher was overwhelmed by a previous page (which is possible).
As stated previously, there are various forms of information provided on the website, and written by numerous contributors. The presentation of the information in the forums community or in Frequently Asked Questions answers cannot always be controlled and may not lend to or detract from the organization’s reputation because most users realize that non-professionals are participating.
A further suggestion, which would a compliment to the site, would be a LLLI blog. The initial blog would best be presented in English, as it’s such a widely spoken language, but other languages could be added over time. The reason a blog is ideal is because this could be an alternative to the “News” section previously suggested as a link on the website. Additionally, blogs have the benefit of increased engagement of users, who will share articles, and even comment on them. This draws people into the LLI community. Additionally, creating new content (instead of reproducing already-published content) adds to Google search rankings. Anytime new, valuable content is added, with a link to the LLLI.org site, it boosts credibility in the eyes of the Google-bots. This is something to keep in mind for the future, after implementing changes on the website.
In summary, the website could use a professional overhaul and redesign. Scholarly articles and the community forum, as well as Facebook and Twitter links should be presented on the home page. A more visually-appealing design with more interesting and colorful, family-friendly graphics would be a plus. A more easily-searchable database would be a step in the right direction for desperate mothers. Making the website available to even more languages would benefit more users. La Leche League International is a great organization with many members and supporters. Organizational leaders should not take this for granted, allowing the message and the means to grow even further throughout the world- reaching more mothers and more babies.
Resources consulted for this analysis:
Garrand, T. (2006). Writing for multimedia and the web: a practical guide to content development for interactive media. Jordan Hill, Oxford, UK.
Rettberg, J.W. (2009). Blogging, digital media and society series. Polity Press, Malden, MA.
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