Redesigning a website as a team: big lessons learned
When you are talking about designing an experience based on users needs and expectations, you feel like you are doing the right thing, you don’t feel like you will fail, but yes, you will. This is the story of our 2nd week on UX & UI Ironhack’s remote-Bootcamp.
Briefing & Problems to solve
As objective we had to redesign an already existing website, an online-bookstore, of course, everyone chose the website that was more challenging.
We choose ours for its “possibility to change”. In addition, we found, by talking with the owner, that it was a drop-shipping bookstore with the ability to have almost whichever book.
The problems consisted of general visual chaos, poor hierarchy, strange organisation of information, chaotic search filters and the feeling of insecurity when buying a book.
👤 As users, we chose book lovers, technical book readers, casual readers, and users who, while not readers, buy books as a gift for friends and family.
Research & Ideation
We got a great number of surveys and interviews. We analysed all the data and details of everyone focusing on the patrons and similarities between users’ responses.
📚 The extract of that was that users wanted to buy a book by an easy, quick and safe process (94,9% of our surveyed bought at least one book in an online library last month), plus the possibility to always find what they were looking for, as an experimented user and as a user who will just buy a couple of times (51% of our surveyed buy books on the recommendation of relatives and 29.2% due to the influence of social networks and blogs) or even just one time (97% of our interviewees received their last book from a family member or friend).
Prototyping
Our proposal to improve the web consisted of providing the filters most used by users according to surveys. A predominance of “new in” and recommendations. To include the Blog on the header prioritising in the prototype and a clear product selection (that the variety of stock was evident). Also, to renovate the purchase process, making it more agile and safe. All these ideas were the result of the most important criteria regarding the use of an online-bookstore (that our respondents and interviewees answered) and the all-four interpretation.
Presentation
The detailed feedback after the presentation banished my first conceptions (designing based on user input and data is a solid foundation). We learned that a solid-prototype-base needs more than only data, you will need experience, failure and error, more tests and, of course, feedback from others.
After Feedback
After receiving that valuable information, we proceeded to make the following changes in the prototype:
✅ We change the filters to just one main search filter (in the left of the website).
✅ We included the data of the books (title, author, price …) under the image of the book.
✅ We made the pop up much larger; maintaining the consistency: “if you start with a pop up you end with a pop up”.
✅ We put in, number of stars, the number of user ratings and not just the overall rating.
✅ We changed the mistakes in the icons (such as the check-in the shopping cart).
✅ On the payment screen and shopping cart, we filled the user data to make the user flow clearer.
And, personally, the following changes to my perception:
My new rules
· Get rid of everything that does not work for users and business. Even if the data, the users themselves and the market back the design.
· Put the same passion when you create that when you destroy. Once the prototype is finished, it’s time to spend the same time criticising it, removing what is left and being honest with what is missing.
· Love your designs like your “summer love”, intensely but for a short time, never forgetting but always moving on.
Conclusions (reflections)
It´s easier to get rid of “business obstacles” if a process is not working, you just stop and start a new one that works and makes a profit. However, when you are talking about designing an experience based on users needs and expectations, you feel like you are doing the right thing, you don’t feel like you will fail, but yes, you will.
Ok, maybe you are just the opposite, it´s easy for you to get rid of the designs and you get kinda picky about changing the business process. Don’t worry, the falling rule (-not failing- because you are not really failing, you are just falling a little) will be applied to both cases. Cool, right? 🧑🏻🎤 Knowing this, will help you when you feel hurt and when you would like to see the huge horizon of possibilities and ways to prove yourself as a team member and as an individual designer.
Thank you very much for reading!
