Website Redesign Usability

OVerview

• Managed usability testing for $1M redesign of an ecommerce website

• Trained junior researchers in usability testing and interviewing best practices

• Worked with leadership, consultants, and project managers to ideate solutions

When a prototype for a $1M website redesign project was ready for user feedback, I was asked to join a the project to manage a team of junior researchers through conducting and analyzing two rounds of usability testing. The company had tried to redesign the website, especially the overloaded and outdated navigation system, several times in the past. The goal of the project was to modernize the website, both in terms of brand feel and information architecture. My team collaborated with project managers, design contractors, and leadership to iterate on the design in workshops. With these stakeholders, my team improved the accessibility, navigation, and visual aesthetic of a ecommerce website that received 2.46 M visits in March 2024.

Method

The website in question was complicated by needing to serve four distinct user groups with very different goals. Although most products are able to be purchased on the website, some specialized products could only be purchased through local authorized dealers, so the website and navigation had to account for both the consumer user who wants to buy something today with the professional who is looking for technical specifications about a product they may or may not already have. I was asked to partner with an an outside design consultancy to evaluate usability, brand alignment, and user acceptance of redesign. This project was run in four phases:

1. Usability Testing  (n = 25)

2. Workshop

3. Usability Testing (n = 15)

4. Workshop

Initially, the design consultancy wrote a test plan with our feedback, and my team stepped in to run and analyze the interviews. For the second round, I developed a similar plan to receive feedback on the changes that came from the workshops. We developed a procedure that would test whether or not users could find key information about products as well as purchase products they were interested in, based on use case. The information lived on the pages the design team was most interested in receiving feedback on:

• Homepage

• Category Page (i.e. Podcasting, Performing, Audio Professional)

• All Products Page

• Product Page

For both interview phases, my team of 3 researchers facilitated 60 minute moderated sessions where participants were compensated between $75-150. Workshops were 1.5-2 hour sessions that reviewed research findings then moved into design solution ideation.

Flexibility

Although I always aim to incorporate best practices into my research plans, sometimes the realities of a company require more flexibility. I was instructed by senior leadership to not provide recommendations, because this team wanted to have ownership over any changes. Although I did not agree with the approach, I understood that our team had business constraints that required a faster route to a navigation. I developed and implemented workshops to help this team to iterate upon the existing navigation and tested the changes in Round 2.

I also worked with the team to increase speed & efficiency of second round. We completed the second round of research two weeks faster than the first week when I implemented the following changes:

• Fewer Interviews: Certain user groups had similar mental models, and those groups could be combined to save time & resources

• Process Tweaks: I write research plans very quickly, so with the team’s approval, I generated the phase 2 research plan and solicited feedback from the design consultancy

• Collaborative Approaches: Although card sorting and tree testing would have been ideal for developing a new navigation, a workshop approach allowed us to improve upon what we knew in a limited time frame

Results & Impact

This research helped the team better understand customers and update the designs of the website to better serve the variety of visitors they receive. Below is an overview of the key findings and changes implemented as a result of phases 1 & 2 of usability research.

Key FINDINGS

• Users didn’t scroll until prompted 

• Users didn’t know they could purchase products on website

• Users confused by navigation

Workshop Changes

• Added scroll cues

• Clarified design system: ecommerce vs. informational 

• Co-created a navigation aligned with business objectives and user feedback