Redesigning a Retail & Renovations Website — UX Case Study

Problem Statement

Local construction firms rely on word of mouth and referrals to gain clients, lacking a strong online presence. Mattbeth is a Renovations and construction firm situated in Miami, Florida.

This project aims to redesign their website to improve the company’s online presence and enhance customer support, in order to increase sales and better connect with customers.

My Role

UX Designer.

My Process

Research

In our initial meeting, we discussed the client’s business requirements and goals, which provided me with insight into how much of their brand identity they were hoping to preserve. We were able to gather some feedback and testimonials from their existing customer base, which helped us make some important decisions.

Understanding User Needs

• A user-friendly and visually appealing website design.
• Clear and detailed product information and descriptions.
• Easy and secure online payment options.
• A reliable and responsive customer support team.
• Access to customer reviews and ratings to help inform purchasing decisions.

Analyzing Business objectives

• Improving the overall customer experience on the website.
• Increasing website traffic and engagement.
• Expanding the company’s reach and customer base.
• Improving search engine rankings and visibility.
• Enhancing the company’s reputation and brand image.
• Providing an efficient and user-friendly platform for online sales and transactions.

Analysis

I compiled all the information into a list of user pain points that I would focus on during this project following Initial Research. Afterward, I focused on filtering these pain points into Actionable problems so that I could start brainstorming solutions for each of them.

Identifying Key User Pain Points.

• Locating information about the business, such as its location, contact information, and services, is difficult.
• Customers are unable to access online reviews and ratings, which can provide valuable insight into the experience of others.
• Making appointments or reservations online is difficult, leading to inconvenience and potential missed opportunities.
• Poor communication and customer experience due to difficulty reaching out for customer support, feedback, or complaints.
• Online payment options are limited, making it difficult for users to pay quickly and easily.

HMW statements

• How might we improve the user experience of the business’s website or online platform?
• How might we make it easy for users to find information about the business, such as their location, contact details, and services offered?
• How might we provide users with access to online reviews and ratings to help them make informed decisions about the business?
• How might we make it easy for users to book appointments or make reservations online, without causing inconvenience or missed opportunities?
• How might we make it easy for users to contact the business and ask questions or clarify information?
• How might we improve communication and customer support to enhance the customer experience and address any feedback or complaints?

Design Strategies to Help Solve the identified problems

Each of my actionable pain points pointed me toward designing a more intuitive design for each of these sections which not only looked appealing but also felt effortless to use. Based on the current version of the website and a short competitive analysis, I gathered inspiration and UI requirements.

User Personas

User Journey Map

Information Architecture

Visual Design

After Brainstorming, I sketched out ideas, created wireframes, and evaluated each design solution against each other using criteria like feasibility, impact, and alignment with business goals. After selecting the most promising design solution, I developed detailed specifications for each section.

Wireframes

Design System

High-Fidelity Design

Live Prototype

Iterations and Developer Hand-off

I made iterations to the designs based on the client's feedback and expectations and handed off the designs to the development team after their satisfaction with the designs.

During the design hand-off, I shared a detailed Document that included a guide to the design made, the functional requirements along with the visual assets, and wireframes to the finalized design.

We also discussed guidelines to ensure consistency, shared documented design system and gave access to all the project files to ensure smooth collaboration.

Conclusion

This was a project made for a Retail and Renovation firm in Miami, FL.
This project was a great learning opportunity for me. This was the first time that I was dealing with a user base in the Construction industry.

Most Retail websites are directed towards generating sales and in the process, the customer experience is overlooked vastly, so integrating both business and user-centric goals into the user interface was a challenge as well as a fun process.

Challenges

• My biggest challenge was to work with limited data. Since I could not get in direct contact with the target audience, interview them, or conduct surveys in that region, due to demographic limitations.
• There was often a conflict between user needs and business requirements that made it challenging to balance both.
• In addition, I faced the challenge of delivering a new experience to the user while preserving the previous brand identity, since both themes weren’t identical.

Future Scope

Due to time and resource limitations, we weren’t able to implement every new feature that was discussed. These are some of the features that could be implemented on the website.

• Using Chatbots to help guide the user in whatever they need.
• Allow users to schedule appointments right through the portal.
• Planning and estimation tool that would help customers plan a budget for their renovations.
• Integration with Social Media platforms.
• A blog section with engaging content about renovations and design.

🥳Thank you for reading! I hope you find this intuitive and resourceful
🗨️I would appreciate your feedback, Drop your thoughts in the comments!