Loanables.com is a peer-to-peer, shared economy start-up that enables users to list and/or rent household items. Loanables has existed for ten years and recently relaunched with a new website. Since the relaunch, the conversion rate has been roughly .5% - much lower than expected. Loanables approached our team to redesign the user interface to increase the conversion rate.
Role UX/UI Designer
Tools User testing, Empathy mapping
wireframes, Paper prototypes, Hi-fidelity mockups, INvision for developer handoff, Style guide.
In our initial meeting with the stakeholders, we learned that their long-range goal was to be the "Amazon" of rentals: the hub for personal and commercial rentals. They felt Craigslist was their biggest competitor locally, and Airbnb was the gold standard of the shared economy sites. They also liked Amazon and Target in terms of item display, suggested items, and search results.
Our first task was to experience the site and learn all we could about the shared economy market. Our initial interaction with the Loanables site led us to hypothesize overall trustworthiness problem.
User testing confirmed our belief. Further review of the site revealed problems with trust and usability, consistency, aesthetics, and taxonomy/information architecture. Empathy mapping and user testing combined with Google Analytics showed that users would sign up or get just to the point of signing up before leaving the site, indicating issues with the onboarding process and proving that trust was the single biggest factor in abandonment and low conversions rates.
We redesigned the information architecture to organize the flow of information for the user. This helped us tell the user how Loanables.com worked. Create a learning path so the user can learn about the business model and legal information. Back off high-pressure sign-up requests, initiate sign-up prompt closer to the check-out stage; use a familiar user experience to help the user feel comfortable.
Our mantra and our task list--
• Increase user knowledge by defining what Loanables is and how it works.
• Make the business model and legal information transparent and easy to find.
• Streamline the onboarding process and introduce it at the appropriate time.
• Address product interface layout and curate images to make the site visually inviting and organized.
The team hand-sketched different layout ideas and white-boarded user flows. We divided our workload by tasks and set out to wireframe our shared vision. We wanted to be able to show both our mobile design as well as a desktop version.
We tested both paper and PDF prototypes. Feedback was very positive with Iteration with adjustments to terminology and page progression; it seemed we had our product ready for high-fidelity mockups.
Incorporating the color palette and font already used on the site. We developed a style guide I added button styles, icons and created an element sticker sheet to be used by all the designers. I curated hero images that put the user as the participant rather than the observer.
High-Fidelity mock-ups were produced using Sketch and InVIsion with images and icons sourced from Unsplash and Shutterstock. The high-fidelity mock-up was shared with the stakeholders to pass on to their development team.
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User tests
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Google Analytics helped us Identify where users were leaving the site
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Stakeholders support
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The project as a whole was a great-great team, great client, and great response to our design solutions.
Successes
Surprises
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Assumptions in the business plan that users didn't need a process to negotiate or navigate issues with peers.
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How making key changes made such a big difference in presentation and trust.
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How long it took to fine-tune changes. The devil is in the details.
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The details are important
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Being direct but data-driven with bad news. Offset this with an olive branch to help ease the sting and show support for the stakeholders.
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A great agile team can get a lot done in a short amount of time.
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Sometimes bad things happen at presentation-- tech failures, be prepared just in case.
Take-Aways
When in doubt, test it!
At an impasse on the best solution? TEST IT!
User testing is the End All -- no arguments, no doubts.
This was a team effort, and it was fantastic to work with shared purpose and collaboration. From this project, I learned that my skills in understanding stakeholders and user’s needs are very valuable. Active listening is one of the hardest tools to learn but one of the most valuable. I found user testing and feedback indispensable when trying to discover and solve a problem.
I am pleased with our outcome and even more pleased with how happy our clients were with our work. They have since implemented many of our suggestions.