The problem was that users needed a way to find furniture that would fit into their décor and they wanted their choices to be easy to find on a website. Based on this problem, I came up with the following questions:

Before the changes, users had to click first on “collections” and then browse the various categories. These categories were not intuitive and some only had 1 item in them. Overall, the user felt overwhelmed when first logging on and couldn’t find any categories right away. Frustrated, the user would continue to browse the site but remain confused about how it was organized.

After doing some wireframing, I came up with a final prototype for the new site and added a new checkout flow. After the changes, users can now click directly on “chairs”, “tables”, “paintings” etc. on the landing page without having to search for specific items or browse unusual categories.

Users found that the new layout improved their browsing experience substantially and they said that they’d be more likely to shop on this site.

I created a journey map to show how the user moves through the site. When they log on, they are in a neutral zone because they haven’t tried searching for anything yet. Then I wanted to show how the user becomes frustrated when they realize that there is no good way to search for anything. They then become even more frustrated as they search for lamps but cannot find any. Finally, they may stumble across some lamps and browse as they move back into a more neutral zone again.

Conclusions:

• People want an easy browsing experience when shopping online for furniture.

• They don’t want to see unnecessary clutter. They want a simple, clean site that is easy to navigate.

• More people would shop for furniture online if the payment processing system seemed legitimate.

• It’s fine to have a hamburger menu as long as there are other ways obvious ways to browse. The hamburger menu shouldn’t be the only thing visible when first logging on to the site.

Here is the user flow after the changes were made to the site:

Summary: Users were frustrated by the cluttered nature of the Dispela Antiques website so I redesigned it to be more browsable.

 I came across the Dispela Antiques website and noticed that it had a busy homepage and a confusing layout. It was difficult to find major categories of furniture, and in order to find anything specific you would have to put it in the search bar. So I decided to figure out a way to make the site more navigable.

I interviewed three people about how they typically buy furniture. I wanted them to explain their process. 2 out of 3 of the interviewees stated that they did not enjoy the process of buying furniture and wanted the experience to be as straightforward as possible.