Website Revamp and New Search Experience
Background
Avenza Maps allows users to download and use specialized maps for recreational activities such as hiking or off-roading, as well as for professional purposes. One of the product key features is its map store, offering thousands of maps for purchase within the app and on the product's website. After rebranding, the company conducted a product redesign with the goal of improving the user experience of its core features.
Goals
1.
Redesign the website to align with the new brand style
2.
Improve the user experience of searching and purchasing maps.
Constraits
The product targets two main groups - recreational users and professional users, each with their own needs and usage scenarios. We aimed to create a convenient interface that addresses the needs of both groups.
To maintain continuity, we were to make sure the new interface is familiar to the large audience of loyal users who are accustomed to the old interface.
While maps can be bought on the website, they can only be opened on a device. To avoid confusion, it was important to communicate this limitation before a user makes a purchase and provide clear instructions on how to get access to the maps purchased on the website.
Home Page
A significant portion of the traffic to the home page consisted of people looking for digital maps. This is why one of the key improvements we aimed to make to the home page was to increase the visibility of the search function.
Search is the key call to action on the homepage. We explored various options for its placement and functionality.
Map Store
Key design objectives for this section:
Help users find the right map
Simplify the purchasing process
Highlight the wide range of options available
Search results page with a split view provides familiar experience for searching and comparing options.
Detailed view with additional information provided by the vendor of the map.
Checkout
Checkout and confirmation pages with instructions on how to use the purchased maps.
Other Pages
Reflection & learnings
Here are the outcomes of this project:
No independent research will give the information other company members can provide. It’s important to engage stakeholders from other teams and listen to their perspectives. People who don’t influence the project directly can still provide a lot of insights about the product.
Organizing deliverables effectively is beneficial in the long run. While messy files may work at the beginning of a project when it's important to iterate quickly, they can impede progress later on by making it challenging for new team members to understand the project and navigate the files.
Some user testing is better than no user testing. It isn't rare for companies to overlook the importance of usability testing and not allocate resources for it. However, even in such situations, it is possible to conduct a basic corridor test to identify at least the most prominent issues.