Rugs USA Site Navigation
Leading the revamp of Rugs USA's site navigation, I managed the project from benchmarking through to QA, integrating a highly customizable headless CMS via Contentful. This redesign, encompassing user research, wireframes, prototyping, and CMS data modeling, significantly empowered our marketing team. It enabled swift, independent updates for desktop and mobile, including localized versions for different markets like Canada.
The new system allows real-time adjustments to reflect trends, deals, and new releases with minimal developer input, boosting our conversion rates (CVR). My comprehensive approach ensured a seamless UI/UX across platforms, with flexibility in design elements like categories and banners, aligning our site more closely with dynamic marketing strategies and user preferences.
ROLE
UX/UI Designer & Researcher
Product Manager
CMS Architect
TIMELINE
3 Months
TOOLS
Figma, FigJam, Jira, Contentful, Miro
GOALS
Marketing Team Empowerment: Create a flexible, customizable navigation system for desktop and mobile, including market-specific localization, enabling the marketing team to tailor content effectively.
Enhanced User Experience: Improve the site's usability and responsiveness to market trends to increase user engagement and drive higher conversion rates.
Rapid Marketing Updates: Allow the marketing team to swiftly update site navigation and content with minimal developer involvement, reflecting promotions and trends more dynamically.
Optimized Content Management: Leverage Contentful's headless CMS for enhanced control over site content, facilitating efficient management of banners, structure, and campaigns.
User Research
In the user research phase of the Rugs USA site navigation redesign, a significant emphasis was placed on understanding the multifaceted needs of both our external customers and key internal stakeholders, especially in terms of CMS requirements for the marketing team. My role entailed conducting extensive interviews with various department heads to grasp their unique challenges and expectations. This internal stakeholder feedback was pivotal in shaping the CMS functionality that would directly impact our marketing dynamics. In parallel, I engaged with our customer base through surveys, interviews, and usability tests to delve into their experiences with our current site navigation. This dual approach allowed me to gather a comprehensive set of data, blending internal operational needs with external user preferences. It was a balancing act of aligning the technical aspects of the CMS with the intuitive user interface desired by our customers, ensuring that the final design would not only enhance the user experience but also streamline marketing operations and content management.
OVERVIEW
15 Customer Feedback Sessions
30 Minutes Each
6 Internal Stakeholder Sessions
60 Minutes Each
GOALS
Thoroughly understand the requirements and expectations of different departments, especially the marketing team, for the CMS.
Identify user preferences and pain points in site navigation.
OUTCOMES
Identified stakeholder requirements for the CMS, including subcategory levels, image/title controls, and separate mobile/desktop navigation systems.
From user feedback, pinpointed UI/UX enhancements like a 'view all' button for each category.
CMS and UX/UI Documentation: Streamlining Development to Marketing Handover
In the Rugs USA site navigation project, creating detailed documentation was essential, serving as a crucial tool for both the development and marketing teams. This documentation was designed to ensure clear understanding and ease of transition in managing the CMS, bridging the gap between technical development and practical application.
For the development team, the documentation included comprehensive technical specifications for each aspect of the navigation system, providing a clear and structured guide for implementation. Simultaneously, I developed visual documentation to elucidate how each navigation element functions and the effects of data entry. This visual guide was instrumental in making the system's operations intuitive, especially for the marketing team, who would ultimately manage the CMS.
The project's final phase involved a detailed training session for the marketing team, followed by a recap document of the session. This approach ensured that the marketing team was not only equipped to take over the CMS but also had a reference document for any future needs. This meticulous documentation process guaranteed that every team member, regardless of technical background, could understand and manage the system effectively, ensuring continuity and efficiency in the site's navigation and content management.
Category Component
Wireframe Evolution
Initial Wireframe
Post User Test Wireframe
Current Site