Cider Expert
The challenge was to re-design the desktop website ciderexpert.com and make it responsive for mobile. Owner David Sielaff originally asked for a native mobile app for his users in the hopes that it would drive user engagement. However, we decided to complete a re-design of his existing site to make both desktop and mobile experiences coherent. Driving user engagement is really important because the site relies on user generated content. Photos and information for each cider are provided by the users themselves.
Aspects considered
- Discover how existing users interact with the site
- Find the barriers keeping non-active users from engaging
- Re-design and streamline current primary processes: rating & reviewing
- Optimize site for mobile
- Create UI that is fun, entertaining and engaging
My role
This was a group project with 3 other UX designers. We all were active in the UX process from start to finish. However, these are the areas in which I had a primary role: client liason & group point person, creating scenarios, developing our persona, desktop layout & design, hi-fidelity visual treatments, usability testing and desktop site spec docs.
I started with examining how current users interact with the current design.
Interview findings
- The site is most useful for researching ciders that are already available to the user
- For general research, new ciders found via the website are helpful only if they are available to the user
- The taste properties are helpful
- There is a high barrier to engagement and more incentive is needed
- People would like to see a more streamlined and visually appealing site
