E-commerce website

The Challenge

The client sold educational products related to electronics and robotics to a diverse audience (teachers, schools/universities, students, and the general public with less knowledge in the field). Despite having a solid product catalog, the website was struggling to serve its users effectively.

Two core problems emerged:

• Poor navigation and discoverability — Users couldn’t find what they were looking for, leading to frustration and support calls to the store asking for products that were listed online.
• Missing key features — The site lacked functionality that modern e-commerce users expect, such as wishlists and clear product visualization, which was impacting engagement and conversions.

The client needed a website that could speak to multiple audiences at once, clearly communicate its full range of products and services, and convert casual visitors into buyers.

Discovery & Research

Rather than jumping straight into design, I started with a structured heuristic evaluation of the existing site, assessing it against usability principles such as visibility of system status, real-time feedback, and error prevention, including avoiding confusion or misleading the clients.

I also reviewed some customer support contacts with the store manager, real messages from users who had called or written to the store when they couldn’t find what they needed. This gave me a direct window into where the site was failing people, without needing a large research budget or timeline.

Key findings:

• The navigation structure didn’t reflect how users thought about or searched for products. This was a big issue for clients who were not skilled in electronics, who didn’t recognize some of the terminology used.
• Retired products were mixed in with active inventory, creating confusion and cluttering search results.
• The homepage didn’t clearly communicate the full range of services the client offered.
• Some common features were missing, such as a way for users to save products for later, filters that help users find better options, …

Design & Solutions

1. Restructured Navigation & Categorization

I redesigned the site’s menu and product categorization from the ground up, creating a clearer hierarchy that matched how different user groups naturally browse for educational technology. This made it significantly easier to find products without relying on search alone. I also helps users understand the broad catalog offered by the store.

2. Improved Search Functionality

I extended the site’s search feature with custom development, improving filtering and relevance so users could find specific products faster. I added synonyms and error detection to improve the results given to the clients. This directly addressed the most common friction point flagged in customer support contacts.

3. Retired Products Section

One of the more nuanced UX challenges was handling discontinued products. Simply removing them would have broken links. The store had also been positively reviewed by clients on the documentation and support, even when the product had been discontinued. It was important to keep this option for users looking for an old product or purchase. That’s why I created a dedicated “Retired Products” category with a distinct visual treatment, clearly marked as retired, but still fully accessible, also through the search bar component. This decluttered the main catalog and archives without erasing useful information.

4. Wishlist Plugin

I built a custom in-stock notifier plugin that allowed users to save products for future purchase when they weren’t available. This served two purposes: it reduced lost sales from users when stock was out, and it gave the store owner valuable data on which products generated the most interest, useful for inventory and marketing decisions, especially when working with a small storage space and budget.

5. Homepage Redesign

The original homepage didn’t communicate the client’s full offering, users didn’t understand what the business was about when arriving on the homepage, and some were missing other available services. I redesigned the homepage layout to give clear visibility to product lines and additional services (like 3D printing, design and development for company events, or support and workshops related to their products), making it immediately clear what the store offered and who it was for.

Results

• Increased time on page — Users were spending more time engaging with the site, a strong indicator of improved relevance and navigation.
• Fewer support calls — A noticeable drop in customers contacting the store to ask about products they couldn’t find, suggesting users were successfully finding what they needed on their own.
• Growth in sales and leads — Small but meaningful uplift in conversions following the redesign.
• Positive client feedback — The client was satisfied with the improvements and the clearer communication of their services.

Reflections

This project reinforced the value of listening to existing user signals before making design decisions. The support call feedback was a simple but powerful research tool that gave me direct insight into real user frustrations with no formal study required.

It also highlighted a challenge common to e-commerce UX: serving multiple audiences with very different needs (a school IT coordinator vs. a college student vs. a parent buying a kid’s gift) within a single site structure. The solution wasn’t to design for each separately, but to create a navigation system clear enough that everyone could find their own path.

If I were to revisit this project today, I would push for user testing with representative buyers to validate the navigation changes before launch, and set up analytics goals to track conversion more precisely.