Designing the User Experience for the website and the App
A platform that helps renters and buyers find and sell their properties and get leads instantly
CLIENT
An Indian startup that is improving the way millions of people in the nation lease or buy an apartment is the latest firm to become a unicorn in the South Asian market.
The start-up was valued at nearly $1 billion in the current round, making it the 38th unicorn to achieve the billion-dollar valuation mark so far in the start-up ecosystem.
The startup has more than 7.5 million properties listed on its platform and over 16 million people have used its services.
OBJECTIVE
The objective was to create a website for the product followed by the app, The key objective was to provide users with a platform that enables them to Rent/Buy or Sell properties without involving an agent also known as a broker.
ROLE
As one of the core team member and the first User experience designer, My main responsibilities were to change the ideas into concepts by working closely with the stakeholders, Conduct research, create a user friendly interface for the product
IMPACT
One of the biggest challenge while creating the website was to align different visions and come up with a plan that will get everyone on board fast.
PLAN
A PLAN TO ALLIGN BUSSINEES GOALS, USER GOALS AND DELIVER ON TIME
To provide stunning UX/UI solutions within simple yet effective website design, it was very important to have a well defined plan
OBJECTIVE
RESEARCH
As a part of the research different design methodologies were user to draw insights and create an efficient design solution to the identified problems
-
Lead qualitative user research to understand users behaviors and attitudes.
User Interviews
A participant criteria was set and face to face interview sessions were conducted to empathize with the users and identify their main problem areas.
Understand The Mental Model Owners
The user data collected during the interview sessions was analyzed by creating a mind map and categorizing the data under different categories that emerged during the sessions
.jpg)
.jpg)
What we Learnt
-
Users have to go back and forth on google maps and the rental apps to find details about the neighborhood.
-
Finding a trustworthy tenant is stressful and time consuming for the busy landlords
-
Posting a property online is not very easy as most of the landlords are elderly.
-
Landlords end up paying hefty brokerage each time a broker helps them find a new tenant
-
Documentation, rental agreement and tenant background verification frustrates landlords and tenants both.
-
Users want some assistance to find properties without having to burn a hole in their pockets.
-
Almost all the participants had payed brokerage at some point of time while renting a property and wish they could save that amount.
-
Users have trust and security issues while dealing with the brokers, usually the site visits are done in the evening, brokers have a bad reputation as they sometimes display thug behavior.
-
Users do not find complete information on certain rental apps, hence making a decision becomes difficult.
-
Users find out that the properties listed on the rental apps are posted by brokers.
-
Lack of assistance in finding a relevant accommodation, the process is time consuming.
Competitive Analysis
Insights
-
Limited details about the properties, info shown on the app is deceiving.
-
Properties are posted by brokers and not the owners, the credibility of an app becomes an issue.
-
Certain features of the apps are so confusing that users get frustrated.
-
Users don’t want to share their personal details with the brokers on the app to avoid being pestered by phone calls from property dealers, agents, landlords etc.
What are the specific things that the users are looking for while looking for a house?
HOW MIGHT WE
INFORMATIVE
A user experience that builds trust and provides complete information about the property
EASY TO USE
An application that is user friendly, that helps older landlords to post their properties and busy tenants finding a home with less effort
TRUST WORTHY
An application that presents the user with verified listings and transparency in the system that will help build trust
SUPPORTIVE
Providing assistance to users who have a time crunch and want fast results
We had a list of items that would go in the website in different pages, we asked a set of participants to help categorize items based on where they would like to view the information.
The participants were also asked to prioritize the list based on the importance, this helped in clustering information on different screens that will enable the user to locate things and navigate the application with ease
Card Sort
Priority Matrix
DESIGN
The HMW’S helped in ideation and creating an appealing and functional website and app that would require less development time, be more user-friendly, and increase user trust.
User Flows
Multiple user flows were created to to understand how the users will navigate through the application. This process also helped in identifying the number of screens to be created and estimating the timeline for completing the designs
Landlord posts a property for rent
The tenant contacts the owner to rent a house
%202.jpg)
To convince a team where multiple decision makers are involved the best approach is to create sketches get the team onboarded and then create high fidelity wireframes.
Wireframes
After multiple iterations Final designs were created, The approach was to create a clean, usable and engaging interface that helps its users achieve their goals with minimum effort.
Final Designs
Different Views
Informative Property List View
Listing Page that gives you a detailed view to compare easily
Product Discovery
Users tend to land on the listing page directly, and they miss out on offers and promotions, this section enables user to discover new offers and products
Verified Images
Images carousel that displays real images that are verified by the team.
Detailed Card Design
Property Information
Dedicated section to display information, that helps the user to compare different properties on the same page avoiding back and forth between screens
Nearby attractions
View popular nearby attraction tags thats gives the user an idea about the neighborhood
Report Property
Reporting the property helps the system keep out unverified properties out and user gets only the best verified listings and build trust in users for the product
Easy To Use Map View
Collapsable Section
The Property list section is collapsable that will give the user more surface area to interact with the map.
Interactive Map
An engaging map that is easy to use and navigate.
Detail page
Supportive Plans For Convenience
List View
Map View
Filters
Plan
Retrospect
Working as an individual designer can be challenging however, early communications with the stakeholders, developers help in reducing time spent on making design changes