68% Growth in Conversion Efficiency via UX Redesign
E-commerce • Beauty • Web • Mobile • Shopify • UX Redesign
Brief
This is a full-scale UX Redesign of the Kara Beauty e-commerce website on Shopify, specifically focused on Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO). To maximize purchase efficiency, I identified critical friction points and redesigned the core user journey. By improving Information Architecture and clarifying the browsing-to-decision flow across the Homepage and PDP, I drove a 68% lift in overall site conversion rate.
Impact
PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS
Home page
Problem
Unclear navigation and weak product discovery
A makeup brand is missing a “Makeup” category in its primary navigation
Product cards are too small and the section feels weak
Solution
Intent-driven homepage structure
Product detail page
Problem
High friction user experience
Solution
Conversion-first layout optimization
Result: 79% ATC (Add-to-Cart) rate increase
Above the Fold Optimization
Boost Credibility: Added star ratings and reviews
Product list page
Lack of navigation support
A cluttered product grid without effective filtering
Solution
Efficiency-driven product list page
Replaced ambiguous chips with a clear, labeled filter system
Increased product card information density for faster decision making
DESIGN PROCESS
Discover
Key discover insights
Across Home, PLP, and PDP, unclear entry points, weak information hierarchy, and delayed benefits made it difficult for users to quickly understand where to start, how to compare options, and when to feel confident enough to purchase.
Conversion funnel & Entry point analysis
I used these frameworks to understand where users experienced friction across the shopping journey, grounding design decisions in business context and observed user behavior rather than assumptions or visual preferences.
Discovery framework for Kara Beauty E-commerce redesign
I used this discovery framework to structure how I understood the problem space before proposing any design solutions. This phase focused on framing the right questions based on business context and observed user behavior rather than jumping into redesign.
Insight
The core issue was not awareness or traffic, but a lack of structural guidance and confidence signals throughout the discovery and purchase journey.
User flow analysis
This user flow analysis was conducted to validate whether the product discovery flow aligns with first time users’ mental models and supports quick, confident purchasing decisions.
Insight
For first time users, the interface required too much inference across the shopping journey, lacking clear guidance and confidence cues at critical decision points.
User interview
To understand how users browse, evaluate, and build purchase confidence before checkout across Home, PLP, and PDP.
Insight
Users want clear guidance early in the journey, relying on summarized benefits and visual cues to quickly narrow options and build purchase confidence.
DEVELOP
Key design decisions
Based on the prioritization matrix, the highest impact opportunities lay in restructuring navigation and information architecture.
Instead of adding new features, the Develop phase focused on aligning IA, entry points, and category logic with user shopping intent to reduce friction and support faster decision making.
Prioritize features (2x2 matrix)
By balancing business goals, usability improvements, and technical feasibility, I focused on high impact, low effort structural UX changes that reduced friction and supported conversion.
Insight
The highest impact gains in purchase confidence came from clarifying information hierarchy, navigation, and decision visibility rather than adding new features or content.
IA analysis
To address unclear entry points and navigation confusion, I redesigned the information architecture to better align categories with user expectations and shopping intent.
Validate
Key validation insights
Across tests, users moved through the shopping journey with less hesitation and greater clarity.
Rather than exploring through trial and error, participants were guided by clearer structure, stronger visual cues, and earlier decision signals.
Moderated usability testing
3 Participants (3 Females)
Age: 20s - 30s
Task: Starting from the homepage, find a makeup product you would consider purchasing and decide whether to add it to cart
Key observations
Participants were able to identify where to start shopping on the homepage more quickly
Users moved from Home → PLP with fewer pauses and less backtracking
Key product information and the primary CTA were noticed earlier without guidance
Insight
Clarifying section roles and entry points reduced early-stage hesitation and helped users move into product exploration more confidently.
Before / After comparison test
3 Participants (3 Females)
Age: 20s - 30s
Task: Compare the original and redesigned experience and explain which makes it easier to decide what to do next and why
Key observations
Participants were able to explain product differences more quickly in the redesigned PLP
Users relied less on scrolling and exploratory clicking to make decisions
The redesigned PDP felt more trustworthy due to earlier visibility of key benefits and reviews
Insight
Reducing cognitive load by surfacing decision-critical information earlier supported faster and more confident decision making.
DELIVER
High-fidelity prototype
feature overview & final outcome
Home page
Product list page
Product detail page
Final design
feature overview & final outcome
Scroll over the image to view the full image
Scroll over the image to view the full image
REFLECTION
What I learned
Analytics alone doesn’t tell the full story.
Conversion improved, but checkout drop-off revealed that Decision UX and Trust UX matter as much as layout and navigation.
Improving Information Architecture clarified browsing behavior, but purchase confidence is built through content clarity, social proof, and perceived reliability, not structure alone
Small UX details have outsized impact on conversion.
such as CTA visibility on mobile, review placement on PDP, and immediate access to product context like shades and benefits.
Next steps
Conduct focused usability testing on the checkout and payment stages to identify friction points causing drop-off despite improved browsing and add-to-cart behavior.
Expand this approach into a reusable e-commerce framework
that balances branding, conversion, and operational constraints for future projects.Evaluate long-term impact beyond conversion
by tracking repeat purchase rate, product return rate, and review sentiment trends.
OVERVIEW OUTCOME
Home page
Product list page
Product detail page
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