New navigation makes a million dollar difference

Research

CRO

Client: Hotels.com - part of Expedia Group

My role: Senior Product Designer

Project: Global navigation redesign

Summary: As part of a rebrand, I redesigned the global navigation, balancing conversion goals, usability, and space for future offerings. By streamlining 89 regional variations and collaborating with stakeholders, the new design boosted engagement and conversions, adding USD $1.1M annually.

The outcome: Boosting Conversion and User Engagement

By streamlining Hotels.com's global navigation across 89 points of sale, I achieved a significant increase in conversion rates, generating an additional USD $1.1 million annually. This redesign also enhanced user engagement, with higher sign-in rates and improved navigation to booking forms.

My Role: Leading the Design Overhaul

As the Senior Product Designer, I led the redesign project, collaborating with analytics teams, project managers, and various stakeholders, including loyalty, call centre, marketing, and legal teams. Reporting directly to the Director of Product Design and VP of Product, I ensured the new design aligned with business goals and was adaptable for future growth.

Understanding the Challenges

Over time, Hotels.com's global navigation had become cluttered, with numerous links leading to poor user experience, especially on mobile devices. The dated aesthetic and lack of flexibility hindered the integration of new sub-brands and propositions.

Audit and Analysis

I conducted a comprehensive audit of the existing header and competitor analysis, revealing that many links had low traffic and could be removed or repositioned.

Stakeholder Collaboration

I gathered objectives from various teams to ensure the redesign met diverse business needs. This was reviewed with the design team to ensure it would be both flexible and on-brand.

Testing and Deployment

Performed user acceptance testing and multi-variant tests in key regions (USA, France, Brazil, Japan) over 30 days, refining the design before global rollout.

Considerations: Balancing Business and User Needs

The redesign emphasised user loyalty tiers, improved self-service options to reduce call centre dependency, and modernised aesthetics in line with the brand refresh. We also addressed legal requirements, such as updated privacy laws, by modifying the display of the cookie policy.

Outcome: Enhanced User Experience and Business Growth

The redesign led to:

Increased conversion rates, adding an estimated USD $1.1 million in annual revenue
Higher sign-in rates on both desktop and mobile platforms.
Improved user progression to booking forms across all platforms.
Significant reduction in call centre volume.
Lower bounce rates and increased visits to search results pages on mobile.
A decluttered header, providing space for future propositions and aligning with the brand's refreshed aesthetics.

More projects

Research

Service Design

BP Electric Vehicle Charging App

To drive EV adoption, I unified BP's home and public charging services into a seamless app and improved signage and charging machines. This enhanced customer experience addressed pain points and earned the app a 4.5-star rating on the App Store and 4.6-star on Google Play.

CRO

Trainline engagement optimisation

To boost registrations and signed-in transactions, key to long-term value, I redesigned the booking funnel flows. Logged-in users gained easier self-service for exchanges and refunds, vital during COVID. The redesign increased logged-in transactions by 60% and registrations by 20%.