Craigslist Redesign

Elevating a classic brand to new heights of safety and trust.

Role: UX/UI Designer

Team: 4 Designers

Duration: 10 weeks

Work: Project management, research plan, domain research, competitive analysis, assumptions, SWOT analysis, user interviews, heuristic evaluation, A/B tests, user stories, use cases, problem statements and design principles, task flow, site map, paper sketches, reverse brainstorming, low and mid-fidelity wireframes, high-fidelity mockups, usability testing, prototypes, mood boards, style guides, design systems, presentations

Project Brief

Craiglist is a free American classified advertisements website with a well established reputation as a simple digital platform for people to be heard, trusted, and included. The website features a variety of sections and subsections, including housing, services, items for sale, and jobs, with a focus on providing a helpful, noncommercial experience for users.

Our team of 4 designers were tasked to redesign Craigslist's website. The challenge: To optimize the information architecture, enhance the overall user experience, and identify improvements in UI to address audience and engagement issues.

Understanding the Users

Millennials and Low-Income Households

The intial phase of our research process included collecting assumptions, conducting domain research, and performing a competitive analysis. Our research revealed that the primary users of Craigslist are typically millennials (ages 25-44 per Age Distribution chart above) and lower-income households.

Gen Z and Boomers' Pain Points

However, "Boomers" and "Gen Z" are least likely to use Craigslist due to prevalent safety concerns, trust issues, and inefficiency in executing transactions. These findings were later validated through the creation of personas, user interviews and user testing (see Age Distribution and Gen Z's Journey to Trust charts below).

A Greater Call for Safety

We observed during user interviews and examination of reviews that users had a strong sense of skepticism, distrust and disengagement when using Craigslist. Without addressing these issues, Craigslist may face a decline in relevance, audience engagement, and retention over time.

Restoring Trust

Our team quickly focused on addressing safety and trust concerns by understanding how to rebuild credibility (see Credibility Perceptions chart). We developed a plan to improve the information architecture and navigation of the site, address elements that were causing decreases in credibility perceptions, and consider safety issues beyond the interface, in order to improve engagement and retention with both young and older audiences.

Concept Iterations

Using the framework developed during the research stage, the team brainstormed ideas for content and presentation. We created low and mid-fidelity wireframes to visualize which key components we wanted to emphasize and lead with. We choose to focus our efforts on the home page, product page, and create meet-up pages.

More Consistent Design

We updated components and rehauled the information architecture to reflect best practices and prioritize safety.  This update will reduce reader confusion and unify content presentation across the site. By envisioning a new homepage with fresh illustrations, we aimed to attract new audiences. Additionally, accessibility was considered when choosing colors as we ensured compliance with AA guidelines.

Searching with a Peace of Mind

To address safety concerns both within and beyond the platform, the team focused on solutions that would help restore trust and improve perceptions of credibility across the site.

Real Posts, Real People

Novel verification metrics boost confidence by enabling users to assess the credibility and safety of any given post.

Simply Connecting People In-Person

Visibility over meetup details empower and inform users in ways that are understandble and actionable.

Mobile

I also created mobile versions of the application. The primary goal was to ensure that the user experience was as seamless and intuitive as possible. To achieve this, I focused on utilizing established iOS UX/UI patterns. By adhering to these patterns, I was able to create a design that was both familiar and easy to navigate for users. Additionally, I made a conscious effort to minimize clutter and highlight important information within the interface. This approach will lead to a more enjoyable and efficient user experience.

Project Outcomes

Our primary goal with the redesign was to make Craigslist a safer digital platform for both old and new audiences. To fully understand the impact of our improvements, we would have liked visibility into key metrics such as average time spent, screen views per session, retention rate, and gather additional feedback from real users. By implementing several key ideas, we aimed to help users quickly find what they are searching for, increase engagement, and align better with the company's mission.