Etsy Interface Redesign
I love using Etsy to find unique products made by small businesses. However, I find it difficult to actually browse the Etsy app - the interface prioritizes product categorization and frequently breaks up pages into sections, which makes product surfing feel unnatural and choppy. I interviewed a few online shoppers on what they wanted out of a small business shopping app, and used those takeaways as a guide to redesign the Etsy app into something more familiar, scrollable, and relaxed.
User Interviews + Insights
I interviewed five online shoppers to hear their ideas about Etsy's online shopping experience.
The top age demographics for Etsy are similar to those of Pinterest and Instagram, which indicates that Etsy users may be more familiar with the layout and usability of social media apps.
My main goal was to make Etsy feel more scrollable and easy to browse. From the insights I collected from my research, I felt that the best approach was to design an interface that felt more casual - something where users can easily scroll through items and select ones that they like.
Features
Home
What
• The redesigned home page has a uncategorized scrolling grid with an easy to access favorite button. Clicking on the favorite button brings up a popup for the user to choose which collection they want to add the item to.
Why
• Users stated that Etsy's home page is over-categorized and hard to casually browse. I was inspired by interfaces that are familiar to users and designed to be easily scrolled through, such as the Pinterest home page, Instagram explore page, and clothing apps.
• An irregular grid structure keeps the scrolling experience interesting and lets items that users like to catch their eye.
• Although the current Etsy app has a favorites button, it is not available on every image. In the collections popup, it is unclear where to immediately click and has redundant options that appear first.
Search
What
• The redesigned search page has a left sidebar that displays all of the product categories. The right side of the screen displays sub-categories that, when scrolled to, will auto-highlight the corresponding category on the left. The user can click on any of the left-side categories to jump to the corresponding section on the right side to further refine their search. There are also options to type in a search bar and to view all of the items in a category.
Why
• Etsy's current home page is cluttered with categories, so with my redesign, I integrated product categories in the search section, where users usually go to browse though categories.
• With large online marketplaces like Etsy, it is easy for the user to become lost in the search function. Users I interviewed called the Etsy search function frustrating to navigate due to how difficult it was to find specific items through the search categories.
• In the redesigned version, I aimed to display Etsy's many categories in a digestible and intuitive way. I wanted to minimize the amount of times users needed to open pages in order to view items and for them to be able to see all of their options.
Favorites
What
• The redesigned Favorites section consists of 3 pages: All Favorites, Collections, and Favorite Shops. All Favorites shows every item the user has liked; Collections is where users can group similar favorite items; Favorite Shops displays the shops that the user likes and what category the shop falls under.
Why
• The favorites section on any shopping interface is crucial because users can bookmark products they like without committing to purchasing them. Etsy's Favorites section has 7 different pages, some of which users stated were confusing and redundant. I asked users about the pages they used the most and which ones they felt were unnecessary, and kept three pages in the redesign that users felt were useful.
• I kept the grid layout for consistency and ease of use, and redesigned the Collections and Favorite Shops pages to make better use of space. I added a search bar because when users have many favorited items, it become difficult to find specific items without a search or filter option.
Conclusion
I had a blast redesigning the Etsy app. Etsy is service I really love, and I wanted to push myself to create a better experience on the app. I asked myself and others: "What would make you want to spend more time on the app?" Through asking this simple but crucial question, I was able to explore all kinds of possibilities of what a comfortable and casual online marketplace app could look and feel like.
I love experimenting with Figma, and this project drove me to create more abstract layouts and creatively reference features from other places. I wanted the app to feel familiar while being different, and I felt like I was able to design a virtual experience that satisfied that goal.
Most importantly, I showed my design to the original users I spoke to and they loved it. Hearing great feedback and hearing people say that they'd love to use the redesigned app is the most rewarding part of this project.