Darby Dental Desktop Redesign

Usablenet was engaged by Darby Dental to manage a complete redesign of their desktop site, which included a research phase consisting of stakeholder and user interviews, market research, user testing of the current site, ideation (sketching and wireframing), high-fidelity mock-ups, prototypes for user testing, and the creating of final assets and style guides for development.

Design Recommendations / Priority Areas for Improvement

• Design for flows optimizing experience for both prospective and returning online customers.
• Build confidence through more contemporary look and feel, especially on the homepage.
• Improve usability of high-value tools (Search Results Page, Product Listing Page, Product History, Quick Order, Promotions) to provide service to returning customers, prioritizing these as areas of improvement.

Recommendations to Support Re-design

• Provide high-powered search to support customers in rapidly reaching their target products.
• Assess feasibility of integrating easy communication between the rep and the customer on the website.
• Refresh site content, with particular attention to product images, and descriptive copy

Current homepage concerns include: content is extremely unstructured and randomly placed, and appears disorganized. The numerous moving images and small advertisements are overbearing and distracting. Objects move quickly and often without supporting content increasing users' cognitive burden.

Current Search Results (PLP) page.

Existing and new customers are not supported in finding products. Search is an area of both high risk and big opportunity. Difficult category-based navigation encouraged customers to frequently abandon the site and turn to the catalog, call their rep, or visit competitor sites for an easier browsing experience.

Customers want a more visual experience that highlights relevant product content. Current difficulties with navigation break down confidence in the range of products Darby offers.

Initial Homepage sketches from early brainstorming sessions

Advanced sketches of Homepage and Product History page. For returning customers, one of the highest value areas is the Product History page. The current Product History does not support customers in their work as well as the Product History on competitor sites.

Homepage and Search Results (PLP) wireframes

Key improvements for new Homepage

• Contemporary look and feel
• Highly visual presentation of products
• Cleaner and more efficient global navigation, header and footer
• Increased visibility and access: Search, Quick Order, Promotions, "Ask An Expert": hub of communication with Darby
• New image gallery: Ideal for paid promotions, Darby announcements, etc.
• New mini-dashboard provides users with a snapshot of timely account-related alerts and reminders: Last Order Status, New Promotions, Multi-channel (App) data integration
• The mini-dashboard links to an upgraded My Account page (“My Darby Dashboard”) which provides access to all of the users account information and tools on a single screen.

New Search Results (PLP) screen

Designed for usability
• Visual search results improve recognition of products and ease of access
• Layered navigation, contextual filtering and sorting support search and product discovery
• Contextual advertising placements
• Higher visibility for sale/promotional products

Customers valued the information in the Product History area, but identified aspects that could be improved to better support their work.

Key updates to Product History page:

• Extend period of time that can be viewed on the Product History page to include access to as many ordered products as possible
• Ability to view product history for different time ranges such as the most recent order, one month, six months, or a year
• Identify items in the product history that currently are part of a promotion
• Add search to page
• Add price page