With 62.8 million users visiting 519.3 million times and viewing 13.7 billion pages in July 2023, sahibinden.com is Turkey's largest e-commerce and classified platform. with approximately 950 employees, more than 6 million active listings and hundreds of thousands of products.
Project Scope
Location information is one of the most important criteria for home seekers. Maps offer users a detailed search experience with their ever-evolving features. However, Sahibinden.com did not update its Map Search experience and was behind competitors in terms of both visual style and features. Although the current product had a Map view, this element was not visible.
My Role
As a Senior Designer, I identified the problems of the existing product and redesigned it in line with the findings and Product Owner expectations. After the development phase, I conducted usability tests and analyzed the results for ongoing improvements.
Solutions
New features were developed by identifying missing functions, increasing visibility of the existing ones, enhancing the map-view layout and information architecture. The interface and other parts of the portal were redesigned in line with current trends.
Team
I worked in “Search Experience Team” of Sahibinden.com, involving Front End, Back End Developers, Test Engineers and a Product Manager. In the process I presented the designs to the Team Manager and the CEO. In the test phase I worked with the Market Analytics team.
Project Timeline
A redesign process of research, design, development, testing and iterations was carried out.
DEFINE
Epxpert Review
1. The listings and map view pages were the oldest pages of the platform. Therefore, color, font, UI components were not compatible with other areas of the platform. With its old look, it was not visually compatible with trends.
2. The page displaying the listings is normally the first that users surf on the platform. There is no possibility for the user to switch to the Map View on this page.
3. Search space was not being used as intended. It had low visibility. Advanced search features such as Environment Info were unknown to users as they only appeared at close zoom level.
4. While users were waiting to make changes in the left panel via Tab, the appearance of the whole page was changing. It was a misleading experience in this respect.
5. The advertisement preview cards on the map were poor in terms of information hierarchy and legibility and were difficult to understand and impractical.
Competitor Analysis
A total of 10 companies were compared in terms of the features enabled on a map, including the searching ads. In addition, the map features of products such as google maps, yandex, airbnb, booking.com were also analyzed.
Findings & Team Discussion
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As soon as users enter the portal, they can access the map view feature while selecting their search criteria, which enhances the experience, as a preview of the available ads and their location on the map is easily visible.
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The density of the markers on the map is important to show the number of ads on the platform. However, different displays are needed in places with high density and at different zoom levels.
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Presenting information such as distance and proximity to key points on the map provides users with a flexible and personalized experience.
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The usefulness of the ad preview cards significantly affects the rate at which the user reviews the details of the ad or saves the ad.
UX Metrics
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The principles of flexibility and efficiency of use, aesthetic and minimalism in design, consistency and standards were adopted.
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The usefulness of the ad preview cards significantly affects the rate at which the user reviews the details of the ad or saves the ad.
Design Brief Clarification
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The map view should be accessible from the moment the user logs into the portal. Users should be able to switch between different view options.
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A display on the map that emphasizes the large number of ads on sahibinden.com should be preferred. The visibility of features should be increased at different zoom levels.
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The interface design should be improved in terms of aesthetics and comprehensibility of information and should be harmonized with other pages in the portal.
Concept Generation
CONCEPT 1: The Side Menu includes the Navigation, Filters and Ad List with a switch button.
CONCEPT 2: The Ad List includes the wider ad pictures and cards. The Side Menu includes the Navigation, Filters and Ad List.
CONCEPT 3: The Navigation Panel is on the top. The on / off filter menu is on the left. The Ad List is at the bottom.
CONCEPT 4: The Navigation Panel and the drop-down filters are on the top. The Ad List is at the bottom.
DESIGN
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New UI Style
In the map view, different advertisement signs and grouped advertisement view were designed depending on the advertisement density and zoom level. More rounded forms and vibrant colors were used as visual style. Consistency was ensured throughout the portal thanks to components and colors compatible with other pages.
NEW FEATURES
Ad Preview
Ad preview cards were redesigned with color, form and font changes. The information provided on the card and the legibility of this information were increased
POI Signs
The feature of showing important points was added. Users were enabled to search in the area within the distance they set to these points.
Search by Drawing
Users were enabled to identify the region they want to search by drawing it on the map.
UX Metrics
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The principles of flexibility and efficiency of use, aesthetic and minimalism in design, consistency and standards were adopted.
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The usefulness of the ad preview cards significantly affected the rate at which the user reviewed the details of the ad or saved it.
TEST
Usability Test
A total of 6 users were interviewed and the new interface and experience were tested through 3 scenarios. Users were asked to search for ads in different locations and with different criteria. The problems they experienced during this process, the visibility and usefulness of the new features, and the required (or missing) information and functions were recorded.
Findings and Design Iterations
Many users started searching for direct ads by switching to the map view. For this reason, the area with the filter option for the address details was mirrored from the list view to the map view. The address field was added among the filters of the map view.
The purpose of the search field on the map was not understood. For this reason, a text was added to the search field of the default view, indicating that districts, neighborhoods and district information could be entered.
The map features menu was made always on, with the possibility for users to turn it off and make the draw search and POI features easier to see.
Online User Behavior
A total of 30 users' online behavior was monitored through Hotjar records. In this way, the most frequently used features and problem areas were identified.
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