CASE STUDY

TopGear, eCommerce overhauled!

ROLE

Design Team Lead, Partner Strategy, User Research, Creative / Design Direction.

Produced in 2023 for Toptal.

Overhauled the shopping experience to connect shoppers worldwide, boosting engagement and sales.

OVERVIEW

As the design team lead, I had the opportunity to drive a complete redesign aimed at enhancing user engagement and boosting sales. By leveraging its talent network, we catapulted its user base from a modest 1,200 to an impressive 10,000—remarkable growth that surpassed our expectations! To tackle the crucial challenges in order fulfillment and user experience, we crafted a sleek, user-friendly platform that not only streamlined operations but also made its services easily accessible for both local and international customers.

My primary responsibilities included overseeing the entire design process, ensuring the vision aligned with its goals, and providing clear guidance to the designer. I led the discovery phase and actively engaged with users through in-depth interviews, uncovering their pain points and truly understanding their needs. This collaborative effort fueled our innovation and paved the way for sustainable growth!

CHALLENGE

The People Team at Toptal wanted to elevate user engagement and drive sales to new heights on the TopGear website. However, they faced significant hurdles, including issues with order fulfillment and a less-than-optimal user experience. Plus, the website is maintained by a third-party vendor, making updates difficult for the admins.

Despite these challenges, a great opportunity emerged to expand the store's reach to its extensive talent network and increase the user base from 1,200 to over 10,000. To seize this opportunity, we proposed an ambitious complete overhaul to revolutionize the overall user experience, making shopping not just a task but an engaging journey.

SOLUTION

As the design team lead, I had the opportunity to spearhead a comprehensive website overhaul for Toptal, empowering the team with complete control and ownership of its overall checkout experience. My journey began with the discovery phase, where I engaged in insightful user interviews to uncover key pain points that needed addressing.

From there, I collaborated closely with a talented designer, providing creative direction and ensuring we tackled the challenges head-on to craft a more intuitive user experience. While the designer handled all the design work and execution, focusing on aesthetics, I oversaw every detail to guarantee our vision aligned with our ambitious goals.

Streamlining the experience for growth.

I led the research to uncover the users' critical challenges and pain points. By collaborating closely with the designer, we turned our findings into actionable insights that addressed the issues and set the groundwork for expanding our store's reach into its talent network. One of our significant achievements was the addition of a second European warehouse, which dramatically improved our international shipping capabilities—leading to lower costs and faster delivery times for our customers.

I also took the lead in conducting user interviews with key Toptal members across diverse regions. These conversations were invaluable in refining and elevating the shipping and checkout experience. By listening to the users, we created a seamless process that enhances satisfaction and builds loyalty.

Improving the user journey at every step of the experience.

Based on valuable user feedback, we identified three key areas to enhance:

• simplifying the checkout process,
• clarifying shipping options, and
• optimizing product pages for our international customers.

With these insights, I worked closely with the designer to keep our vision on track and ensure we effectively met user needs every step of the way.

Revealing the outcome through testing and validation.

We collaborated closely with the product manager and engineering team to enhance the user experience, and the results were remarkable! Every single user enjoyed a seamless experience, and an impressive 92% found the new layout much more inclusive for our global audience.

RESULTS

A Brand New Experience!

The overhaul of the TopGear website has been a game-changer! It grew the user base of just 1,200 into a thriving community of over 10,000, which is impressive. The revamped site is not just about numbers but about creating an exceptional user experience.

With a streamlined checkout process and upfront shipping costs, shopping has never been easier. International customers are loving the new accessibility features, and a remarkable 92% of users report feeling more included than ever. It is all about making everyone feel welcome! The addition of a European warehouse has been a brilliant move, cutting down on shipping times and costs. Customers are receiving their orders faster and feeling a significant boost in satisfaction. Plus, the fresh and seamless layout has translated into higher conversion rates and completed sales—proof that a great design can make a real difference.

What's even more exciting is that this redesign has empowered Toptal with direct control over updates. The People Team can continually evolve the platform to tailor it to user needs, ensuring the journey is as dynamic and engaging as the customers.

A few of the final designs below.