Why most redesigns don’t hold up well with the users

Introduction

We’ve all been there haven’t we? The app or a website that we were so used to and were a routine part of our lives suddenly changes everything about itself as part of an update or a redesign. Yes, maybe it looks better than it did before, but does that really mean it serves our purpose better?

My thoughts

As human beings, nobody likes change. We all have that comfort TV show that we’ve binged a million times, that one comfort food that we can never get tired off and lifts you up no matter how bad your day was. So when a big name company decides to redesign the complete structure of their app one fine day and release it to their millions of users, it does not bode so well. When you change how a user interacts with the core aspects of your website or your application, its pushing them out of their habits and their comfort zones. Users who were previously able to navigate through the search page on your app without thinking about it twice are now scrabbling around to find it.

As a UI/UX designer myself (aspiring to be a UX researcher), I am not saying redesigns are all that bad. Yes companies need to keep up with their competition and the latest design trends. And if executed correctly with a data driven process, a redesigned product can increase sales and make user happy. But as I said, redesigns aren’t welcomed very well by your everyday user who may not be a tech geek and just wanna do what they came to your service to do. Our jobs as designers and engineers are to reduce these occurrences and motivate our users to build new habits. Let’s look at the case of one redesign that stood out for me over the years.

The big Facebook redesign of 2019

Case in point, my own father, who is good at what he does, relies on Facebook to promote his work and get conversions. When Facebook redesigned itself, I was bombarded with hundreds of questions from him on where to find the easiest of things such as his account settings. Now, I am not saying it was difficult to find the settings button, maybe even it was easier to find than in the previous design. But for a normal user who was used to finding a button or any interact-able element on a website, not so much. And in my opinion, Facebook did not go through their redesign the wrong way. They gave their users ample time to get used to the new interface while still maintaining the old interface as an option for users to choose. They gave their users proper onboarding and made it easier for most users to transition into the new design. Moreover, they made their mobile app and web app uniform with the same components. And eventually with time as the users got used to the interface, their redesign was a success.

So what is an appropriate way to roll out your redesign?

Step by step. Progressively. Yes, it may not make sense to spoon-feed the changes to your users one by one, but to retain your users and keep them happy, its just something you might have to do. And always remember, looking good isn’t the only thing that matters. The most effective redesigns may not exactly be the prettiest to look at. Yes the visual aspect is a key element, but I feel companies should be more focused on the User experience than the aesthetics. Its perfectly fine redesign the design system to look better, but following design trends just for the sake of it without a strategy or any UX research to back it up, may not lead to a favourable conclusion.

And always remember, a redesign doesn’t mean your product is completed. Product redesign should always be cyclic process of analysing, testing, prototyping and refining your product in the best way possible from a User experience perspective. No product or UI is ever finished as a whole.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading. This was one of my first attempts at putting out my opinions on a UX topic and I hope this helped you digest a little nugget of my thoughts with a couple things to take back with you. Please feel welcome to provide your feedback or reach out to me with any of your queries.