About the Project
Craigslist is an American classified ads website where you can find jobs, items for sale, housing, services, community service, gigs, resumes, and discussion forums.
It was founded in 1996 and has been serving 570 cities in 70 countries. The site has been found useful by many people, however, its outdated design and user interface hinder the overall experience.
It was founded in 1996 and has been serving 570 cities in 70 countries. The site has been found useful by many people, however, its outdated design and user interface hinder the overall experience.
Project Goals
1.
Redesign the Craigslist homepage to be modern and easy to navigate.
2.
Improve usability by presenting and organizing the categories better.
Step 1: Research
Assumptions
Secondary Research
Due to limited resources, I utilized credible sources such as Quora and Reddit to understand the opinions and previous, current, and potential users of Craigslist. There was a balance of both positive and negative reviews. Below is a sample of the results.
Positive
1. Functional
2. Straightforward in use
3. Simple layout
2. Straightforward in use
3. Simple layout
Negative
1. Confusing navigation
2. Unreliable compared to alternatives
3. Outdated design
2. Unreliable compared to alternatives
3. Outdated design
Based on research findings, we can update our project goals:
Step 2: Wireframes
In order to maintain simplicity and improve accessibility, I decided to make the layout thumbnail-heavy. Adding thumbnails reduces information overload and gives the user a preview before clicking on the link. This style is also popular among competitors such as Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace, which will help users establish Craigslist in the same space as them.
Step 3: High-Fidelity Prototype
Home Page Redesign
Navigation Bar
The navigation bar includes important and common actions: Search, create a post, and log in.
A new logo also helps identify Craigslist in a modern setting, with a “C” joined with the existing peace sign.
Header
In order to keep the simplicity of the original website, a catchy tagline paired with the main categories is shown at the top of the page.
Users can easily select the category they require with image references. Below this is two other important categories: discussion forums and events.
Users can easily select the category they require with image references. Below this is two other important categories: discussion forums and events.
Search Results Redesign
Search Selection Page Redesign
Search Results and Search Selection Pages
These pages were kept similar to the current Craigslist pages. The typefaces and thumbnails have been added with current trends and simplicity in mind. A seller information section has been added to increase reliability among users, as this was a huge issue indicated by current users.
Current Search Results
Current Search Selection
