Intro
Pleexy is a no code integration tool which main goal is to save their user’s time and allow them to maintain focus on their tasks. We achieve this by integrating all different kind of inputs from productivity apps (emails, notes, cards, et.) into a task manager.
When I first joined Pleexy, they had gone through a website redesign & branding process. Their next step was to redesign the whole app, as the drop off rate was very high in different parts of the flow, specially in mobile. My task was then to redesign the whole interface.
As there had been a re-branding right before I started, there were some elements that had to be updated, like colors and typography. This was done previous to the re-design of the homepage.
Lean approach
Redesigning the whole app was a very big task to tackle, so we divided the project into smaller chunks that could be done sequentially.
We had all the analytics data plus some customer interviews that the founding team had done before. Crossing this information led us to generate the hypothesis that improving the homepage empty state (once a user had created an account and had to create an integration for the first time) would reduce the drop-off rate.
Expert assessment
Pleexy needed an optimised mobile view
Despite it is more likely for an integration tool to be used on a Desktop computer, a proper mobile onboarding is key, as it’s the first impression it generates on the user. Sadly, they didn’t have a proper mobile view.
There was to clear CTA
When the user created an account, they arrived to a page where they just saw a bunch of different apps with no indication of what to do. The first requirement I laid out was to have a proper CTA that should guide the user through the creation of their first connection (that’s the name given to the integrations in Pleexy).
Cognitive overload
Having all the logos in a list with different colors where there’s no clear indicator of what to do generates cognitive overload, which results in users just leaving without trying anything. Second requirement was to reduce as much as possible the cognitive overload.
Lack of useful information
The only link that kind of stands out from the interface is the “Request an integration” one, which gives little information or guidance to the user. The third requirement we defined was to add useful information for users to create a connection.
Redesign
Mobile first approach
As we were already redesigning the interface and the user flows, I used the opportunity to introduce a mobile first approach. This was important because the data showed that a big amount of the drop offs were in mobile, and it was one of the key moves to reduce the drop off.
Added a main CTA
The first thing in my mind was to add a CTA to guide the user on what they had to do. The coy clearly states Create your first connection, and it’s the element with the biggest color, shape and size contrast, which makes it almost impossible to miss it.
Added useful information
I added an intro sentence where it states what the user should be expecting from the interface. This gives the user the certainty that they are where they want to be, and that they will do what they want to do.
I also added 2 links below the CTA:
- Visit the help Center Allows the user to watch videos or read articles related to how to use pleexy, how to setup the connections they need, etc.
- Contact us opens the Intercom chat for the user to submit their question to support.
Reduced the cognitive load
I decided to separate the homepage in 2 steps. It makes the process longer, but it gives the user the certainty that they’re doing the right thing. The empty state invites the user to create a connection. The second one gives them the options to connect the app they use.
In the second step of the flow, the user has a clear CTA for each of the connection, where they get a bit of information that guides them through what they will do with each.
This decision was made to reduce cognitive load, and to have the users invested in the flow, reassuring them they were on the right path all the time and at the same time making it harder for them to abandon the flow, as they had already invested some effort on it.
Reaching the goal
After this was implemented, the drop-off rate for new customers was reduced in 70%. It’s important to say that there was also a website redesign and a marketing focus on this issue - which also definitely affected the result, but it was successful and something to be proud of (After this project they made me a partner and I’m still involved with Pleexy) 😎