Cisco: Webex Homepage Redesign
Organization
Webex
Project date/duration
Sept. 2022–Feb. 2023 5 months
My role
As Senior Product Design Manager, I was brought in to lead a high-visibility and high-pressure effort to redesign the Webex homepage. A Product Manager, four Product Designers, and a content strategist executed the day-to-day work under my guidance. My team’s starting objective is to increase the Webex homepage’s design quality and decrease the page’s length while not disrupting the massive revenue it generates.
My primary role was defining the initial roadmap, providing feedback and guidance, allocating design support, including user research, aligning goals with stakeholders, collaborating with cross-functional partners, and ensuring the homepage met our strategic needs.
Project Summary
Webex’s homepage is the “face” of the company and a key driver for the company’s B2C revenue. It is the first thing many consumers visit when they want to learn more about Webex.
It is worth noting that our UX team did not participate in the design of the original homepage. An external marketing firm created the homepage in its entirety. Moreover, the design did not fulfill the requirements of our top executives. Their most common feedback was that the page was too long and the layout was not the best use of space. The page layout also lacked a strong logical flow. Below is the old design, which we have been tasked with redesigning.
The original Webex.com page had a total of 17,530px in length.
User Research
The cross-functional partners in product and engineering aimed to move fast without conducting user research. However, upon consulting with the Director of User Research, it was discovered that the previous homepage redesign lacked thorough user research and misinterpreted past research. Therefore, I ensured that we followed the right product development process by bringing in a Lead User Researcher to conduct quick user research, including comprehensive competitive analysis. This helped us set the right direction for the project from the beginning.
Design grid
When I first looked at the page, I noticed no strong vertical lines connecting different elements and inconsistent padding across different content modules. To address this issue, the design team developed an initial grid for our homepage that worked within the existing content constraints. Although it wasn't perfect, it was a significant improvement.
Story of the page
Many stakeholders have competing needs regarding the homepage, which requires a content strategy approach to ensure that it tells a compelling story. One of our main priorities was ensuring we properly introduced the Webex software and educated both new and existing users about our wide range of hardware products. Therefore, we had to incorporate these elements carefully.
Our content strategist factored in new and existing user goals, brand story, and user state and came up with content concepts that could be included in the content modules:
The purpose of the page
We created many versions of what the homepage's job would start as being and how it would need to evolve. This was key for ensuring the homepage adhered to many technical constraints while it evolved to support our team’s strategic goals.
Visual layout
The team developed a systematic approach to visual hierarchy that aligned with our design system.
The hero video header is one of the most visually impactful design elements that aims to capture the excitement of using Webex. We collaborated with the marketing team while considering a static image and ultimately used a video. We aimed to balance mood, color, and energy that aligns with the brand.
User testing results
We were happy with the results of our redesigned homepage in our initial tests. It was a conversion winner across all the international markets we needed it to succeed in. We had to consider and apply the brand's goals to the design. Here’s the updated design for Webex:
New Page Design
Executive praise
The redesign has received praise from the company’s top executives. The homepage became a strategic asset that everyone felt proud to have as the “face” of the Webex experience.
Improving the visual and interaction design led to a significant increase in user signups (+27%), authenticated users (+11%), return visits (+7%), and conversion (+6%), indicating an enhancement in user engagement and retention.
Elevating the impact
During the redesign, I ensured that our team synced with other CX teams across the Webex organization to share learnings and improve consistency throughout the Webex experience.
Following the successful redesign, the team has implemented machine learning to display content based on user preferences. This has led to an increase in the click-through rate (CTR) for content modules on the homepage. Additionally, the team is prioritizing addressing key technical constraints to ensure continuous improvement in the website's visual appearance.
