Redesigning Our Mobile Website: Before and After
Posted on October 13 2021
Have you felt frustrated using a website?
Have you felt the urge to leave a website after just seconds?
Have you been compelled by a website and could not stop browsing?
It might have something to do with the design of the website!
Hi! This is the UI/UX design team from Cosme Hunt. This is the first part of a three part redesign series, and the BIG REVEAL! Are you ready?
Below you will find what changes the UI/UX team has changed to make browsing at Cosme Hunt more enjoyable! You’ll get to see some before and after photos of the website, and hopefully you will be able to tell a difference!
Homepage
The homepage is the most important since this is what users initially see when they land on a website. Our old site requires too much scrolling. With our re-design, we make sure users encounter Japanese skincare (what they come to Cosme Hunt for!) right when they land. Now, you can browse through the unique skin type quiz specifically created by Cosme Hunt for Japanese skincare. If you already know your skin type, please just go to the “Japanese Beauty Experience” to immerse yourself in the world of Japanese skincare! (My personal favorite is definitely the Mochi Skin!)
We felt the homepage was definitely long, so we shortened each section so our users don’t get bored and overwhelmed by the products.
The old Cosme Hunt website has what seemed like an infinite number of blogs. To shorten the content and make the website more interactive, we incorporated carousels in the website, saving much precious space on the screen and making the website more animated!
The footer is another big change we implemented. Because we added some new pages and reorganized the website map and navigation, we needed more tabs and categories in the footer. Since we shortened many of the sections on the homepage, you can finally scroll to the footer quickly and check out the new and (definitely more) organized design! Remember to sign up for our newsletters you haven’t!
Navigation Menu and Search Bar
The Navigation Menu is incredibly important. This is where everyone looks when they land on a website, right? The navigation menu is like the treasure box of Cosme Hunt: we rely on it to take everyone who lands on Cosme Hunt to discover new products. This time, we make sure it is organized and with plenty of tapping space. Now, you can easily shop for any category you are looking for with ease!
The search bar is probably where people look at second when they go to a website. Because there are so many new users who land on Cosme Hunt, we want to make sure they feel right at home and not lost! We added trending products and keywords to let new users know what is popular now on Cosme Hunt. In case you are just casually browsing on Cosme Hunt, don’t forget to try out our new search feature. Maybe you will find some unexpected gems!
The search result mixed with blog articles was a controversial one. Some people liked it, and some people were surprised to see blog posts in search results. Because the attitude is generally positive, we decided to keep this feature but organize it, so users are not (shockingly) surprised to see blog posts!
Pro tip: if you want to know what Cosme Ambassadors are using, look no further! Simply type in a product, and maybe you will see one of our ambassadors talking about it as his or her favorite product!
Product Pages
The product page got a new look! For the most part, the product page was missing many features, so we added more sections to make the product page more engaging and gave our Japanese-skincare-loving shoppers more information! First, we made the information on the product more accessible. We also made the “add to bag” button fixed at the bottom, so you do not need to scroll all the way to the top to find the button anymore!
As part of the redesign, we added small icons that make the information more lively and more immersed in the cuteness of all the packaging and the icons.
Another part of our redesign focuses on letting our visitors, who we call Cosme Hunters (yes, you are a Cosme Hunter, welcome to the family!), engage with each other and create a community. Reviews will now include skin type and problem area(s), so we can all relate to each other more.
Checkout
When you are checking out your products, do you just want to get it over with? We simplified the checkout process by decreasing loading pages and making expandable sections. I am sure you will like the new checkout process as much as I do!
Pro tip: We love our Cosme Hunters! Don’t forget to sign up for the rewards program when you check out, so you get all the cool perks from us!
Our Blog
The Cosme Hunt Blog also got a major redesign! Instead of tags, we now have specific categories for you depending on what you’re feeling that day! It is also very fun and interactive since it scrolls horizontally. Another one of my personal favorites is including the estimated reading time for the blog so you have an idea of how long an article will take for you to read!
As always, we include a short excerpt to introduce some fun facts about our writers, but now, we make it even easier to shop the products mentioned in the story! (Just in case you are in the mood to shop!)
From Skincare 101 to J-Beauty 101
Skincare 101 got a new name! It’s officially called J-Beauty 101! As the No.1 Japanese beauty curated website, want to introduce the beauty of Japanese skincare, not just skincare! Before, the Skincare 101 page did not have its own page, but now it does! We also have added some fun and interactive buttons, just for a touch of playfulness.
The J-beauty 101 is now divided into three sections: routine, quiz, and ingredients. I am sure everyone will be an expert on Japanese skincare after checking out this page!
So, how did you like our redesign? This article represents a taste of what the new Cosme Hunt website will look like. These aren't the only pages that got a new look! Our engineers are working hard on building the website; soon, this version of our website will be available! If you want to know more in-depth how exactly we arrived at this new design, what research we did, and the entire process, then stay tuned for the second and third parts of this redesign blog series!
To find out more, visit our website!
Yichin Wu
Yichin is a SF based designer working as part of Cosme Hunt's UI/UX Design team on redesigning our Cosme Hunt mobile site. Currently working towards a Human Factors degree. Born to travel around the world, her current life goal is to match “the number of countries visited” and her age. She has never been a writer, but when it comes to travel blogs, she has a lot to say. Cosme Hunt is her debut.
