Optimizing ILN's Website Builder for Higher Conversions
UX & Product Design
Conversion Optimization
Web
UX Strategy, Funnel Optimization, Data-driven
Project overview
The website builder brought users in, but only ~50% signed up, 20% verified their email, and 0 websites got created per day — friction was quietly killing conversion at every step, so I redesigned the path to completion.
Discovery Phase
Initial observations:
Low sign-up rate
Low email verification rate
Drop-off during website creation process
Key assumptions:
Users may not see enough value to create an account.
The email verification step may not feel important or worth completing.
Asking for payment details before the free trial may create trust concerns.
Client Name:
ILN
Service Offered:
UX & Product Design
Scope
Conversion Optimization
Key metrics before changes
Data gathered from Google Analytics & Microsoft Azure
~50%
SignUp
Rate
20%
Email Verification Rate
0
Websites created / day
Research & Exploration
Data Analytics
Analytics helped identify where users abandoned the onboarding flow, allowing us to prioritize the areas with the highest impact before exploring design solutions.
Competitive Analysis
Wix: asks about site purpose and shows a personalized
preview before requesting an account.
Squarespace: one task per screen, generous whitespace,
advanced options hidden until needed.
Shopify: asks for payment only after value is shown, with
clear trust signals ("no charge until…").
Initial Design Exploration
Based on the analytics and benchmark findings, I redesigned the main friction points and created an initial onboarding flow for validation.
Validation
User Validation
I conducted moderated usability sessions using the first prototype to observe how users navigated the onboarding flow and identify remaining usability issues. This lead to the following key insights:
Sign up
Users needed a clearer value proposition before committing to account creation.
Email verification
This step didn't communicate enough value or urgency, resulting in lower activation rate.
Website creation flow
Users expected more guidance and a simpler, more intuitive flow.
Requesting credit card details upfront created hesitation, even with a free trial option.
Solutions & Wireframes
Improving the Landing Page & Signup Experience
Problem: Low signup rate due to unclear value proposition.
Solution: Redesigned landing page with compelling CTAs,
trust signals and social proof.
Result: Signup rate increased by 30%, reaching nearly 80%.
Signup Page - Old design
Signup Page - New Design
Improving Email Verification Rate
Problem: Only 20% of users verified their emails.
Solution: Simplified the interface so users won't get lost and added reasons to verify.
Result: Verification rate jumped to 70%
Email verification page - Old design
Email verification page - New design
Streamlining the Website Creation & Payment Process
Problem: Users abandoned the process due to a clunky interface and an upfront
payment requirement.
Solution:
1) Improved UX for the website builder by simplifying the UI, creating a cleaner layout
with a step-by-step guidance and by adding tooltips and onboarding prompts to assist
users.
2) Removed payment barriers by offering a free website option (no credit card required) and by redesigning the payment step with clearer pricing and transparent guidelines.
Result: 20-30 websites completed per day (from 0 before). Completion rates increased by 20% after optimizing the payment step.
Results & Impact
Overall UX improvements reduced friction, significantly increased the activation and conversion rates and boosted engagement.
30% SignUp Rate Increase
The signup rate reached almost 80%, from ~50% previously.
70% Email Verification Rate
The email verification rate incresed from 20% to 70%.
20-30 Websites Created per Day
The website completion rate went from 0 websites/day to 20-30/day.
