GoDaddy
Improved the design | Qualitative Research
My Role - Product Designer // Interaction Designer
Date - 2022
Tools Used - Figma, Illustrator, Premier Pro, UserTesting
As a UX Design Intern on the Design Commerce Engine team during a 12-week summer co-op, I improved website engagement and customer experience across 20+ B2C e-commerce pages through usability testing, heuristic evaluation, microcopy, and user research.
My role centered on research, prototyping, and presenting findings, with a particular focus on reducing slips, moments where users intend one action but accidentally trigger another, by identifying where the interface invited error and designing around it.
How did it function originally?
Did you notice that...
-
Feedback formats vary, with some interfaces disabling the save button, while others display a red box or both a red box and a written error message.
-
Different labels have different texts even for the similar errors.
-
Some interfaces allow users to enter special characters or alphabets where only numbers are required, such as in a phone number field.
Error messages expose the interface.
Removing the pain from error experiences is critical because if a user encounters an error, they are probably already frustrated.
You spend hours filling out details, click 'Save,' and get hit with an error message that makes you want to throw your computer out the window. I fixed that. I redesigned the error state to make the system more effortless and efficient, so you can finish the form and enjoy your coffee without the tech-induced tantrum.
Basic Guidelines
01.
Avoid the error occurring in the first place
02.
Show the user the field where the error has occurred
03.
Use inline validation
04.
Be polite – don’t blame the user
05.
Be precise – clearly describe the issue, and how to resolve it
Inform Users Immediately
Don’t Disable The Save Button
Alerts and Growls
Alerts shows the feedback about an action (Negative or Positive), or a warning about an issue that might affect the functionality.
Growls are okay to use when we want to inform the user about a system event that has occurred. For example, when a user saves a product detail without any error, a success growl appears to inform the user about the recent action.
Error Messages and Alerts
🆘 Error Messages
Email: Invalid email address
Phone number, Size, Price: Must be a number
Required Field: Required
Time Field: Time is invalid
Date Field: Date is invalid
Zip Code: Invalid Zip Code
🚧 Alerts
Category: The category could not be created. Please verify the data you entered.
Form: Something went wrong. Please check all the inputs.
Listing: This listing needs work or is missing required fields, and cannot be published.
Did my work work, or did it not work worth a quirk?
Watch the prototype working in the video attached below!
Learnings
My time at GoDaddy was a crash course in growth, one challenge at a time:
-
Stakeholder alignment — learned to prioritize and align competing stakeholder needs, communicating clearly across a cross-functional team to land on the best solution.
-
Attention to detail — sharpened this through weeks of meticulous spec sheet work, catching design inconsistencies most people would miss.
-
Storytelling and presentation — built real skill in persuasion and taking feedback well through countless pitches, presentations, and design alignment sessions.
