Viator, a TripAdvisor company, is where millions of people worldwide go to book travel tours and activities, and we needed to create a mobile website to support travelers on the go.
Product Designer
Viator - Booking
Challenge
The main user group in the Viator ecosystem is travelers. The existing website interface worked on desktop, but it was overwhelming and clunky for users on a mobile device. I joined Viator's design team to redesign the experience, starting with the mobile website and expanding to optimize the desktop website and mobile apps.
Solution
I designed a dedicated mobile website which is completely distinct from the full desktop site, with a separate URL (m.viator.com). It contains features and content that are a subset of what is available on the desktop site. By designing the mobile website specifically for mobile phones, I was able to focus on the core functionality and only include what is absolutely imperative to users.
Discovery
To better understand the problem, I interviewed travelers and asked them questions to help identify our customer's needs. What are the steps that people take when they start to plan a trip? What resources do they currently use? What are the most important elements of a tour or activity?
Through the research phase, we discovered our main goal: Design a mobile experience that elegantly curates ideas for people who are planning a trip, while also enabling travelers to find nearby tours and activities and easily access their bookings during the trip.
Exploration
During the exploration phase, I played with numerous layouts for filtering options, individual product screens, and calendar and booking concepts.
Final solution
Travelers on-the-go are able to search and explore tours and activities near them, set filters based on preferences, and access important details about their bookings.
Travelers needed the ability to sort through top-rated tours, attractions, and recommendations based on travel dates and availability.
I designed a wide range of booking concepts for the individual tour screen — including a "Book Now" button on the top right side of the screen versus fixed to the bottom.
Both concepts are meant to guide users to complete the transaction. My instinct was that the fixed "Book Now" button would be too pushy. We A/B tested both design options and tracked conversion rates. Users responded negatively to the persistent button, with a 21-26% decrease in sales.
✅ Mobile bookings numbers increased significantly after the launch of the mobile website.
✅ Viator was acquired by TripAdvisor shortly after the completion of the mobile website.
✅ We optimized the iOS and Android mobile apps to align with the mobile website experience and ensure a cohesive experience across multiple platforms.
✅ Viator iPhone app was named an Honoree for the 2015 Webby Awards and voted the Best app for Travelers by Travel + Leisure in 2014.
Outcome
The mobile website was a seamless user experience that rolled out to all travelers.
