iHerb
The redesign of the Users' Purchase Experience to Increase Credibility and Address Accessibility Issues
Summary
Aesthetics equals credibility.
iHerb stands out as a global leader in health and wellness, offering an extensive range of products, including supplements, beauty items, and groceries, all while expanding its dedicated workforce. Research, including the “amelioration effect,” demonstrates that visually appealing websites are often perceived as more credible.
A study by Rieh and Danielson revealed that aesthetics positively influenced ratings in 90% of cases. Both solutions emphasize visual appeal so that credibility can be viewed as an inherent benefit rather than a separate challenge. This insight can guide us in enhancing user experience and building trust with customers.
Heuristic Evaluation
Jacob Nielsen's General Heuristic Principles
Visibility of system status
Match between the system and the real world
User control and freedom
Consistency and standards
Error prevention
Recognition rather than recall
Flexibility and efficiency of use
Aesthetic and minimalist design
Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
Help and documentation
1. Is obvious
2. Starts with most important
3. A search bar is present
4. Navigation is consistent
5. Contact information is visible
Forms
Buttons are easily clickable
2. Buttons have clear CTAs
3. All forms ask only for relevant information
Typography
1. Fonts are larger than 14px
2. Not more than 2 font families used
3. Font is larger than 16px on mobile
4. Headings are consistent on the pages
Error Prevention
1. The name of fields is visible
2. Fields contain different values
User Trust
The company’s address is present
2. There are reviews from customers
3. Customer support number is displayed
4. There’s a privacy policy page
Architecture
1. There’s enough space between blocks
2. Related elements are close by
3. Consistant grid
3. The pages are easy to navigate
Insights
The iHerb website feels "tacky," overloaded with flashing sale buttons like "Sale!" and "Immunity Boosters!" that create a sense of shouting. When everything is emphasized, nothing stands out. The layout is paradoxical—cramped yet empty—and the overuse of colors is distracting.
To address this, I analyzed competitors (Vitacost, Holland and Barrett, GNC, and Swanson) to understand how they announce sales, motivate purchases, and influence UI design.
Competitor Research
Insights
Oversaturating the page with sale signs and CTA buttons is a common issue for e-commerce sites. Vitacost's and Swansons' websites, like iHerb's, share these problems. On the other hand, I have realized that it is possible to advertise successfully without overwhelming consumers. GNC's and Holland and Barrett's websites show a clear layout and attractive design.
Accessibility Analysis
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Target Audience
Insights
User Journey Map is the method that highlights the correlation between a website's credibility (user's trust) and visual aesthetics. This research also showed where are areas of possible improvement or new market possibilities.
Scope
I have focused on designing wireframes for the specific user flow.
Buying Vitamin B from the company Cellusor, using menu > filters.
Insights
The iHerb redesign satisfies readability criteria with good contrast and font sizes. I have incorporated iHerb's warm green color through the user flow and the yellow color on the landing page. I have assigned each color a specific goal based on the human color phycology studies- Green-CTA; Yellow-discount. The design is minimalistic and distraction-free.
AHA Moment
The biggest 'AHA!' moment for this project was my User Persona thoughts throughout her journey map, specifically at the stage of 'iHerb browsing.' Maya (my User Persona) thought, 'This better not be a scam,' since the prices of the products are low and the website doesn't create trust for first-time shoppers. This got me curious to learn more about trust and the product's 'look and feel.' Website redesign has to be approached carefully; they might attract new customers but also anger the existing ones. People don't like change. This may be the reason why iHerb is not updating its website. The redesign should be integrated gradually so as not to shock the user.
Challenges
The biggest challenge was deciding which elements of the oversaturated interface of the original iHerb site had the most successful click rate to keep those in focus. Having access to website analytics would help me better rely on solid data. What would I do differently next time? I would contact the iHerb company much earlier to get data about their target audience, site CTA performance, and plans.