Challenge Summary
Welcome BACK to the Hestia Platform Redesign Planning and Wireframes Contest II. The purpose of this contest is to help Hestia PLAN their new Platform redesign! Hestia is a wholesale distributor of a variety of plumbing and building-related products. Hestia currently has a web appliction (Hestia B2B) that was built using the Studio/TopCoder platform! We are now in the process of reworking the user flow and functionality to include new users and site features.
The goal of this wireframe contest is to plan and design an easy-to-use, efficient browser-based website that incorporates the different Hestia users and provides for a seamless B2B and B2C user experience!
At the end of this contest we are looking for UPDATED wireframes, navigation and content areas based on the requested design changes. Include your thoughts or notes to help improve the user experience.
We have a FAST Checkpoint - so please submit your ideas ASAP so we can get you the feedback you need!
Round 1
Checkpoint
- We would like to see your initial paths and any questions you have
Round 2
Final Design
- All click-paths
- Any updates from the Checkpoint Review
Contest Details
This contest is focused on creating a new B2B/B2C/Showroom site for Hestia. The client is focused on creating a new and inviting user experience where a B2C, B2B or Homeowner customer can search/find products quickly (with minimal clicks) and use any available site tools to make their purchasing of products easier.
Design Problem
- We want to IMPROVE and UPDATE the existing wireframes and REVISE the flows
- We DO NOT WANT to call out the Homeowner and B2B Customer - we want them to PICK who they are by the products and content they click on!
- We are looking for an updated navigation where its more focused on "shopping and e-commerce tools" and less on the corporate links.
- The site needs to be profile task orientated - a user needs to be able search and find things quickly
- All of this with the as few clicks and pages refreshes as possible
Definitions:
B2B: Business to Business (Professional)
- This is a Business who is buying products from Hestia to use in their business or resell
- A B2B user wants to find their products quickly... buy and get back to work.
- B2B is Wholesale instead of Retail
- Reference site
B2C: Business to Consumer
- Sites like "example1" and "example2" would be B2C because anyone (you or me) could purchase products from them.
- B2C is Retail instead of Wholesale
- Reference site
Homeowner/Showroom
- This is also a "B2C/individual" user but they are looking for more specific products, content or galleries of products beyond just searching and buying.
- We will want to direct the Homeowner to a better "exploration of products"
- Reference site
Wireframe Scenarios
Hestia.com = top level domain
- This page would become a typical B2C ecommerce where a user could search and purchase products
- We DO NOT WANT the page to be heavy on either Homeowner or Professional (remove the tabs)
- We want the user to PICK who they are by the products and content they click on! (results is driven by the users choices)
- Please redesign the navigation and page layout for "Not Logged In" and "Logged In"
- User can search for products
- User should be able to learn about products
- User should be able to place products in their cart
- User can add an accessory to their cart after learning about it
- "Not Logged in" view will have different features compared to "Logged in" view (think about these!)
We want the users path to be determined by what they click on
Homepage: Think about this page
- More shopping focus - less "corporate" focus
- Remove Browse Categories in the left column
- Remove the Homeowner/Professional tabs
- Serices and Markets served should not be in the top navigation
- What product/search/tools "should" be in the navigation?
- This page should be 75% Professional and 25% Homeowner focused
Scenario 1: A user clicks on "Shop Faucets"
- Faucets are considered both Homeowner and Professional products
- User is taken to another page that has additional Merchandishing, Faucet Galleries, Faucet Brands etc.
- Homeowner can continue to explore
- Professional can continue to search or drill into Faucets to find what they need. What "professional type tools/widgets" would be on this page so the Professional can ignore the Merchandising and Galleries?
- This page would need a combination of Homeowner and Professional interests
- A user can Register or Login OR go to the "Homeowner" areas to see additional product galleries and video's
- The user can click and drill into products and add it to their cart
Scenario 2: A user clicks on "Shop Pipe & Tubing"
- "Pipe & Tubing" is considered only a Professional product
- The user doesn't see any Merchandising or Galleries - they just see Categories and results based on types of Pipe & Tubing
- User quickly get to their product and see any accesories related to the product
- User can add the product and accessories to their cart
Scenario 3: A user clicks on "Shop Appliances"
- Appliances is are considered only a Homeowner product (yes Professional will also want them but the page is solely geared towards Homeowners)
- The user see's great visuals and graphics showing Appliances
- The user is shown Galleries, Merchandising (deals), Brands!, User and Professional Reviews
- Maybe the user see's additional "Tools, Calculators, Style Guides etc"
- The user can click and drill into products and see accessories or related items
- The user can quickly add the product(s) to their cart
Scenario 4: A Professional Plumber logs into the site
- A existing Professional user logs into the site
- Homepage Changes: They see products and merchandising based on their profile (Plumbing)
- They see "Professional Tools" like "Recently Purchased Products, Bill pay, Recent Orders"
- They click on "My List" and add products to their cart
- Since I'm an existing user - I want to see my most recent searches and products ordered.
Important Note:
- Many of the existing features in the wireframes are still needed - what do you edit/add or remove?
- Update the wireframes to handle these new scenarios/changes/updates
Target User
- New and Existing Hestia Customers
Judging Criteria
- How well plan and help solve the Hestia navigation issues between a Normal user, Business user and a Homeowner user.
- Cleanliness of wireframes and instruction
Submission & Source Files
Preview Image
Please create your preview image as one (1) 1024x1024px JPG or PNG file in RGB color mode at 72dpi and place a screenshot of your submission within it.
Submission File
Wireframes should be built in HTML, Axure, MS Visio or OmniGraffle. The resulting files are not critical in this contest. The most important point is that all the content is listed and the pages are linked together to show page flow.
Source Files
All original source files of the submitted ideas. Include notes within your wireframe
Final Fixes
As part of the final fixes phase you may be asked to modify content or user click paths.
Please read the challenge specification carefully and watch the forums for any questions or feedback concerning this challenge. It is important that you monitor any updates provided by the client or Studio Admins in the forums. Please post any questions you might have for the client in the forums.