Redesigning a live product without losing its users
Design · 2 min read
A redesign is for the people who already use the product as much as for the ones you hope to win. These three habits keep it feeling like an upgrade.
Protect the paths people rely on
List the handful of tasks that most visits are for, such as reordering, checking a status or paying. Those paths can look new, but they should take the same number of steps or fewer.
Keep the brand recognisable
Colours, logo and tone are how returning users know they are in the right place. Modernise the layout and components around them rather than replacing everything at once.
Measure before and after
Note load time and completion rate for the key tasks before work starts. The same numbers after launch tell you whether the redesign did its job.