Journey redesign & iterative experiementation
Project Brief
The existing registration journey was overly long and exhibited considerable drop-offs at numerous points. Many users abandoned the process or became stuck in loops, creating significant barriers to sign-up. The journey desperately needed a new UX solution.
The challenge was to redesign the registration journey for the site. The core business requirements were clear: capture essential user information and include a verification stage to ensure that only eligible users could access the discounts.
Discovery & Research
I began by auditing the end-to-end journey and analysing analytics to understand where and why drop-offs were occurring. I also worked closely with the customer service team to identify the most common pain points raised by members.
The findings were clear:
The length of the journey (11 steps) was deterring users.
The cluttered layout and hidden form labels created confusion.
Error handling was inconsistent and inaccessible.
The verification step was poorly explained, leading to abandonment.
I also benchmarked against industry standards and competitor journeys, which reinforced the opportunity to simplify, clarify, and modernise the experience.
Defining the UX Strategy
From these insights, I defined a set of UX principles to guide the redesign:
Streamline the process: Reduce steps and consolidate choices.
Improve clarity: Provide explicit guidance, inline validation, and transparent feedback loops.
Enhance accessibility: Redesign form fields and error handling to meet WCAG standards.
Create focus: Remove distractions and present a clean, task-focused experience.
Optimise for mobile: Support completion with thumb-friendly interactions.
By aligning these principles with product, compliance, and engineering teams early, we ensured the redesign would deliver on business needs while remaining feasible.
Example Improvement: Redesigning the Verification Process
Aside from the accessibility issues and the UI inconsistencies, one of the most critical pain points in the old registration journey was the verification step.
The old journey
Originally, users were asked to enter a work email address to prove their eligibility. For those without a work email, a small line of text read: “Don’t have a work email address? Don’t worry; you can prove your eligibility here”, with “here” being a hyperlink.
This design created multiple UX issues:
The document upload option was hidden and unclear, buried in small text that many users missed.
The copy did not explain what the alternative actually involved, leaving users unsure of what would happen if they clicked.
Once users were taken to the document upload page, they were trapped - the journey was built so they could not return to email verification.
This fragmented and opaque design created unnecessary friction and confusion, leading to high drop-off rates at this point in the journey.
The redesigned journey
In the redesigned journey, I consolidated these verification options into a single, clear step. Instead of hidden text, users now choose between verification methods using radio buttons, with inline context about what each option involves and how long it is expected to take. This design provided clarity up front, allowing users to make an informed choice without surprise or confusion. Inline validation supported error prevention, ensuring users completed the step successfully the first time.
This change eliminated the sense of being “stuck” in a dead-end path and gave users transparent, well-supported options. It embodied the UX principles of clarity, accessibility, and reduced cognitive load, while still meeting the business requirement of ensuring only eligible users could access discounts.
Key improvements
The new registration journey reimagined the experience from the ground up.
Shorter, simpler flow: The journey was reduced from 11 to 7 steps, with verification options consolidated into a single page using clear radio buttons.
Transparent progress: A progress bar was introduced to help users understand where they were in the process and how much was left.
Supportive guidance: Inline help text was added for document uploads, alongside an explicit “check your inbox” confirmation and a one-click resend email option.
Clean, accessible UI: The redesign moved to a white background with simplified headers and forms. Labels now sit outside fields, error messaging is accessible, and visual hierarchy is improved.
I worked closely with developers to ensure accessibility improvements were properly implemented, and partnered with compliance to confirm the redesigned verification process met necessary standards.
Outcome & Impact
The new journey is faster, cleaner, and far more supportive:
Pages reduced from 11 to 7, cutting friction.
Verification simplified, with clearer guidance and improved success rates.
Accessibility strengthened, making the flow usable by a wider audience.
Rollout & Impact
The redesigned registration journey was released incrementally using a feature flag, allowing us to carefully measure performance against the old flow and minimise risk. This approach also created space to observe real user behaviour and make iterative adjustments before full release.
After a few further refinements, the results spoke for themselves: the new journey delivered an 8% uplift in registration completion. This was a significant win for the business, directly contributing to increased member acquisition.
Beyond the immediate numbers, the redesign also set a new UX benchmark for the organisation. The principles, patterns, and processes introduced in this project are now being adopted across other journeys, embedding a higher design standard and continuing to deliver value long after launch.