A growing user base has been fantastic news for AppOmni. The product had truly found a fit with the market. However, the primary feedback from users was that it was difficult to find their way through the product. In our user testing, it often took users several clicks to find the tool they were looking for. I was tasked with redesigning the global navigation.
Working with the product team, we started with the information architecture. After conducting a card sort exercise with stakeholders, we were able to identify confusing navigation areas and restructure the links into a hierarchy that made more sense to users.
The old horizontal navigation was increasingly impractical as the product grew, and many customers requested a more modern design for ease of use. With the update, we decided to shift to a new vertical navigation, making it easier for users to quickly move through the product.
I redesigned the global navigation bar to feature an icon system. The icons helps users easily identify and recall primary nav items and is also an important reminder to users of what they can do while working in the product.
The result was users being able to quickly locate their desired destination within the product – shaving 50% off the amount of clicks it takes to reach the most used features. The updated nav allows users to have all of the functionality of the product at their disposal without having to click though multiple screens or menus.
In addition, the vertical navigation allows for easy flexibility and extensibility as the product inevitably grows and scales in the future.