ShopLab
Reimagining onboarding to boost customer acquisition for Canada’s most innovative commerce platform.
How did I help:
User Research | App Design | UX/UI Design
Role
UX/UI Designer
Team
2 UX/UI Designers, 1 Data Scientist, 2 Developers
Timeline
24 hrs
The Client
Shopify is an all-in-one commerce platform to start, run, and grow a business. Merchants can tap into the Shopify Ecosystem—a network of developers, designers, consultants, and entrepreneurs—along with a vast app store and resource library to support their success.
The Challenge
How can we better leverage the Shopify Ecosystem to help lower the barrier to entrepreneurship in new regions, demographics and business sectors?
The Solution
A digital product that simplifies the starting point for emerging entrepreneurs, guiding them through the setup process and reducing barriers to launching their business on Shopify.
Research
Financing
$18,000 is the average cost to run a small business in the first year. Many entrepreneurs are unable to access funding.
Secondary research revealed that most Shopify sellers are first-time entrepreneurs. With this in mind, we focused on key challenges new entrepreneurs face and identified common barriers to entry.
Social Support
75% of small business owners lack a business network or peer group and therefore have no social support.
Knowledge
45% of those considering entrepreneurship don’t know where to begin and lack the essential knowledge to get started.
How might Shopify better leverage its ecosystem to make entrepreneurship more accessible than ever before?
User Persona
Based on our research, we created a persona to capture our target user's key frustrations and goals. Meet Priya—an artist ready to grow her business and build her brand online.
Task Flow
In Priya’s case, the app would guide her through the starting process, connect her with funding, and provide educational articles to expand her knowledge. This approach addresses two key barriers: limited knowledge and lack of access to funding.
Wireframes
After putting together the wireframes, we checked in with our web developers for a final look-over before fully designing the high-fidelity prototype.
Visual Identity
The app was designed to align with Shopify’s brand guidelines and Polaris Design System, ensuring a cohesive user experience. It incorporates Shopify’s colours, typography, and icons to maintain consistency with its established brand identity.
The Result
A quick-start app within Shopify’s ecosystem, designed to guide users through a simple 3-step process: a quick-start button, a brief questionnaire, and a tailored recommendation to help emerging entrepreneurs launch their business on the Shopify platform.
By taking a user-centric approach and removing common barriers to entry, the app is a valuable resource that will help expand entrepreneurship across new regions, demographics, and business sectors.
Final Takeaways
1. Effective Collaboration
Communication is key. Regular check-ins, open discussions, and asking questions help identify potential roadblocks early, clarify requirements, and ensure that everyone is working toward the same goal.
2. Using Existing Design Systems
I experienced firsthand the benefits of designing with brand guidelines and an existing design system. With a tight turnaround, they were crucial in ensuring an efficient design process and a final product that remained cohesive with the brand.