FastExpert

Increasing vendor invitations and vendor signups through redesign

Skills

Design Leadership

Project Management

User Research

Team

Sole Product Designer / Project Lead (Me)

Dev Team

Sales Team (Account Managers)

Marketing Team

Duration

6 weeks

Tool

Figma

Asana

Overview

FastExpert is a platform for real estate agents and home buyers/sellers. As the sole Product Designer / Project Lead, I redesigned the vendor referral popup and signup flow, increasing vendor invitations by 20% and signups by 30%, contributing to the company's business expansion.

Role

I spearheaded the entire project from start to finish, owning both design and project management. I defined milestones, set deadlines, and ensured timely delivery while collaborating closely with cross-functional teams to align design with time and development constraints.

Solution Highlights

Trusted Pro popup

Signup flow

Results

20%

Increased the number of total invitations sent

30%

Increased the vendor signup rate

20%

Increased the number of total invitations sent

30%

Increased the vendor signup rate

PROBLEM & BACKGROUND

Problem: Low vendor invitations and signups

Fastexpert was facing a problem where the number of vendors* was significantly lower than the number of real estate agents (= main users). They wanted to bring in more vendors and, as a result, expand the business by incorporating professionals from various industries.

(*Vendors = All the other professionals who aren’t real estate agents, such as interior designers, plumbers, etc.)

What is the Trusted Pro referral system? -> The funnel for bringing in vendors.

The Trusted Pro popup & its referral system allow real estate agents to invite vendors to join the platform. When a vendor signs up, the agent earns the "Trusted Pro Badge" that can be displayed on their public profile and in the directories.

Directory

Increases visibility in the agent directories.

Profile

Lets agents showcase their credibility.

Professional Network

Displays invited vendors as part of their trusted network.

Directory

Increases visibility in the agent directories.

Profile

Lets agents showcase their credibility.

Professional Network

Displays invited vendors as part of their trusted network.

Two issues with the Trusted Pro popup ⚠️

There are two ways for vendors to join FastExpert: 1) regular vendor signup and 2) invites sent through the Trusted Pro popup. Since FastExpert is primarily known as 'the platform for real estate agents and home buyers/sellers,' we were counting on the latter. However…

Not many agents were inviting vendors.

Not many vendors were signing up.

Company had changed the popup design MULTIPLE times -> No success. 😞

What is the Trusted Pro referral system? -> The funnel for bringing in vendors.

Directory

Increases visibility in the agent directories.

Profile

Lets agents showcase their credibility.

Professional Network

Displays invited vendors as part of their trusted network.

What is the Trusted Pro referral system? -> The funnel for bringing in vendors.

Directory

Increases visibility in the agent directories.

Profile

Lets agents showcase their credibility.

Professional Network

Displays invited vendors as part of their trusted network.

INVESTIGATE

Investigating the problem: Discovering three main issues & Opportunities for improvement.

After deciding to lead this project, I analyzed the possible reasons for the small vendor user base. Below are the three main factors that could have been affecting vendor invitation and signup rates:

Invitation emails

Trusted Pro Popup

Vendor signup flow

[NEXT STEP ➡️] Improve each and observe how invitation and signup rates improve.

1ST REDESIGN

First redesign: Invitation emails — The quickest change with measurable impact.

[GOAL 🎯] Increase the click rate & conversion rate (Invite -> Email -> Signup)

Research 🔎

I began by researching how other platforms designed their email templates. What elements did they include to increase click and conversion rates? I then found out…

Personalization ✨

Tailored subject lines (e.g. Use the recepient's name)
Profile pictures of users

Clear and visible CTAs (e.g. high contrast) 👀

Compelling email copy 😎

Benefit-driven messaging
Create a sense of scarcity & urgency

Redesign 🎨

Before 👎

👎 No personalization: The same "You're Invited!" subject lines & generic content and images.

👎 CTAs: Not visible enough.

👎 Outdated design: Emails haven't been updated for a while.

After ✅

👍 Personalization: Added referrer and invitee names in subject lines and emails, with referrer's profile picture.

👍 CTAs: Visible, high-contrast

👍 Clean, simple design.

⭐ NOTE: Traditionally (based on the A/B test results), users prefer short, simple emails over long, graphic-heavy ones. I focused on this preference while highlighting the benefits of joining FastExpert.

Research 🔎

I began by researching how other platforms designed their email templates. What elements did they include to increase click and conversion rates? I then found out…

Personalization ✨

Tailored subject lines (e.g. Use the recepient's name)
Profile pictures of users

Clear and visible CTAs (e.g. high contrast) 👀

Compelling email copy 😎

Benefit-driven messaging
Create a sense of scarcity & urgency

Result: Click rate and conversion rate improved a bit. However…

I was able to increase the conversion rate by a few percent. However, the thing is, our invitation email conversion rate was already pretty high. The main challenge was that not enough agents were sending out invitations initially (= low total invites). I identified this early on during the investigation stage, so I quickly moved on to the next step: the popup redesign.

2ND REDESIGN

Second redesign: Trusted Pro popup — Improving the number of vendor invitations sent.

[GOAL 🎯] Increase the number of vendor invitations sent by agents.

Interview insights — Why are agents not using the popup? 🤔

I conducted user interviews since the company hadn’t done so before. I needed to understand why agents weren’t using the popup, especially after multiple design changes had failed to increase invitations.

Analyzing data & old designs 📊

I collected ALL previous designs and compared their performance to identify which one generated the most engagement and invitations. I also spoke with team members to understand their design decisions, concerns, and thought processes.

Surprise! 1st version performed the best. 🤯

ONLY has the Email invite feature.
Simplest version — least text, least complicated
Issue: Outdated UI

Meanwhile, the most recent version was one of the 'worst' performers! 😓

NO ONE was using the social media invite feature. (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter)
VERY FEW were using the Share Link (Copy & Paste) feature.
ALMOST EVERYONE was inviting via Email feature.
Text-heavy and complicated

Redesign Goal 🎯

Simple design + focus on email invites

Explain benefits to users

Align with the current design system

Redesign 🎨

Before 👎

[Click through! 👇] After ✅ — Simple, personalized design with dynamic texts (showing their progress) & filters

Change 1

Change 2

Change 3

[Click through! 👇] After ✅ — Simple, personalized design with dynamic texts (showing their progress) & filters

Change 1

Change 2

Change 3

[Click through! 👇] After ✅ — Simple, personalized design with dynamic texts (showing their progress) & filters

Change 1

Change 2

Change 3

Analyzing data & old designs 📊

Redesign 🎨

Before 👎

[Click through! 👇] After ✅ — Simple, personalized design with dynamic texts (showing their progress) & filters

Interview insights — Why are agents not using the popup? 🤔

Tracking the performance with A/B testing

Since the team wanted to see the change ASAP, I conducted an A/B test to track the results right away.

While it was being tracked, I moved on to the final step: the signup flow redesign.

Since the team wanted to see the change ASAP, I conducted an A/B test to track the results right away.

While it was being tracked, I moved on to the final step: the signup flow redesign.

3RD REDESIGN

Third redesign: Vendor signup flow — Improving the vendor signup rates.

[GOAL 🎯] Increase the vendor signup rate.

Usability test observation with the current(=before) signup flow 🧐

1st approach: Planned to revamp the whole signup flow AND design (long-term project).

At that time, we were adding new features to the vendor profile, so I thought it would be a good idea to integrate them into the signup process (inspired by Wix's onboarding flow). The whole team agreed on this, so I conducted research and created wireframes.

Uh oh… Pivoting — Time constraint. ⏰ -> Re-prioritization

Due to other urgent projects, I had to re-prioritize the goals.

Before: Adding new features + Changing the whole UI & UX

After: Focusing on removing unnecessary steps

Steps I took before shortening the signup flow:

Research 🔎

Researched other platforms' signup pages.

Data analysis - Google Analytics 📊

Analyzed abandonment rates, completion rates, etc.

Data analysis - Hotjar recordings 🎬

Identified where users were facing issues and dropping off.

Research 🔎

Researched other platforms' signup pages.

Data analysis - Google Analytics 📊

Analzyed abandonment rates, completion rates, etc.

Data analysis - Hotjar recordings 🎬

Identified where users were facing issues and dropping off.

🎨 Landing page redesign — Added social media signup option + Removed blurbs.

❌ Removed lengthy marketing blurbs.

NO ONE was reading/scrolling down. (Source: Tons of Hotjar recordings.)

✅ Added social media signup -> Simplified signup

I noticed that almost every platform had it. (I closely worked with the devs to test the feature.)

❌ Removed the lengthy marketing blurbs.

NO ONE was reading/scrolling down. (Source: Tons of Hotjar recordings.)

✅ Opted in for social media signup -> Simplified signup

I noticed that almost every platform has it. (I closely worked with the devs to test the feature.)

🎨 Signup flow redesign — Removed unnecessary steps.

Most steps weren't essential, as users could fill them out later after signup. I kept only the necessary steps.

(NOTE: I discussed with the team beforehand to determine which steps should remain required/necessary.)

Usability test observation with the current(=before) signup flow 🧐

Steps I took before shortening the signup flow:

Research 🔎

Researched other platforms' signup pages.

Data analysis - Google Analytics 📊

Analyzed abandonment rates, completion rates, etc.

Data analysis - Hotjar recordings 🎬

Identified where users were facing issues and dropping off.

Steps I took before shortening the signup flow:

Research 🔎

Researched other platforms' signup pages.

Data analysis - Google Analytics 📊

Analyzed abandonment rates, completion rates, etc.

Data analysis - Hotjar recordings 🎬

Identified where users were facing issues and dropping off.

Testing the new flow with Account Managers + A/B test to confirm.

Account Managers approved! ✔️

New version won! (Thanks to the social media signup!) 🏆

FINAL DESIGNS & RESULTS

Final designs & Solutions

Trusted Pro popup

Signup flow

Invitation Emails

Trusted Pro Popup

Landing page + Signup

Successful redesigns — Especially the social media signup feature!

Overall, I increased the number of vendor invitations sent and improved their conversion rate. However, the most notable change was the surge in vendor signups after launch. The social media signup option I added brought in many new vendors—even those who weren’t invited—which was a win since our main goal was to grow the vendor base and expand the business.

While our total number of vendors was initially low, these percentage increases reflect meaningful progress, and we see this as a strong starting point for further growth!

20%

Increased the number of total invitations sent

30%

Increased the vendor signup rate

REFLECTION

Pivoting with purpose → Navigating constraints and delivering results.

Takeaway 1

Adapting to shifting priorities and constraints is essential for delivering results under tight deadlines.

Takeaway 2

Focusing on the most impactful changes can lead to measurable improvements, even when working quickly and efficiently.

If I had more time…

I would revamp the real estate agent signup flow as well, and complete the integration of new features into the vendor onboarding process (which was my initial goal beforehand).

FastExpert

DemocracyLab