Project Overview
Case Study: Home Depot Navigation Bar, mobile app. Redesign to enhance user satisfaction by addressing key pain points
Client: Home Depot
Role: UX Designer & UI
Duration: 5 Weeks
Tools Used: Figma, Adobe illustrator
Objectives
Improve Navigation Efficiency: Redesign the top navigation to make product and service categories easier to find.
Enhance Accessibility: Ensure users with varying levels of technical experience can browse without confusion.
Increase Discoverability: Highlight key services and specialty categories that were previously buried or unclear.
Support Remodeling Journeys: Create a Kitchen Measurements page to guide customers in starting their projects with confidence.
Address Mobile Pain Points: Identify and resolve usability challenges within the Home Depot app through customer feedback and observations.
Deliver a Seamless Experience: Provide consistent, intuitive interactions across both the website and mobile app to improve overall customer satisfaction.
Target Users
- Contractors & Professional Builders
Small to mid-size business owners, re-modelers, electricians, plumbers, and general contractors who purchase in bulk. - Homeowners Doing Renovations
People planning medium- to large-scale home projects (kitchen remodel, bathroom upgrade, flooring). - In-Store Shoppers
Customers physically inside a Home Depot store using the app to navigate.
Users pain points
Usability & Functionality Issues
Poor search discoverability and task completion.
DIY features are hard to find.
Inaccurate search results and in-stock info cause confusion.
- Unreliable order tracking, and limited shopping list management (can’t edit/delete in-app)
Login & Account Challenges
Email verification codes don’t arrive or loop
Persistent login failures
Prevents access to the shopping prefer.
Navigation & Filtering Problems
- Filters cause lag, freezes, or crashes when applied in combinations.
- Search results sometimes are irrelevant
Poor Discoverability: Difficulty finding products, services, and departments (especially on mobile).
Disorganized Navigation: Lack of clear structure, particularly for services.
Performance & Stability Issues
Slow loading, unresponsive UI, blank pages, and frequent crashes.
Device/OS compatibility issues, especially on tablets and foldable phones.
App Crashes & Performance Lag
Several users report that the app freezes or crashes during use.
Performance issues seem more common on older devices or after recent updates
Performance & Stability Issues
Slow loading, unresponsive UI, blank pages, and frequent crashes.
Device/OS compatibility issues, especially on tablets and foldable phones.
Users Research
I utilized both qualitative and quantitative data by conducting in-person interviews and surveys. I carried out a total of seven interviews and surveys with users to gather firsthand insights into their frustrations and needs. The insights gained provided measurable guidance for improvements in the redesign
Research Overview
Goal: Identify key usability problems in the Home Depot mobile app and propose improvements to enhance performance, navigation, and overall user experience.
Methods Used:
User Interviews: 10 participants (contractors, homeowners, DIYers)
Surveys: 43 respondents to quantify common pain points
Usability Testing: Task-based testing measuring completion time, success rate, and user satisfaction
UX Research: Interview questions
How often do you use the Home Depot app for shopping?
What tasks do you usually perform in the app? (searching, filtering, order tracking, in-store locating)
Can you describe a recent frustrating experience while using the app?
How easy is it to find products and their aisle/bay location?
Have you encountered issues with filters? Can you explain?
How reliable is the barcode scanner for finding products?
How accurate is the app’s stock information compared to in-store availability?
Are shopping lists easy to create and manage?
How is your experience with checkout and order tracking?
If you could improve one thing about the app, what would it be?
Survey Questions
How often does the app crash or freeze? (Never / Rarely / Sometimes / Often / Always)
Rate the accuracy of stock information. (1–5)
How effective are filters at helping you find products? (1–5)
How easy is it to locate items in-store using the app? (1–5)
Rate your satisfaction with barcode scanning. (1–5)
How manageable are your shopping lists in-app? (1–5)
How would you rate overall app performance? (1–5)
What device do you primarily use the app on? (Mobile / Tablet)
Do you shop mostly online, in-store, or both?
Users Competitor Analysis
| Category | Home Depot App | Lowe’s App |
|---|---|---|
| Performance & Speed | Frequently described as slow or non-responsive, with “dial-up speeds” and white pages that never load. | Marketed as feature-rich (AR, scanning, in-store planning). Implied smoother user experience. |
| Loading & Stability | Reports of blank screens and app crashes during use. | No strong evidence of widespread stability issues. |
| Search Functionality | Search degraded by slow loading, blank pages, and unresponsive UI. | Stronger in-app tools like AR search and price checks; fewer complaints about failures. |
| Account & Login | Pro accounts available, but users report login failures, verification loops, and access glitches. | Pro features available with no notable reports of login problems. |
| Update Compatibility | Some users experience outages or instability after updates. | Occasional outage discussions; fewer compatibility complaints. |
| The Home Depot app, while powerful, can sometimes have a more complex structure for product discovery. | The Lowe’s app generally offers more streamlined navigation and intuitive filtering, making it easier and faster to find specific products. | |
| Payment Options | Accepts standard payments, PayPal, and store credit cards, providing flexibility for users. | Feature-rich and potentially smoother; better option for performance-sensitive users. |
Users Personas
| Persona | Bio | Motivation | Goals | Pain Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramy – Contractor | Owns a contracting business specializing in renovations & property flipping. Uses Home Depot app daily on phone to source materials and manage projects. | Needs reliable, fast access to materials and orders to keep projects on schedule. | – Quickly source bulk materials- Track orders efficiently- Access Pro account discounts & history | – App crashes during material search- Login failures block access to Pro account- Slow load times waste project time- Poor navigation delays urgent purchases |
| Suzy– Homeowner | 38-year-old homeowner planning a kitchen remodel. New to remodeling apps, values simplicity and clarity. Uses tablet occasionally for ideas and purchases. | Wants inspiration and confidence in selecting materials for a remodel. | – Find trustworthy product info- Save & compare items- Track remodel orders with ease | – DIY features and project guides are hard to find and not well-integrated, Disorganized navigation makes it difficult to browse services and departments, Inaccurate or misleading in-stock information causes confusion. Filters cause the app to freeze or crash, especially when combined. |
| Liana – Regular Shopper | Busy professional shopping for appliances (e.g., oven). Shops online instead of in-store. Wants quick, accurate filtering. | Wants seamless, frustration-free shopping. | – Use filters to narrow down items- Make purchase with confidence- Have accurate, relevant results | – Filters return unrelated results- Frustration from wasted time- Limited list management- Abandons app to shop elsewhere |
User Journey Mapping
Suzy – Homeowner
| Stage | Activities | Pain Points | Feelings | Opportunities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awareness | Opens app to check material availability for new renovation. | App slow to load. | Frustrated, stressed. | Optimize app load speed. |
| Discovery | Searches for bulk materials (e.g., drywall, cement). | Search gives irrelevant results, sometimes blank pages. | Annoyed, time-sensitive. | Improve search accuracy & reliability. |
| Consideration | Tries to compare items and check Pro discounts. | Login errors prevent account access. | Helpless, loses trust. | Fix login & account persistence. |
| Decision | Places bulk order for delivery. | App crashes mid-checkout. | Angry, wasted time. | Stabilize checkout & order flow. |
Ramy – Contractor
| Stage | Activities | Pain Points | Feelings | Opportunities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awareness | Opens the app to check material availability for a new renovation. | App slow to load. | Frustrated, stressed. | Optimize app load speed. |
| Discovery | Searches for bulk materials (e.g., drywall, cement). | Search gives irrelevant results, sometimes blank pages. | Annoyed, time-sensitive. | Improve search accuracy & reliability. |
| Consideration | Tries to compare items and check Pro discounts. | Login errors prevent account access. | Helpless, loses trust. | Fix login & account persistence. |
| Decision | Places bulk order for delivery. | App crashes mid-checkout. | Angry, wasted time. | Stabilize checkout & order flow. |
Liana’s Journey: Buying an Oven
Stage | Activities | Pain Points | Feelings | Opportunities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Awareness | Needs a new oven. Knows she wants to shop online for a variety of choices. | The app loads very slowly, with blank screens appearing initially. | Impatient, slightly annoyed. “Why is this taking so long just to open?” | Drastically improve app load times and overall performance. |
Discovery | Searches for oven | The search results page loads slowly and sometimes displays a blank screen. | Frustrated, worried. Did the app crash? Why is there nothing here?” | Ensure the search functionality is fast and reliable, always returning some form of content or a clear “no results” message. |
Consideration | Sees the results and tries to filter by price: low to high. | The filter returns completely unrelated products, like cleaning supplies or sink parts. The app lags or freezes. | Confused, angry. What is going on? This isn’t even a filter for ovens.” | Fix the core filtering logic to ensure it provides accurate, relevant results without performance degradation. |
Key Findings and Data Insights
Based on the issues experienced in the user personas and journey maps, a usability analysis reveals the following key findings:
Performance & Stability:
Frequent app crashes and blank screens across devices.
- Deficiencies in loading, high crashes, and non-responsive interfaces are not isolated incidents. They are a core issue that constantly disrupts the user journey, leading to task abandonment.
Search & Filtering Lack Relevance:
- The fundamental search operation of the app is unreliable. Users are consistently faced with irrelevant information or nothing at all. This is compounded by a broken filtering system that consistently fails to categorize correctly and causes app crashes.
Core Functionality is Lacking:
- Professional account management and shopping list management are feature-poor. Being unable to obtain pro discounts or edit shopping lists reduces the app’s functionality compared to other services or the site on the desktop.
Navigation & Discoverability are Unorganized:
- Users, particularly new app users like Suzy, find it difficult to find a specific department, service, or feature (like DIY guides). This poor information architecture creates a sense of disorientation and confusion.
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