UX

Alexander J. Birkhoff

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Checkout Redesign

Rethinking the checkout experience from the ground up. A complete redesign of idealo's checkout, combining a simpler user experience with a consistent design system and a modern technical foundation.

Company

idealo

Year

2020

Role

Senior UX Designer

Focus

UX Strategy
Concept & Design

Context

After years of incremental optimization, idealo's checkout had become increasingly complex. New features and individual improvements had accumulated, resulting in redundant information, inconsistent interfaces and growing technical debt.

A complete redesign was initially met with skepticism. Small, isolated A/B tests had made it possible to measure individual changes with relatively little risk. Rebuilding the entire checkout meant changing many variables at once.

I initiated the redesign to challenge this incremental approach and establish a cleaner, more sustainable foundation for the product.

Solution

Simplify first.
Add value deliberately.

Rather than transferring every existing feature into a new interface, I proposed a different strategy: remove unnecessary complexity, establish a clear foundation and reintroduce features selectively when their value could be validated.

To support these decisions, I conducted a systematic audit based on Baymard's e‑commerce research, identifying where the existing checkout met established guidelines and where improvements were needed.

One consistent experience.

The redesigned checkout introduced a clearer information hierarchy, reduced redundancy and a more consistent visual language across desktop and mobile.

Building on the idealo design system and Pattern Library I had helped develop, the new interface brought previously fragmented elements into a coherent experience.

Designed to evolve.

The redesign also created an opportunity to rethink the underlying structure.

Working closely with the development team, we organized the checkout around reusable, well-defined modules. This aligned the design approach with the migration to React and provided a more flexible foundation for future development.

Solution

Simplify first.
Add value deliberately.

Rather than transferring every existing feature into a new interface, I proposed a different strategy: remove unnecessary complexity, establish a clear foundation and reintroduce features selectively when their value could be validated.

To support these decisions, I conducted a systematic audit based on Baymard's e‑commerce research, identifying where the existing checkout met established guidelines and where improvements were needed.

One consistent experience.

The redesigned checkout introduced a clearer information hierarchy, reduced redundancy and a more consistent visual language across desktop and mobile.

Building on the idealo design system and Pattern Library I had helped develop, the new interface brought previously fragmented elements into a coherent experience.

Designed to evolve.

The redesign also created an opportunity to rethink the underlying structure.

Working closely with the development team, we organized the checkout around reusable, well-defined modules. This aligned the design approach with the migration to React and provided a more flexible foundation for future development.

Solution

Simplify first.
Add value deliberately.

Rather than transferring every existing feature into a new interface, I proposed a different strategy: remove unnecessary complexity, establish a clear foundation and reintroduce features selectively when their value could be validated.

To support these decisions, I conducted a systematic audit based on Baymard's e‑commerce research, identifying where the existing checkout met established guidelines and where improvements were needed.

One consistent experience.

The redesigned checkout introduced a clearer information hierarchy, reduced redundancy and a more consistent visual language across desktop and mobile.

Building on the idealo design system and Pattern Library I had helped develop, the new interface brought previously fragmented elements into a coherent experience.

Designed to evolve.

The redesign also created an opportunity to rethink the underlying structure.

Working closely with the development team, we organized the checkout around reusable, well-defined modules. This aligned the design approach with the migration to React and provided a more flexible foundation for future development.

Solution

Simplify first.
Add value deliberately.

Rather than transferring every existing feature into a new interface, I proposed a different strategy: remove unnecessary complexity, establish a clear foundation and reintroduce features selectively when their value could be validated.

To support these decisions, I conducted a systematic audit based on Baymard's e‑commerce research, identifying where the existing checkout met established guidelines and where improvements were needed.

One consistent experience.

The redesigned checkout introduced a clearer information hierarchy, reduced redundancy and a more consistent visual language across desktop and mobile.

Building on the idealo design system and Pattern Library I had helped develop, the new interface brought previously fragmented elements into a coherent experience.

Designed to evolve.

The redesign also created an opportunity to rethink the underlying structure.

Working closely with the development team, we organized the checkout around reusable, well-defined modules. This aligned the design approach with the migration to React and provided a more flexible foundation for future development.

Solution

Simplify first.
Add value deliberately.

Rather than transferring every existing feature into a new interface, I proposed a different strategy: remove unnecessary complexity, establish a clear foundation and reintroduce features selectively when their value could be validated.

To support these decisions, I conducted a systematic audit based on Baymard's e‑commerce research, identifying where the existing checkout met established guidelines and where improvements were needed.

One consistent experience.

The redesigned checkout introduced a clearer information hierarchy, reduced redundancy and a more consistent visual language across desktop and mobile.

Building on the idealo design system and Pattern Library I had helped develop, the new interface brought previously fragmented elements into a coherent experience.

Designed to evolve.

The redesign also created an opportunity to rethink the underlying structure.

Working closely with the development team, we organized the checkout around reusable, well-defined modules. This aligned the design approach with the migration to React and provided a more flexible foundation for future development.

Solution

Simplify first.
Add value deliberately.

Rather than transferring every existing feature into a new interface, I proposed a different strategy: remove unnecessary complexity, establish a clear foundation and reintroduce features selectively when their value could be validated.

To support these decisions, I conducted a systematic audit based on Baymard's e‑commerce research, identifying where the existing checkout met established guidelines and where improvements were needed.

One consistent experience.

The redesigned checkout introduced a clearer information hierarchy, reduced redundancy and a more consistent visual language across desktop and mobile.

Building on the idealo design system and Pattern Library I had helped develop, the new interface brought previously fragmented elements into a coherent experience.

Designed to evolve.

The redesign also created an opportunity to rethink the underlying structure.

Working closely with the development team, we organized the checkout around reusable, well-defined modules. This aligned the design approach with the migration to React and provided a more flexible foundation for future development.

Impact


~2% increase in conversion rate


Rather than transferring every existing feature into a new interface, I proposed a different strategy: remove unnecessary complexity, establish a clear foundation and reintroduce features selectively when their value could be validated.


To support these decisions, I conducted a systematic audit based on Baymard's e-commerce research, identifying where the existing checkout met established guidelines and where improvements were needed.


[Visual: Selected excerpt from the Baymard audit]