Nombolo. Listing Experience for Small Business Owners.
Nombolo was losing new users due to a lack of clear onboarding guidance. To address this, I led the redesign of the business onboarding flow and built the company's first design system. The new flow was tested, iterated, and shipped to development, improving user clarity while laying the foundation for scalable design.
Nombolo.
Connect local small businesses with their communities through authentic video storytelling.
Merchants showcase products. Customers discover local gems. Communities thrive.
How did I influence the product and team?
Being the lead, I structured and refined a more efficient UX workflow.
🔍 Redefined research approach
Replaced assumptions with a clear plan and direct customer interviews.
⚖️ Validated solutions before handoff
Tested designs with Maze, reducing engineering waste.
⏩ Implemented sprint-based workflow
Broke projects into 2-week sprints to ensure on-time delivery.
Challenge.
Lack of onboarding guidance is costing Nombolo new users.
Nombolo invites local small business owners to list their business profile on the platform.
❌ Abandoned the process within a few taps.
However, merchants struggled with only a few small steps because:
User Research.
Dive deeper into the needs of merchants and customers.
At first, many questions were in my mind.
What information must merchants fill out? What information would customers want to know about? …
Due to the lack of insights and metrics, I formulated a user research plan to explore more...
UXR doc screenshot
Key Insights: How I shaped differentiation.
Leveraging merchant individuality and customer visual preferences.
Small Merchants
Often influenced by their own cultures and hobbies when starting a business.
This personal touch can be leveraged as a unique differentiator for the platform.
Customers
Rely heavily on visuals (e.g., food images) to choose businesses.
Reviews serve as references but are not a decisive factor due to varied personal tastes.
Defining the User Flow.
With the above research insights, we mapped out a user flow based on assumptions.
Onboarding Task flow
Design Disagreements.
One Pager vs. Step-by-step.
When designing the general layout, I proposed a step-by-step approach - a progressive disclosure pattern.
However, a teammate advocated for a single-page form to reduce interaction cost.
Different design explorations
Through collaborative presentations and votings, we decided to go with the step-by-step flow because it:
Reduced cognitive load for users.
Aligned with familiar interaction patterns in existing apps.
Minimized the risk of data loss.
What user testing taught us?
UX writing issues stood out.
Then, we conducted a rapid user testing within the internal team: the phrasing of the inquiries became the main complaints.
After analyzing all the feedback, we revised the design following three principles:
Be Accessible
Since many of our targeted users are non-native English speakers, we must be mindful of the potential difficulties posed by the language barrier.
Be Straightforward
Consequently, we aimed to employ most straightforward and inviting language and tone. Plus, limiting by screen size, we had to cut number of words to minimum.
Be Helpful
At some contexts, users might wonder: why is this question relatable? or what if I skip this question? Thus, I supplemented each question with a brief description to provide the right amount of additional guidance to facilitate completion.
User Feedbacks
Final Design.
A more streamlined listing process with enhanced accessibility.
The process begins with an overview of all steps, setting clear expectations such that users are prompted through to complete business profile.
We also optimized accessibility through strong visual contrast and language use.
Before
After
Overall, with the user-centered approach, I delivered a good balance of guidance and freedom, enabling users to easily complete a listing that accurately promote their business.
Communicate with Engineers.
Preparing for handoff.
After multiple iterations and team discussions, we finally delivered the design to the Devs team to implement it.
Handoff Guideline
After presenting to the CEO and getting approval, I organized a handoff meeting with developers, communicating design rationales and demonstrating user interactions with hi-fi prototypes.
