San Francisco Flower Market

Revitalizing the website

Established in 1956, the San Francisco Flower Market is a beloved historic landmark. However, its website was anything but timeless. It struggled to meet modern usability standards and failed to foster the vibrant online community the market deserves.

Our mission was clear, redesign the website to improve user experience and create a hub for floral enthusiasts, strengthening ties within the local flower industry.

Overview

Role: Designer, Researcher, Branding

Team: Kayla H. (UX Designer)

Timeline: April 2023- April 2024

Type: Web Design

What was wrong with the old site?

Imagine trying to find the market hours or vendor details, only to be lost in a maze of confusing navigation tabs. Frustrated, you give up and call the market. this was the reality for most users.

Through heuristic evaluations, comparative analysis, and user interviews, we uncovered several key challenges:

Over-Reliance on In-Person Sales:

Vendors’ reliance on face-to-face interactions limited growth.

Confusing Membership Process

Lack of clarity around membership requirements caused stress.

Finding Market Hours:

Users struggled to locate reliable, up-to-date information.

Limited Vendor Information:

The absence of detailed vendor profiles left visitors in the dark.

Poor UI Design:

Outdated visuals and confusing navigation compounded frustrations.

Now that we know the challenges, let’s talk about how we can solve them 

Here’s the MVP for the website

  • Enhance user experience with a clear and intuitive website structure.

  • Include detailed product offerings, contact information, social media, and online purchasing options for vendors.

  • Implement secure online payment processing for customer purchases.

  • Have options for users to purchase and manage their badge memberships online.

Designing a New Experience

We began with low-fidelity wireframes in Figma to map out the core structure. This collaborative process allowed us to iterate quickly and align our vision with stakeholder expectations.

Home Page

About Page

Visit Us Page

Badge Page

Vendors Page

Individual Vendor Page

Armed with this feedback, we made impactful changes

Navigation: Simplified menus to prioritize essential information.

Original Site

Redesigned Site

Vendor’s information: More information on the vendors was added. Having a page dedicated to each vendor stall. With their socials, contact, hours, etc

Original Site

Redesigned Site

Membership Clarity: Streamlined and digitized the application process.

Original Site

Redesigned Site

E-Commerce: Introduced an online store for merchandise and vendor products.

Original Site

Redesigned Site

Final Design

The Impact

In March 2024, we launched the revamped website with a soft roll-out. The results speak for themselves:

Doubling Engagement: Site traffic more than doubled compared to the previous year.

  • New Revenue Streams: Online badge and merchandise sales opened fresh income opportunities.

  • Vendor Visibility: Vendor pages became the third most visited section, a critical resource for visitors and badge holders.

Website Engagement Report Comparison

This data is pulled within the timeline of one month. Same month but different year

Average Bounce Rate Comparison

Website

Looking Ahead

The redesign is only the beginning. Future opportunities include:

  • A login system for personalized user experiences.

  • A reservation system for the market’s loading docks.

  • Vendor-managed profile pages to keep content fresh and engaging.