Case Study
Fabric.com Website Redesign
I led the redesign of the homepage, shopping, and checkout experience for Amazon’s Fabric.com, with a focus on improving usability and conversion. The project involved simplifying the filter system, streamlining the end-to-end e-commerce flow, and creating a more intuitive and accessible interface. In alignment with the brand’s target demographic, women aged 20 to 60, the design incorporated a softer color palette and a sewing-inspired visual theme to create a more feminine and engaging shopping environment.
Product: Amazon's Fabric.com
My Role: UX/UI Designer
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Team: Cyndi Butz-Houghton, Naomi Menaham
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Tools: Figma, Adobe CC
Context
Fabric.com had been experiencing a steady decline in revenue over several years, largely due to an outdated digital presence. Originally launched in 1999, the site had only seen a single major update in 2008 following its acquisition by Amazon. The company’s objective was to modernize its online shopping experience and drive sales growth by enhancing brand identity, improving information architecture, optimizing UX functionality, and streamlining the checkout process. Additionally, the previous site lacked accessibility compliance, leading to legal exposure and the loss of key customer segments. The redesign aimed to bring the platform up to modern e-commerce standards and reestablish its competitive position in the market.
Problem
User feedback and analytics revealed significant usability challenges across the site. The filtering system was overly complex and ineffective, making it difficult for customers to narrow searches resulting in thousands of product results and low engagement beyond the first page. The checkout flow was lengthy and confusing, contributing to a high rate of cart abandonment. These issues led to a substantial increase in support tickets and customer complaints, signaling the need for a comprehensive redesign to improve the overall shopping experience.
Solution
We conducted a combination of user surveys, expert review, iterative design, and usability testing to ensure the new website was accessible and easy to use.
Impact
Exact metrics were unavailable, however we followed up with the client and found that the redesign led to over 30% increased revenue over the next fiscal year after launch and a 70% decrease in support tickets over the first 6 months.
Step 1 - Timeline and Experience Audit
We were tasked with creating a designed creative brief that included a timeline and a summary of our experience audit for leadership to review. We wanted to make sure to outline our inclusion of user surverys and user testing.
Experience Audit
We did a deep dive into the old web design to determine where we could make improvements. Almost all of the copy on the website were images of text with no alt text, making them impossible for screen readers to parse. There was also no established design system or information architecture, making the site extremely difficult to navigate.
Step 2 - User Research
I led the end-to-end user research initiative to better understand our core customer base, identify their shopping behaviors, and uncover actionable insights to enhance the user experience on Fabric.com. This included designing and distributing user surveys, recruiting and managing participant engagement, developing comprehensive test plans, and conducting in-depth interviews with existing customers. The goal was to identify opportunities for improving the online shopping journey and explore new feature ideas aligned with customer needs.
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A key insight from our research was that many customers preferred in-store shopping for fabric due to the tactile and visual nature of the product. Participants frequently cited the inability to touch the material or accurately perceive color online as major friction points. These insights became the foundation for exploring innovative solutions to bridge the sensory gap and improve buyer confidence in the digital experience.
Several clear patterns began to emerge from our user research, leading to the following key insights and takeaways.
We still need a decent number of filters, but they need to be better defined and targeted.
The checkout page needs to be considerably faster. Only a few steps to check out at most.
Our users would like an idea of the fabric's texture and better examples of fabric color on product pages.
Users would like project ideas to be included in product pages.
Step 3 - Personas
Person With a Mission
Already has a project and a plan, just needs the perfect fabric to fit their vision.
Motivation
Wants the perfect fabric for their project and doesn't want to do a lot of browsing to find it.
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Behavior
Usually only buys fabrics for specific purposes. May browse occassionally but for the most part would like to go directly to the fabrics of interest.
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Pain Points
Wants an easy way to filter for the desired fabrics.
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Design Consideration
Needs an easy way to track down their vision through the thousands of products. Also needs to be able to get an idea of the fabric texture and use cases.
The Browser
Doesn't have a specific project in mind but enjoys browsing the inventory.
Motivation
Likes to see the fabric options before deciding on a project.
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Behavior
May purchase fabric if they are inspired by it or found a project inspiration as they were browsing.
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Pain Points
Often prefers to shop for fabric in person because they can't get a sense of texture or use from just a product picture online.
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Design Consideration
Needs an idea of the fabric texture and use cases. Lifestyle photography of the fabric in practicle use may be helpful.
Step 4 - Design Process
We initiated the design process by mapping detailed user journeys and developing foundational wireframes. I facilitated structured critique sessions with key stakeholders to surface insights, align on priorities, and refine solutions. These collaborative sessions informed iterative design improvements, with a focus on resolving critical user pain points such as the need for contextual lifestyle imagery, enhanced filtering functionality, and streamlined checkout flows. The project evolved from low-fidelity wireframes to progressively higher-fidelity prototypes, allowing us to validate design decisions at each stage and ensure user-centric outcomes.
Step 5 - User Testing
As part of a comprehensive usability testing phase, we conducted both moderated and unmoderated sessions using high-fidelity prototypes with real users. While we explored multiple facets of the design, this case study highlights the most impactful insights derived from testing three key components: the checkout flow, product filters, and lifestyle-driven shopping features.
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We began by evaluating the checkout experience, which was designed to be streamlined, intuitive, and secure. The flow was segmented into three clear stages, Shipping, Payment, and Summary, to guide users through the process efficiently. During testing, we tracked task completion times, observed moments of confusion or hesitation, and gathered sentiment around the perceived clarity and trustworthiness of the flow.
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One of the most significant issues uncovered involved the cart update functionality during checkout. Users expressed uncertainty as to whether their changes had been successfully applied, indicating the need for a more prominent confirmation element. Additionally, we identified confusion stemming from the presence of two action buttons, “Continue to Payment” and “Continue to Review.” While intended to improve navigation, the buttons introduced ambiguity, prompting us to streamline this step to reduce cognitive load and enhance clarity.
Next, we focused on evaluating the filter system and the lifestyle shopping experience, two key components that directly influence user engagement and conversion.
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To test the filters, we challenged participants to locate three specific fabrics within a prototype containing over 200 fabric options. This was a substantial undertaking, requiring the collaboration of a highly coordinated team to ensure both accuracy and functionality. Despite our initial intent to streamline the category structure, technical limitations necessitated the inclusion of a broader set of filter categories than originally planned. The result was a robust, albeit complex, filtering system that users reported as significantly more intuitive and satisfying than the previous version, even though some challenges remained in quickly narrowing down fabric selections. Based on this feedback, we continued refining the filters within the constraints of the platform to optimize the user experience as much as possible.
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We also tested the lifestyle shopping feature by inviting users to explore product pages and describe fabrics in their own words, focusing on texture, use cases, and emotional appeal. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Participants felt that the lifestyle context provided an immersive, near-tangible understanding of the products, mirroring the familiarity of in-store shopping. This emotional connection to the product experience validated our hypothesis that lifestyle imagery and storytelling could bridge the gap between digital and physical retail.
In addition to usability testing, we conducted A/B tests on targeted features, distributed post-experience surveys, and facilitated follow-up user interviews to validate our hypotheses. This multi-phase feedback loop enabled us to gather comprehensive qualitative and quantitative insights throughout the design process. We continuously iterated on the designs based on these findings, ensuring alignment with both user needs and business objectives. Throughout the project, we maintained close collaboration with stakeholders and the engineering team to confirm feasibility, prioritize solutions, and ensure a seamless integration of user experience with technical and strategic goals.
Step 6 - Final Design
We delivered finalized high-fidelity prototypes to the engineering team, leveraging Figma to design fully responsive templates across all breakpoints. Starting with a robust design system we built to streamline development, I collaborated closely with engineering partners to ensure design consistency and technical feasibility. Interactive prototypes for both mobile and desktop platforms were used to clearly articulate user flows, interaction patterns, and key behaviors, enabling a seamless and efficient implementation process.
Learnings
This project significantly deepened my understanding of information architecture and the complexities of designing scalable filtering systems. Designing a basic filter is one challenge; architecting an intuitive, performant solution capable of handling hundreds of categories is another entirely. Our team conducted extensive research to address Fabric.com’s information architecture challenges, many of which stemmed from legacy constraints that required strategic workarounds. This experience reinforced the nuanced complexity of designing for robust, enterprise-level e-commerce platforms, where scalability and usability must align within highly technical ecosystems.