60-second story
From a paused redesign to a mega menu and a modular homepage
Problem
The homepage redesign had started but was paused. Shared criteria for user needs, business requirements and technical constraints were missing.
Approach
Stakeholder perspectives, behavioral data and nine moderated usability tests on the live site (5 desktop, 4 mobile), each with a brief pre-session interview.
Key insight
Search worked as a strong entry point. Parallel navigation areas, redundant categories and unclear hierarchy made orientation difficult.
Decision
On desktop, the planned burger-only navigation was replaced with a mega menu. Competing homepage requirements were consolidated into a prioritized modular MVP.
Outcome
Both solutions went live in early 2025. A positive trend in relevant navigation KPIs was reported internally; specific values are not disclosed in this portfolio.
APPROACH
The process at a glance
01
Stakeholder interviews
Capture business requirements, SEO, market context and technical constraints
02
Moderated usability tests
9 sessions on the live homepage: 5 desktop, 4 mobile with pre-session interviews
03
Synthesis
Align business needs and user needs, identify patterns and trade-offs
04
Product decisions & iteration
Navigation → Mega menu, Homepage → Prioritized modular MVP
05
Implementation
Desktop mega menu and modular homepage live in early 2025
Three decisions, one shared evidence base
The Urlaubsguru homepage redesign aimed to evolve the page in both content and structure. Requirements from Product, Marketing, Content, SEO, Sales, Customer Care and other departments were brought together with insights from existing usage patterns.
The goal was to derive three key product decisions: What role should the homepage play in the user experience? Which navigation model makes the breadth of offerings understandable? Which sections belong in a technically feasible MVP?
What role should the homepage play in the user experience and how can search, inspiration, guidance and service be combined into a clear entry point?
Which navigation model makes the breadth of products and content understandable on desktop?
How should mobile navigation be structured?
Which modules belong in Release 1 and in what justified order?
Which modules should remain in the backlog for now?
Different sources answered different parts of the same decision
Internal requirements and external user evidence were gathered separately and only brought together during synthesis. This kept business needs, research findings and technical constraints clearly distinguishable while enabling them to inform the same product decisions.
This alignment created a shared framework for Product, Design and Development to guide prioritization, information architecture and implementation.
STAKEHOLDER RESEARCH
Business needs, dependencies and priorities
USER EVIDENCE
Google Analytics, Hotjar Recordings, 9 moderated remote usability tests with brief pre-session interviews on the existing live site: 5 desktop, 4 mobile; recruited via Instagram and the company’s own community.
SYSTEM EVIDENCE
Product, content, SEO and market inventories
PATTERN EVIDENCE
Baymard guidelines and competitive benchmarks
DELIVERY CONSTRAINTS
MVP alignment with Product and Development
Research evidence: Where the existing navigation lost its way
FINDING
The navigation was experienced as cluttered, redundant and partially hard to locate.
INSIGHT
The breadth of offerings needed to be visible and understandable on desktop before the first click.
IMPLICATION
The research findings supported the shift from a burger-only direction to a more visible desktop navigation.
Original research synthesis from 9 moderated sessions on the live homepage: 5 desktop, 4 mobile. Curated for this portfolio with personal details removed.
Business–user alignment: Requirements and user needs were systematically reconciled before interface development began
ORIGINAL PROJECT ARTIFACTS · CURATED FOR PORTFOLIO
BUSINESS NEEDS · STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS
USER NEEDS · 9 MODERATED SESSIONS
The two original boards kept business needs and user needs deliberately separate. During joint synthesis (third artifact), they were brought together and became the reference for placement, priority and trade-offs. The brand workshop created additional alignment; Marketing and Content developed the hero tagline “Finde Urlaub, wie du ihn liebst” on this basis.
Key finding: The biggest orientation barriers lay not in search but in navigation and information architecture
OBSERVATION
Navigation elements were overlooked; categories repeated across sections.
FINDING
Multiple competing orientation logics.
INSIGHT
The existing structure lacked a consistently recognizable organizing principle.
IMPLICATION
Bring taxonomy, inventory and constraints together.
DECISION
Burger-only → Desktop mega menu
A minimal navigation hid exactly what the homepage was meant to convey
The early navigation direction was streamlined and mobile-friendly, but made the breadth of offerings on desktop visible only through additional interactions. User findings, inventory, SEO, market requirements, Baymard guidelines and competitive benchmarks collectively shifted the direction.
EARLY DIRECTION
Mobile-first burger logic
Minimal and plausible for mobile – but on desktop, the breadth of offerings, categories and inspiration remained hidden behind additional clicks.
CONFIRMED PRODUCT DIRECTION
Visible main and subcategories
Published desktop mega menu: Product and content breadth become visible before the first click, translated into scalable main and subcategories.
DECISION
PM, dev lead, marketing lead and UX/UI jointly confirmed: Burger-only → desktop mega menu + burger-only for mobile
From breadth of offerings to a shared navigation structure, step by step
METHODOLOGICAL NOTE
Internal taxonomy session, No user-based card sorting, No tree test
My responsibility: Research foundation, requirements analysis, complete inventory, taxonomy preparation, mid-fidelity logic and recommendations. UX/UI Design translated the shared concept into the detailed visual interface.
PRODUCT RESPONSE
The taxonomy became a concrete desktop component
The mega menu was the first element published as part of the MVP in the redesign project. It was developed to make the breadth of offerings and hierarchy more visible.
Research, requirements and feasibility converged into a prioritized homepage MVP
In parallel with the visual development of the mega menu, existing and potential homepage modules for desktop and mobile were inventoried. Product, Development, UX/UI and Research aligned user tasks, product value, dependencies and technical feasibility. This produced a prioritized module structure for the MVP; detailed design work then continued mobile-first.
ORIGINAL PROJECT ARTIFACTS · CURATED FOR PORTFOLIO
PRIORITIZATION CRITERIA
USER TASK
Which task does the module support?
PRODUCT VALUE
Which user or business need does the module address?
FEASIBILITY
What is technically achievable for Release 1?
Live product: modular homepage MVP on desktop and mobile
The prioritized module structure was published in early 2025 and implemented for desktop and mobile.
Live examples: Editorial Content, Newsletter, USPs and Inspiration
LIVE MODULE · EDITORIAL CONTENT & NEWSLETTER
Live module: USPs and inspiration
DECISION
A prioritized, technically aligned homepage MVP with a clear module structure for desktop and mobile.
MY CONTRIBUTION
Research synthesis, module structure, prioritization criteria, mid-fidelity wireframes and design reviews.
UX/UI DESIGN
Visual design of navigation and homepage modules based on the agreed structure and wireframes.
OTHER TEAMS
Product & Development: Feasibility and technical implementation, Marketing, Content & Graphics: Copy, content and visual language.
Research consolidated user, business and system requirements into a shared foundation for prioritization and product decisions. Design, product and development carried these into implementation.
My contribution covered research, product strategy, information architecture, taxonomy preparation and mid-fidelity concepts. Detailed UX/UI design, functional requirements, prioritization and implementation were owned by the respective team leads.
AREA OF WORK
DIANA (UX RESEARCHER)
UX/UI DESIGNER
OTHER TEAMS
Research & Synthesis
Planning, facilitation, moderation, synthesis
Design sparring
Stakeholder and domain expertise
IA & Taxonomy
Concept, inventory, guidelines and mid-fidelity
Co-creation and visual translation
SEO and market requirements
Homepage MVP
Structure, prioritization preparation and rationale
Module co-creation
Product & Development: Feasibility
Detailed UX/UI
Research-informed reviews
Lead
Marketing, Content & Graphics: Copy and visual language
Delivery
Research-based decision foundation and advisory
Final design execution
Product: Prioritization and sign-off, Development: Implementation
The clearly documented impact lay in product decisions, cross-functional alignment and implementation
Impact is presented by strength of evidence: from documented product decisions and published solutions to internally reported post-launch signals.
DECISION IMPACT · DOCUMENTED
The research findings supported two key decisions: a desktop mega menu instead of burger-only and a prioritized, modular homepage MVP.
CROSS-FUNCTIONAL ALIGNMENT · DOCUMENTED
User needs, business requirements, SEO, market context and technical constraints were consolidated into a shared decision-making framework.
PRODUCT & DELIVERY · DOCUMENTED
The mega menu and modular homepage were published in early 2025. The information architecture and prioritized module structure served as the foundation for design and implementation.
POST-LAUNCH SIGNAL · INTERNALLY REPORTED
After launch, a positive trend in selected CTR metrics for navigation and search was reported internally. Specific values, baselines and timeframes are not disclosed in this portfolio; the finding is therefore classified as an internal post-launch signal, not as causal evidence of impact.
EVIDENCE BOUNDARY
The KPI trend is classified as an internal post-launch signal. Without publishable baselines, timeframes and segments, it is not quantified in this case and not presented as a causal effect of the redesign.
The research phase answered the directional questions. The next level of evidence would be targeted validation of the new solution.
The methods used provided a robust foundation for problem understanding, prioritization and concept development. For evaluating the final solution, additional validation steps would be valuable.
QUALITATIVE SAMPLE
9 formative sessions with defined screening criteria: 5 desktop, 4 mobile; recruited via Instagram and the company’s own community. The qualitative sample was designed for insight generation, not representativeness.
TAXONOMY VALIDATION
The new taxonomy was developed and aligned within the project team. Additional user-based validation through card sorting or tree testing was not part of the project scope.
POST-LAUNCH EVIDENCE
After launch, a positive trend in relevant navigation KPIs was reported internally. Since specific values, baselines and timeframes remain confidential, no causal impact is derived in this case.
NEXT LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
Validate the taxonomy with a larger tree test or focused usability test, then monitor key navigation paths against defined baselines, segments and timeframes.
WHAT I TOOK AWAY FROM THIS PROJECT
01 Research is also alignment work. Especially with a homepage – a brand’s digital storefront – I learned how important it is for different departments to feel that their needs are seen and heard.
The joint workshop on the homepage’s role and identity showed me how much easier decisions become when research first creates a shared language and a shared understanding.
