{"id":14038,"date":"2024-10-31T12:49:25","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T12:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/product-redesign\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T20:21:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T20:21:07","slug":"product-redesign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/product-redesign\/","title":{"rendered":"Product Redesign: A Step-By-Step Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dated or clunky user interface design<\/a>, poor performance, negative user feedback, and obsolete infrastructure that doesn\u2019t support further product development – all of these are reasons why you may need to consider product redesign.<\/p>\n

From this article, you will find out what product redesign is, discover its benefits, and learn how to do it.<\/p>\n

What is a product redesign?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Product redesign is the process of reinventing and rebuilding your existing product. It\u2019s not about minor tweaks but significant changes to the user experience<\/a> \u2013 the way it looks, works, and makes the user feel.<\/p>\n

What are the main reasons for redesigning a product?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are a bunch of situations when you may want to consider redesigning your product.<\/p>\n

Outdated look and feel<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One reason for product redesign is to make the user interface look and feel more modern.<\/p>\n

Apart from keeping your product fresh and stimulating for the existing customers, you also want to make the right impression on your new users. A dated look may make them think that the rest of your product isn\u2019t very modern either.<\/p>\n

Low conversion and retention rates<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If your conversion or retention rates<\/a> start going down, it may be time to start looking at redesigning your product. These two show that the product doesn\u2019t meet the needs of the new and existing users anymore, and you must act.<\/p>\n

Negative customer feedback on current design and usability<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Negative feedback on the current design and usability <\/a>is a very clear indication that your product design needs changes. Make sure to follow up on it to find out how to redesign your product to better meet your customer expectations.<\/p>\n

Expansion into new markets<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Expanding into new markets <\/a>may be another reason for product redesign projects.<\/p>\n

Product designers may not have planned for it originally, so to successfully internationalize <\/a>and localize <\/a>your product, you may often need to change its design completely.<\/p>\n

New features or product upgrades<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Introducing new features or product upgrades often needs product redesign.<\/p>\n

This is particularly true for SaaS start-up products, like mobile apps, that grow quickly in their early days and accumulate a lot of UX and technical debt<\/a>. Sooner or later, they reach a stage when the current product can\u2019t grow any further without a major redesign.<\/p>\n

What are the benefits of product redesign?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are a number of benefits of product redesign.<\/p>\n

To start with, it gives you a chance to improve your product usability<\/a>. That means it will be easier for your customers to experience value and get their jobs done.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, responding to feedback and trying to solve their problems improves customer loyalty<\/a> and creates a good company image. If you look after their needs and respond to their feedback, your users are less likely to switch to another product. And more likely to turn into product advocates.<\/p>\n

Revolutionary vs<\/strong>. evolutionary redesign<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are two main approaches to product redesign.<\/p>\n

The revolutionary redesign is like building and launching a new product<\/a>. Once the new design is ready, it simply replaces the old one. Or you can smoothen the transition and allow your users to get used to the new design before phasing out the old one.<\/p>\n

Evolutionary redesign is gradual and involves incremental innovation. Instead of redoing the whole product in one go, the product team redesigns and releases one feature <\/a>at a time.<\/p>\n

The step-by-step process for a successful product redesign<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Whether you choose the revolutionary or evolutionary approach to redesigning your product, you need to follow a few basic steps.<\/p>\n

1. Define your business goals and objectives<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Before you embark on the redesign journey, make sure you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve.<\/p>\n

Is it addressing specific customer pain points or meeting new user needs? Or maybe introducing functionality that your competitors already have? Improving revenue<\/a>? Ensuring compliance with new government regulations?<\/p>\n

Whatever the objective, make sure your whole product team is in sync on that.<\/p>\n

Change for its own sake will waste precious resources, and the lack of focus will result in a mediocre product.<\/p>\n

Not sure how to set goals for your redesign?<\/p>\n

Use a goal-setting framework<\/a>, like SMART. It stands for Specific, Measurable, Achieveable, Relevant, and Time-bound. That’s what your goals should be like.<\/p>\n

\"SMART<\/picture>
SMART goal-setting framework.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2. Conduct user research to identify areas for improvement<\/strong><\/h3>\n

To give the desired results, the product redesign process needs to be based on robust evidence, so the next step is conducting user research<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The aim is to develop a deep understanding of your existing as well as potential users. You need to learn how they feel about the product, what they like about it, and what they don\u2019t, and identify areas that need to be fixed or developed to meet their needs better.<\/p>\n

How do you do it?<\/p>\n

The quickest and cheapest way to collect mass feedback is through in-app surveys<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For example, NPS surveys<\/a> are great for measuring user satisfaction and loyalty.<\/p>\n

\"NPS<\/picture>
NPS survey.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The NPS survey should come with follow-up questions to gather more qualitative insights<\/a>. You will use these to inform the redesign process.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/picture>
An open-ended follow-up question.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To help you analyze the data and identify patterns, you can tag responses by using a theme or keyword.<\/p>\n

\"NPS<\/picture><\/figure>\n

Once you analyze survey feedback<\/a>, follow up with user interviews to explore the identified themes in more depth.<\/p>\n

3. Pair user research with product usage analytics<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Let’s face it: users often can’t tell you what exactly works for them or how they behave inside the product. Most people don’t have a habit of reflecting on their interactions <\/a>with the product, while others can’t clearly articulate it.<\/p>\n

So?<\/p>\n

Supplement the survey data with product analytics <\/a>to give you a more complete and objective picture.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n