Domain Setup
A domain name is a human-friendly address, sometimes called a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or web address. The B12 domain setup is when a customer wants to create a unique URL to give their business a more professional look. The goal of this particular project was to identify any usability issues and to create more autonomy for the customer with less assistance of a Customer Service (CS) member.
Organization:
B12
Role:
UI/UX Designer and Researcher
What is B12?
B12 is a centralized, do-it-for-you platform that enables professional services firms to easily establish, run, and grow their business online. Within 30 days, B12 sets business' up with all of the tools needed to reach clients, offer their services, and get paid.
B12 supercharged AI instantly drafts a website, and their team of copywriters, designers, and SEO specialists brings businesses online in 30 days. They deliver a search-optimized online presence with the integrated tools their customers need to serve and charge their clients.
Overview
B12 websites have a default domain that ends in b12sites.com, but it's best to have a custom domain, such as www.mybusinessname.com. Custom domains look professional, are memorable, and help build your brand identity. When a customer goes to B12 to set up their domain they either have an existing domain or want to create a custom domain. There are 3 paths that will create different experiences for a B12 customer:​​
Existing domain
A customer can connect a domain they've already purchased from another provider to their B12 site. In this way, a customer can have more control over managing their domain details from one central location - their B12 account.
Custom domain
Since a customer is unable to buy a custom domain through the B12 product they have to use third parties (GoDaddy, Google, 1 on 1, HostGator etc.) to purchase a custom domain and connect it to their B12 account.
CS team
A customer will also have access to a B12 Customer service (CS) member to assist them throughout the domain setup process. The CS member can help connect their existing domain or assist them in creating/purchasing a custom domain from a third-party.
Problem
The lack of instructions and guidance in the old design made it difficult for customers to successfully add their domain without the help of a CS member. This has caused a huge backlog of tasks for B12 CS members and we want to create more autonomy as possible for the customer.
Before
User flow
User Research
In order to understand the domain setup experience better I asked one of the B12 CS members to record the 2 different paths when they are setting up a domain for a new customer. After reviewing the recordings I interviewed 4 different CS members to discuss any questions or improvements I felt that are needed for the domain setup experience.
(4) CS members
Full stories
User interviews
Insights
Based on the instructional videos and discussions with the CS members I concluded the two main pain points on the domain setup experience:
1
Customers have no guidance on what to do when they arrive into the domain set up page which leads to the help of CS members.
2
Depending on the domain registrar (where a customer has bought their domain) each experience is different when setting up a domain which can cause confusion on what to do since no path is the same.
User flow
Since there are two paths for a customer to set up their domain I decided to start by creating a user flow for each path to better understand the information that is needed to make the customer more successful in each path.
Legend
Custom domain
Existing domain
Design goal
As I understood more of the user flow I started to create more informative UX copy, and a more intuitive user flow. These improvements should make customers more autonomous and create more time for the CS members on other tasks.
After
UX updates
Outcome
After the ux copy and design improvements customers have found it much easier to understand how to set up their domains which has caused less CS members having to take time aside to help customers with this process and allow them to focus on other tasks that are needed from them.
We have also created more helpful articles on each domain registrar to help users on the possible different paths that they may need.