A user-first experience that showcases luxury living, streamlines apartment searches, and improves online conversions.
Website
Overview
Prometheus Luxury Apartments approached us to redesign their website to better reflect their brand values of community and belonging while addressing usability challenges. The existing website failed to showcase the luxurious lifestyle and sense of belonging that Prometheus properties offer, and it fell short in supporting users during their apartment search and leasing journeys.
As the Lead UX Designer and Strategist, I led the project from discovery to delivery, conducting user research, defining strategy, and designing a more engaging, user-friendly experience. Despite significant stakeholder complexity and internal team transitions, the redesign successfully increased online tours, boosted leasing conversions, and strengthened Prometheus’s digital presence.
Boosted online tour scheduling with an intuitive overlay form.
Increased leasing conversions with an improved lease flow and inline pricing.
Enhanced user satisfaction with a visually engaging search experience.
Prometheus’s website did not adequately support its users, despite high satisfaction with their offline services. Through discovery and user testing, we identified several pain points:
Confusing Navigation: The minimalist “Google-like” header lacked a primary navigation menu, leaving users disoriented.
Apartment Search Frustrations: Filters were difficult to use, and results didn’t provide enough details, causing frequent back-and-forth navigation.
Overwhelming Apartment Pages: Text-heavy layouts failed to engage users or convey the unique charm of each neighborhood.
Cumbersome Leasing Process: The “Lease Online” experience relied on an outdated third-party tool, creating confusion and drop-offs.
We conducted extensive research to guide our redesign strategy, including stakeholder interviews, user testing, and data analysis. This process uncovered critical insights into user behaviors and preferences:
User Testing: Engaged 20 participants in 30-minute sessions to identify pain points in the search and leasing process.
Analytics Review: Found that many website visitors were existing tenants exploring additional apartments, reflecting strong customer loyalty.
Key Findings:
Users prioritized visuals, including images and videos, when searching for apartments.
Pricing, amenities, and proximity to work-from-home essentials like fitness centers were key decision factors.
The redesign prioritized streamlining apartment searches, improving conversion points, and showcasing Prometheus’s luxurious lifestyle through compelling visuals and intuitive design.
Key improvements included:
Navigation Redesign: Introduced a consistent primary navigation menu across all pages, simplifying user journeys and improving access to key sections like apartment search and neighborhood details.
Enhanced Apartment Search Page: Made filters more intuitive, added a "preview" feature for quick apartment details, and enabled favoriting functionality for easier comparisons across neighborhoods.
Revamped Neighborhood Pages: Highlighted amenities and features with high-quality visuals and videos, reorganized text-heavy layouts, and embedded tools for viewing available units and pricing directly on the page.
Streamlined Conversion Points: Simplified scheduling tours with an overlay form, redesigned the lease flow to display unit details and pricing inline, and enabled users to request quotes directly on the page.
The redesign delivered measurable improvements across key areas, driving better user engagement and business outcomes:
Increased Conversions: Online tour scheduling and leasing rates saw significant growth due to streamlined processes.
Improved User Experience: Positive feedback highlighted the ease of apartment searching and leasing.
Better Leads for Staff: Enhanced tools provided more qualified leads, saving staff time and improving tenant engagement.
Email Campaign Success: Introduced marketing features like personalized email outreach and favoriting functionality, driving additional conversions.
This project reinforced the importance of aligning user needs with business goals while navigating stakeholder complexity. Key takeaways include:
User-Centric Design Delivers Results: Prioritizing visuals and intuitive tools created a more engaging and functional website.
Collaboration Overcomes Challenges: Managing input from multiple stakeholders and navigating team transitions required strong communication and leadership.
Iterative Thinking Pays Off: Leveraging user insights and proposing additional marketing features extended the project’s impact beyond the initial launch.