Problem

Small businesses struggle with visibility and community support, while shoppers lack a simple way to discover them. Existing solutions are fragmented and outdated, making it hard for owners to grow and for customers to connect with meaningful local or online shops. Marketly aims to bridge this gap with a centralized, supportive hub.

Solution

  • Create a responsive platform that makes it easy for users to discover small businesses—local or online.

  • Build a support space where owners can share advice, ask questions, and grow together.

  • Provide business owners with simple onboarding and tools to showcase their brand.

  • Ensure accessibility, trust, and scalability to drive both shopper engagement and business growth

Research

For my research, I focused on answering the problem and identifying who specifically needed this solution in order to refine my approach. Based on my findings, I developed features and functions to address those needs.

Target Audience

  • Shoppers
    Shoppers are looking for an easy and reliable way to discover and support small businesses. They value convenience, transparency, and the ability to compare options while feeling connected to local or independent brands.

  • Business Owners
    Business owners need accessible tools to promote their products or services, manage their presence on the platform, and reach a wider customer base. Their focus is on growth, visibility, and building lasting relationships with customers.

  • Community Contributors
    Community contributors strengthen trust and engagement by sharing advice, reviews, and personal experiences. Their input creates a sense of authenticity and helps both shoppers and business owners make more informed decisions.

User Personas

I created these user personas to clearly define the primary audiences and ensure design decisions are grounded in their real needs and goals.

Competitor Analysis

A mature local business directory and review platform. Allows users to search for local services and read/write reviews and enables businesses to claim profiles and respond to feedback.

Strength

  • Extensive user base with strong SEO visibility

  • Business tools: owners can claim pages, respond to reviews, and view traffic analytics.

  • High mobile usage: ~72% of searches come from mobile devices.

Weakness

  • Heavily review-centric; lacks built-in owner-to-owner support or onboarding guidance.

  • Perceived bias in reviews and criticism over ad-driven promotion.

  • Primarily local-focused; doesn’t support “online-only” businesses or seller communities.

A directory and social network for small businesses. Offers free and paid marketing tools with multi-channel access.

Strength

  • Combines listing with social marketing tools: blogs, coupons, newsletters.

  • Large reach—once over 1 million merchants listed nationwide.

  • Features trust seal (VeriSign) to boost credibility.

Weakness

  • Overly broad; lacks curated discovery for online-only businesses.

  • UI and experience mostly business-centric, not shopper-first.

  • No integrated peer-support or community Q&A for business owners.

Information Architecture

I designed this information architecture to create a clear and intuitive structure that separates the shopper and business owner flows, ensuring users can easily navigate and find what they need.

Features & Functionalities

I selected these core features to directly address the needs uncovered in my research, ensuring both shoppers and business owners have tools that make discovery, connection, and growth seamless.

Design

Wireframes

Design System

main homepage.png
shopers main.png
shop local.png
shop online.png
owners main.png
add your biz.png
thank you page.png
log in.png
your store.png
your analytics.png
your orders.png
your reviews.png
our mission 1.png
FAQ.png
Advice.png

Usability Testing

Scenario 1: You want to shop locally. Navigate through the site, choose either Shop Locally or Shop Online Only, and view a store’s details.


Scenario 2: You’re a business owner. Log in to your store, access analytics, and check order or review details.

Metrics to Track

  • Time on Task – how long it takes users to complete each task.

  • Success Rate – whether users can complete each task without assistance.

  • Error Rate – record any errors or confusion during navigation.

  • Satisfaction – post-task questionnaire to measure satisfaction.

  • Ease of Use – ask participants to rate how easy the flows were on a scale of 1 to 5.

Results

  • 100% Task Completion Success for both shopper and owner flows.

  • Average time on task: Shopper flow – 1.5 minutes; Owner flow – 2 minutes.

  • Ease of use rating: 4.6/5.

  • Error rate: Low; 2/6 users hesitated on the Shop Online Only page due to button placement.

  • User feedback: The site was visually clear and intuitive. Some owners suggested stronger menu labels and tooltips for analytics.

Success Criteria

  • Shoppers should be able to navigate to a local or online store in under 2 minutes with no major confusion.

  • Owners should be able to log in and view their analytics or orders with minimal difficulty.

  • The majority of users should rate their experience as a 4 or higher on satisfaction and ease of use.

Key Takeaways

Dual-Flow Design: Separating experiences for shoppers and business owners made navigation intuitive and personalized.

Community Value: Real reviews and owner perspectives built trust and encouraged authentic engagement.

Clarity Over Complexity: A clean interface and focused CTAs reduced overwhelm and kept users engaged.

Business Empowerment: Analytics and store management tools gave owners confidence to grow and adapt.

Impactful Design: Marketly positioned itself not just as a marketplace, but as a hub connecting people and strengthening small businesses.