Reimagining the Online Customer Journey
Redesigned Shine's digital customer experience by transforming a fragmented website into a guided buying journey that combined intuitive navigation, interactive planning tools, educational resources, and personalized experiences—helping customers confidently make complex purchasing decisions.
The Challenge
The website had grown organically over time. As new products, services, and educational content were added, information became fragmented across multiple pages, navigation became inconsistent, and customers often struggled to understand industry terminology or determine what they actually needed.
Although leadership requested a website redesign, I saw an opportunity to rethink the experience from the customer's perspective. Rather than redesigning pages, I focused on redesigning the journey.
My Role
I analyzed recurring customer questions, evaluated high-traffic content, reorganized site architecture, and designed new experiences that helped customers navigate the wedding stationery process more intuitively. I collaborated with leadership and our development team to transform customer pain points into interactive tools, educational resources, and streamlined purchasing experiences.
The Approach
Before designing anything new, I broke the existing website down into its core functions.
I identified where customers became confused, where terminology created friction, and where information had become repetitive or difficult to locate. From there, I reorganized content around the natural questions customers asked throughout their buying journey, ensuring each page had a clear purpose and every interaction moved them closer to a confident purchasing decision.
The Solution: Turning customer questions into guided experiences.
Every improvement began with the same question: "Where are customers getting stuck?"
By identifying recurring questions and moments of uncertainty, I designed targeted experiences that removed friction before it became a barrier to purchase. Together, these features created a website that guided customers through every stage of the buying journey.
Question: "What should my invitations say?"
Solution: Interactive Wording Quiz
One of the most common questions couples asked was how to properly word their wedding stationery. Instead of asking customers to research etiquette on their own, I designed an interactive questionnaire that collected their wedding details one step at a time. Based on their responses, our team could create wording that was personalized, etiquette-appropriate, and tailored to their unique celebration.
Result: The quiz reduced customer uncertainty by transforming a traditionally overwhelming task into a guided experience. Instead of researching etiquette themselves, couples could confidently rely on industry expertise, resulting in fewer wording questions and a more streamlined design process.
Question: "What do I actually need?"
Solution: Interactive/ Educational Stationery Quiz
Many couples were unfamiliar with the pieces included in a wedding invitation suite and often weren't sure what they actually needed. This interactive guide introduced each stationery piece, explained its purpose, and helped customers make informed decisions based on their wedding style, budget, and preferences.
Result: By explaining the purpose of each piece before customers placed an order, the guide helped couples purchase with greater confidence, reduced uncertainty, and encouraged more intentional stationery selections.
Question: "How much will this cost?"
Solution: Interactive Price & Build
Choosing colors, embellishments, and printing options can be overwhelming without seeing how everything works together. I designed an interactive builder that allowed customers to explore different combinations, visualize their invitation suite, and see pricing update in real time as they customized their selections.
Result: Customers could experiment with different options before committing to a purchase, giving them greater confidence in their decisions while reducing pricing questions and helping them understand how individual choices affected the overall investment.
Question: "Can my planner order?"
Solution: Wedding Planner Program
As our marketing strategy evolved, I helped transition an influencer initiative into a structured partnership program for wedding planners. I developed the membership framework, outlined tiered benefits, and designed an onboarding experience that clearly communicated expectations and program value.
Result: The program created a dedicated experience for industry professionals, making it easier for planners to understand the benefits of partnering with Shine while establishing a scalable foundation for long-term relationships.
Together, these experiences formed a digital concierge that supported customers before, during, and after their purchase.
Question: "When will it arrive?"
Solution: Delivery Date Estimator
Wedding timelines are one of the first considerations when ordering stationery. I designed an interactive calculator that allowed customers to select their products and instantly view estimated delivery dates, including the impact of rush production and expedited shipping options.
Result: Customers gained immediate answers to one of their biggest planning questions, reducing uncertainty around production timelines while helping them make informed purchasing decisions based on their event date.
Question: "How much postage do I need?"
Solution: Mailing & Postage Calculator
Determining the correct postage for a completed invitation suite can be difficult, especially when multiple enclosure cards or embellishments are involved. I designed an interactive calculator that estimated postage requirements based on each customer's unique stationery selections.
Result: Customers could accurately budget for mailing costs before receiving their invitations, eliminating guesswork and reducing one of the most common concerns surrounding luxury invitation suites.
Question: "How do I word the rest of my stationery?"
Solution: Evergreen Educational Blog Posts
I wrote a collection of evergreen educational articles covering the wording and etiquette for menus, programs, place cards, signage, and other day-of wedding stationery. Each guide provided practical examples while explaining traditional etiquette in a way that was approachable and easy to understand.
Result: These resources gave customers a trusted reference throughout their wedding planning journey, reducing repetitive wording questions while reinforcing Shine as a knowledgeable and supportive industry resource.
Question: "Where can I learn more?"
Solution: Concierge Menu in Main Navigation
Rather than presenting customers with a long, difficult-to-navigate list of questions, I redesigned the FAQ experience to make information easier to browse and discover through improved organization and navigation.
Result: Customers could find answers more quickly on their own, reducing repetitive support inquiries while creating a more intuitive self-service experience.
My Reflection
While each feature solved a different customer problem, together they transformed the website into a guided planning experience rather than a traditional e-commerce site. By anticipating customer questions and delivering answers through interactive tools and educational resources, the redesign reduced uncertainty at every stage of the buying journey while creating a more intuitive experience for both customers and internal teams.
Role: Creative Operations, Information Architecture, Photography, Process Improvement
Company: Shine Wedding Invitations | Timeline: 2023-2024 | Team: Creative Design Team (2)
Deliverables: Digital Asset Library, Naming Convention System, Folder Architecture,
Photography Standards, Documentation. CMS Improvements
Primary Goal: Create a scalable image library that any department could easily search and use
