Love Home Swap
On a mission to transform the way the world travels.
Company
Love Home Swap
Role
Head of Product Design
Team
1 x Head of Product
2 x Product Managers
1 x UX Researcher
3 x Engineers
Contextual goal
Love Home Swap is a subscription-based platform connecting travellers to homes in 100+ countries worldwide. I led a growth initiative to redesign the homepage and acquisition funnel.
Our challenge was to boost homepage engagement and track its impact on trial conversions. The idea of home swapping often deterred users due to the idea of hosting strangers. Since its benefits weren’t well known, we needed to better communicate why it was a superior alternative to Airbnb or hotels. With 50% of users bouncing halfway, key information was missed, suggesting a trust barrier. We aimed to address these concerns and improve conversions.
The opportunity
At the top of the homepage was a search feature that matched people with home swaps based on specific criteria.
While ‘search’ led users away from the homepage, it converted well elsewhere in the funnel. However, 50% of users scrolled past it but bounced halfway down the homepage. I believed this highlighted a trust barrier, so we kept the search function and focused on addressing trust. There was a clear opportunity for growth by educating users on the benefits of home swapping to drive engagement and conversions.
Measuring impact
Criteria 1: Increase avg. session time by +20%
Criteria 2: Increase trial conversion by +15%
I prioritised these metrics to increase the number of new users engaging with the full homepage. By focusing on this, we could improve content and track its impact on trial conversions. I believed there was a strong correlation between trust and action, and was eager to see if greater transparency about our product would encourage more users to start a trial.
Trying a new idea
Our hypothesis was that clearly communicating the benefits of home swapping would entice users to explore more.
I aimed to connect the excitement of travel with cost-effectiveness to clarify our value proposition. Through prototypes, I utilised a conversational tone and incorporated positive member swap experiences and Trustpilot reviews. By presenting a cohesive story step-by-step, we would help users make informed decisions and encourage action at the paywall.
Learning quickly
Partnering with the UX Research team, we tested the concept with 5 new users to evaluate their understanding of the service and its benefits.
Research showed significant improvement in content engagement, particularly in the reviews section, as users spent more time reading. This indicated that seeing how the product benefited others boosted their confidence. Notably, over 60% of new users scrolled two-thirds down to the paywall, suggesting we had sparked curiosity with our changes.
Design choices
My design approach reflected the company’s core values through playful design, and reinforced the successful conversational tone tested earlier.
More importantly, I sought to create an engaging user experience that resonated with our audience. By focusing on these factors, we were able to foster a deeper connection with the brand and create a more memorable experience for users. This not only attracted new users but could also build loyalty among existing customers.
Driving
the right tech
initiatives forward.
- In addition, I directed a global rebrand and spent 2 months with agency Why Projects to develop a growth strategy and present challenge cases for maximising value. After implementation, I partnered with cross-functional teams to align all visual, strategic, and tonal communications across the organisation.
- I also self-initiated a project to develop a Design System for tech teams after identifying the need for long-term product standards. Over 3 months, I partnered with Product and Engineering teams to deliver a comprehensive component library with all styles and code. This System significantly enhanced cross-squad collaboration and improved time and cost efficiency for the company.
Outcomes & impact
We officially launched the new homepage alongside a global rebrand, rolled out to 100% of users on web.
Over 1 month, we ran an A/B test against the original, and initially rolled the new design to 50% of users to balance the risks. We saw a +28% increase on average duration session, which indicated that our content encouraged positive engagement behaviours. This learning was significant given how many variables we had changed in the design, but firmly highlighted that trust was built when people felt our communication was honest and relatable.
After we launched the new homepage, we saw +37% increase in overall trial conversion from the homepage. In addition, we saw the number of trialists who listed their home increased by +13%. This was a big improvement to our impact and showed that our new content strategy helped people to try out Love Home Swap and feel ready to list their home on the platform.
During this process, we learnt to make decisions rapidly and set up more opportunities for growth in future iterations. Ultimately, the key to unlocking engagement was when we helped users navigate the unknown and gave them clarity they needed to make decisions. My efforts were a significant step forward to improved conversion rates for the future.
In my time with Love Home Swap, my contribution helped us win two awards;
World’s Best Home Exchange Platform (1st annual World Travel Tech Awards)
Best Home Exchange Site Award (The Shortyz 2021) ex
