Layerpath Website & Web-app Redesign
Introduction
Project Overview
Following a kick-off meeting with the founder, our 3-week remote UX/UI sprint aimed at reducing the 50% drop-off rate between signup and Chrome extension download. Our focus was the user journey from sign-up to project sharing, specifically addressing why users were not downloading the extension after signing up.
My Role and Focus
As a project lead, I led a team of 3 other UX/UI designers in-
Alignment & Strategy: Facilitated client meetings, drafted the project scope, and ensured team alignment on project goals.
Research: Led user interviews, usability testing, and affinity mapping. Defined problem statements, HMWs, and a new user flow.
Ideation & Design: Conducted ideation workshops, facilitated feature prioritization, led a design studio to sketch MVP user flows and collaborated on mid-fidelity and hi-fidelity screens.
Testing & Iteration: Conducted usability testing at all design stages (low-fidelity, mid-fidelity, hi-fidelity) and outlined project next steps and future goals.
Tools
Figma, Figjam, Google suite, Optimal Workshop, Maze, Procreate, Pen and Paper
TL;DR
Challenge: Identify the reason behind 50% user drop-off between signup and extension download and redesign the user journey from sign-up to project sharing to improve activation, within a 3-week timeline.
Solution: Research revealed users needed transparency about extension requirements and privacy assurances before committing. We redesigned the user journey to enable pre-signup extension download, added prominent privacy policy access, streamlined onboarding, and built in data protection features (redaction tools, restricted sharing).
Impact: Achieved a 50% increase in Weekly Active Users within 3 weeks of launch (110 → 165 WAUs). High-fidelity prototype validated with 4.8/5 ease-of-use and 4.6/5 likelihood-of-use ratings. Client implemented the redesign on their live website within 2 weeks of delivery.
Before: Homepage lacked Chrome extension info and a pre-signup download option.
After: New homepage includes a clear CTA for Chrome extension awareness and enables pre-signup download.
Layerpath is an AI-powered platform designed to empower B2B product, sales, and marketing teams to create impactful, shareable demos in minutes. Record your screen, explain the steps, and Layerpath automatically transforms it into a polished step-by-step guide or video, seamlessly integrated with a Chrome extension.
What is Layerpath?
Layerpath faced a compound drop-off problem:
50% of users who signed up never downloaded the Chrome extension, which is required to use the product.
Limited engagement on the dashboard: Of those who did download, another significant portion never created their first project.
Few users publish or share their created projects.
the problem
Without understanding WHY users were abandoning the product, Layerpath couldn't achieve sustainable growth through their product-led strategy.
Let’s Dive In
Defining Success and Research Strategy
In collaboration with the founder, we set success metrics to identify pain points causing the gap between sign-ups and downloads, develop a MVP to address these issues, and iterate designs based on user feedback.
The project was constrained to a browser-based Chrome plug-in.
Our research approach included heuristic evaluation, competitor analysis, and primary research through user interviews and usability testing.
The team began the competitive analysis while I conducted the heuristic evaluations. I also started reaching out to users from the list provided by the founder for interviews and usability testing, but it yielded no responses.
I expanded recruitment efforts by reaching out to our personal networks and successfully secured 6 product manager interviews within one week, keeping the project on track.
Getting To Know The Users
User interviews
I recruited 6 product managers from small- to mid-sized companies, Layerpath’s target users, for feedback and usability testing.
A teammate led the creation of the usability test script, while I conducted 5 of the 6 interviews to explore user experiences and pain points. Key findings include:
Current process is slow:
“I rely on screen recording which requires tons of editing for clarity. This manual process is slow and inefficient.”
One demo doesn’t fit everyone: “I need different demos for executives and engineers, and that takes time.”
Loss of control: “Once I share a demo externally, I have no control over who sees it. Our sensitive product data ends up in competitor screenshots.”
Privacy Concerns: “I'm hesitant to install browser extensions that can access my screen. I look for a clear privacy policy to understand what data is collected.”
Privacy and data security concerns create trust barriers that limit adoption.
4 out of 6 participants expressed hesitation about browser extension permissions and wanted visible privacy policies before committing to signup.
Competitive Analysis
We conducted task analyses of three competing demo tools, to pinpoint areas where users might drop off, with a particular emphasis on the steps from sign-up → extension download → project creation → sharing.
Privacy & Trust: All, except Layerpath, address privacy via a footer link, but none do it prominently on the homepage.
Sharing Controls: Most offer public and restricted sharing options for created demos.
Recording Experience: Arcade offers clear recording controls (start/ pause/ stop) and recording area indication.
Recording Experience: Supademo is the only platform with a post-recording tool to redact and crop sensitive data.
Privacy concerns are universal in the browser extension space.
Users installing browser extensions need reassurance about data access and permissions before committing.
The Existing Product
Usability Testing
We collected both quantitative and qualitative data throughout the user journey. This allowed us to identify areas where users encountered difficulties with the existing product.
2 out of 4 users struggled with downloading the extension. Recording and editing proved challenging for almost all. Why?
Home page
Onboarding after sign-up
During the Recording
Editting post recording
How might we address privacy and data security concerns that create trust barriers preventing users from downloading the Chrome extension?
Opportunity
Ideation & Feature Prioritization
Developing the Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
I facilitated a design thinking workshop for our UX team to translate research insights into design ideas. We defined a MVP using an impact-effort matrix to prioritize key improvements and define achievable goals for the remaining 2 weeks. User interviews revealed significant privacy concerns impacting sign-up, which the founder had initially de-prioritized. This feedback led us to reconsider and include privacy improvements in the MVP.
Enable Pre-signup Extension Download:
Addressing trust barrier- users can explore product before committing personal information & removing 2-step (signup + download) friction.
Chrome Extension Awareness:
Clear microcopy on CTA buttons and homepage video making extension requirement obvious.
Privacy & Compliance:
A privacy and compliance policy link on homepage to build trust and reduce concerns around data access.
Streamlined Onboarding:
Quick videos on homepage and dashboard, eliminating unnecessary post-signup steps.
Improved Recording Experience:
Ability to control the screen scope before recording and a redaction tool for editing sensitive information.
Because we were redesigning the user journey to enable extension download before signing-up we chalked out a new user flow.
User Flow
Designing
Key changes from existing flow:
+ Users can download extension from homepage without signing up
+ Decision point: Install extension OR sign up first (user's choice)
+ Dashboard checks for extension; prompts download if not installed
Moment of Truth
Usability Testing
We conducted moderated usability tests via Maze to gather user feedback and validate our design decisions.
1. Users appreciated the transparency regarding the Chrome extension download.
2. Lack of visual clarity, due to limited fidelity, led to user confusion with start/stop recording. Future tests will incorporate verbal instructions for key tasks.
3. Issue: The interface didn’t provide clear confirmation that recording was in progress.
Solution: Added a highlighted border during recording and a click counter next to the Chrome extension to provide real-time feedback on progress.
Iteration
Homepage:
+ Pre-signup download enabled and clear CTA raises Chrome extension awareness.
+ Prominent privacy policy link addresses data security concerns (also to be incorporated in the new header's Resources tab).
+ Streamlined onboarding: Informative videos on homepage & dashboard replace lengthy post-signup process.
Downloading Extension:
+ Previously, users couldn't download the Chrome extension until signup, creating a signup and extension download hurdle.
+ Now, they can download first, reducing friction and building trust before signup.
If a user signs up without the Chrome extension, the dashboard detects this and prompts them to download it.
Creating a Project:
+ Clicking "Create a Project" reveals a clear "Start Recording" button.
+ Three clear and concise instructions appear upon initiating recording, ensuring users understand the process.
+ A red border highlights the screen area being recorded for user confirmation.
+ During recording, a real-time step counter next to the Layerpath icon displays the captured steps. The Layerpath extension icon serves as a central hub for pausing or stopping recording through a user-friendly dropdown menu.
Testing Hi-Fidelity
The MVP redesign, informed by user testing, yielded the following results:
User satisfaction:
4.8/5 ease-of-use rating
4.6/5 likelihood-of-use rating
User trust: Improved transparency around extension requirements and visible privacy policies built greater trust with users, alleviating data security concerns that were blocking adoption.
Client Implementation: These strong results prompted the client to implement the redesign on their live website within 2 weeks of delivery. Since launch, the client has continued iterating on the experience based on their evolving business priorities and user data.
Design Validation: High-fidelity prototype received 4.8/5 ease-of-use and 4.6/5 likelihood-of-use ratings, confirming the solution's perceived value and intuitiveness.
User Activation: Post-implementation analytics showed a 50% increase in Weekly Active Users within 3 weeks of launch, from approximately 110 WAUs in early May to 165 WAUs by end of May.
Impact & Implementation
Next Steps
During high-fidelity testing, we bridged gaps in the prototype (like missing onboarding videos) with verbal instructions. Users requested interactive tutorials accessible before signup for better feature comprehension. In the future, we will take high priority to provide pre-signup access to these onboarding tutorials.
Currently, all users utilize ‘Enhance with AI’ to populate text in videos and guides similarly. We envision AI as a creative assistant that automatically customizes content based on user role and industry data provided at the “Tell us about yourself” page.
+ Working on this project with Vinay from Layerpath was such a rewarding experience. I’m so grateful for the learning experience and to have taken the lead on this project, all the way from strategy & research, ideating and turning in the final deliverable.
+ Advocating for users sometimes means pushing back on priorities. When user interviews revealed privacy concerns were blocking adoption (4 out of 6 participants), we advocated for including privacy transparency in the MVP based on this research evidence. Presenting concrete user quotes convinced the founder to adjust the scope.
+ It was tempting to overhaul the entire experience from the start. However, user research revealed a simpler solution: clear communication of the Chrome extension and a pre-signup download option. We implemented this through a straightforward call to action in our design.
Reflections
“Richa worked with me to improve Layerpath’s UX/UI; she was a rockstar. She jumped right in, understood the challenges and the audience, and nailed the technical stuff. Her user research was top-notch, thanks to her insightful interviews with B2B product managers.
Richa balanced business needs with real-world insights, leading to a fantastic design. Her leadership and teamwork kept us all motivated and focused. She’s got a knack for asking the right questions, which helped us refine the user experience and spot potential issues early on. Richa’s dedication and skills made a significant impact on our project!”