Heuristic Review of The Trading Website to Improve Usability
See how heuristic evaluation improved Tooni's Trade page, enhancing usability and boosting new users' confidence.
Project Overview
Tooni is a forward-thinking startup dedicated to improving financial literacy and providing comprehensive financial and educational services. With a primary focus on empowering individuals interested in cryptocurrencies, investors, and traders, Tooni strives to create a user-friendly platform that simplifies complex financial tasks.
We conducted a heuristic evaluation of the Trade page—a critical platform feature. The goal was to identify key pain points in the user interface that hinder usability and satisfaction, particularly for those new to trading. https://toonieholding.com
A Collaborative Effort to Empower Users
Project: Tooni Trade Page Evaluation
Duration: 2 Weeks
Role: One of two Volunteer UX Designers, tasked with conducting a heuristic evaluation and collaboratively offering recommendations to improve usability.
Uncovering the Pain Points:
In our evaluation of the Trade page, we identified key usability and navigation issues. A three-part analysis revealed insights to make the platform more intuitive and user-friendly, especially for new traders.
Usability Analysis
Layout Hierarchy Analysis
Usability Analysis
Smooth navigation and intuitive controls are the backbone of a user-friendly platform. In this analysis, we uncovered usability issues that disrupted user flow, such as confusing tabs, unclear sliders, and inaccessible key information, highlighting opportunities for improvement.
01
Missing Key Information
Imagine trying to make a financial decision without access to critical details. For new traders, a seamless experience requires clarity and quick access to essential information.
"If I can't see what I'm trading, how can I decide what to do?"
02
No Clear Way to Change Assets
Ever tried switching lanes without signs to guide you? For new traders, navigating a trading platform requires intuitive tools to make quick and confident decisions.
"I know what I want to trade, but where do I go to switch?"
03
Tabs That Don’t Act Like Tabs
What’s worse than confusing buttons? Buttons that pretend to be something else. For new traders, clear and intuitive navigation is essential for a seamless trading experience.
"These don’t look like tabs—am I supposed to click them or not?"
04
A Slider Without Guidance
Imagine trying to choose a precise order size with no visual clues. For new traders, clear guidance is essential to make confident and accurate decisions.
"I’m just dragging the slider and hoping it’s the right amount."
05
Ambiguous Buy/Sell Chart
The button indicating the chart's buy/sell status is ambiguous, leaving users unsure of its function.
"I can't tell if this chart is for buying or selling—why isn’t it clear?"
06
Unintelligible Depth Chart
The depth chart fails to represent critical market information, such as top prices and chart steepness, leading to user confusion.
"I don’t know what the depth chart is telling me—it’s just lines on a graph."
07
Misleading Risk Chart
The Pricing Asset chart is intended to guide users on risk levels, but it fails to clearly highlight areas of low and high risk.
"This chart is supposed to help with risk, but it’s only making things harder to understand."
Layout Hierarchy Analysis
A clear and logical layout is essential for reducing cognitive load and guiding users to essential tools. This analysis focused on the Trade page's visual hierarchy, assessing how well the interface grouped related elements and prioritized frequently used features.
"I don’t know where to look—everything feels jumbled together."
"I’m not sure if the Pricing Assets Chart reflects sell or buy data—it’s confusing being placed under the sell section."
📌 Takeaway
The current Trade page layout lacks clear hierarchy and grouping, making it difficult for users to find essential tools quickly. This disorganization increases cognitive load, especially for beginners.
To illustrate these issues, the next visual compares the current layout with a proposed concept, highlighting improvements in grouping and prioritization.
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Current
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Concept
Competitor Research Insights
To better understand the market and identify opportunities for improvement, we conducted a thorough analysis of competing platforms. This research provided valuable context, allowing us to pinpoint industry standards and common usability challenges.
Approach
Our research was divided into two key phases:
General Evaluation: We explored overall patterns and usability conventions across competitors, focusing on navigation, feature organization, and user accessibility.
Segmented Evaluation: We analyzed specific components, such as trading interfaces, risk charts, and user flows, to identify strengths and weaknesses.
📌 Takeaway
Strengths Across Competitors 💪
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Clear navigation menus made accessing key features intuitively.
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Simplified interfaces prioritized frequently used tools, reducing cognitive load.
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Interactive elements, such as hover-over tips and tooltips, improved data accessibility for new users.
Common Gaps and Weaknesses ⚠️
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Lack of beginner-friendly onboarding processes.
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Overwhelming layouts with poorly grouped information.
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Limited visual hierarchy, causing users to miss important details.
How It Shaped Our Process...
🔄 Prioritizing a logical visual hierarchy to make navigation more intuitive.
📊 Designing charts and data displays that are approachable for beginners.
🔍 Addressing gaps in accessibility by focusing on clarity and reducing information overload.
Next Steps
Tooni can take the following actionable steps to implement the insights and drive its development forward:
01
Implement Proposed Changes:
🛠️
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Redesign charts with clearer indicators for buy/sell actions, depth, and risk levels.
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Apply the "Above the fold" principle to reorganize the layout for better accessibility.
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Group-related widgets logically to improve navigation and usability.
02
🔄
Iterate Based on Feedback:
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Continuously refine the interface based on user feedback and behavior.
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Pay special attention to elements that still cause confusion or hesitation.
03
📊
Monitor and Evaluate Success:
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Track metrics like time spent navigating the Trade page, successful trades, and user satisfaction ratings.
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Use this data to measure the effectiveness of the implemented changes.
