Redesigning Dealership Website
Crafting a visual experience for the brand for the new generation of buyers who prefer online-based solutions.
PROJECT DETAILS
Mandovi
Product Designer
Automotive Sales
E- Commerce
Introduction
Mandovi Motors is one of the most trusted Maruti Suzuki car dealerships in India, but their website didn't quite reflect the brand's reputation. The design was outdated, the flows were complex, and the mobile experience lacked finesse. Customers, like the Wise Wanderer who values simplicity or the Urban Juggler with a packed schedule, found themselves frustrated.
There was no unified way for users to explore inventory, book services, or understand the dealership's story. And for a brand that prides itself on customer-first service, this gap couldn’t be ignored any longer.
"Create a digital experience that feels as reliable as Maruti Suzuki cars themselves bridge the gap from the dealership to their doorstep"
My Role
As the lead product designer I took on the challenge of redesigning the help with the help of client, their HR team, target audience, and developers, to bring Mandovi's services closer to their customers. Also collaborated with another product designer (Subham) on this project.
Problems
The objective of the dealership website is to build a presence and showcase products and services for users to take action
There is no visual consistency throughout and it lacks a clear visual hierarchy. The visual experience doesn’t bring out the brand values.
The build flow lacks clarity and needs a better user journey. The current booking process requires a form and needs a checkout flow instead.
Our Goal
✅ Redefine the Website’s Look & Feel: Make it visually appealing and modern while staying true to Mandovi’s brand.
✅ Enhance Usability: Create intuitive flows for users to perform actions easily, like scheduling test drives or checking out cars.
✅ Showcase Products & Services: Ensure users can see the dealership’s unique offerings front and center.
✅ Prioritize Mobile First: Build a seamless experience for smaller screens, ensuring accessibility for a growing mobile audience.
Final Outcome
Clear & Engaging Service Pages 🗂
We streamlined service pages with concise layouts and interactive elements, allowing users to explore vehicles, offers, and services easily for informed decision-making.
Mobile First Seamless Navigation & Quick Actions 📲
Redesigned layouts to ensure an easily accessible mobile web experience. Prominent Call-to-Actions to book a test drive, explore inventory, or get financing options upfront.
Storytelling Through Design Highlighted Mandovi’s history and values to build trust.
Streamlined Build and Booking Flows ✅
Introduced a step-by-step guided build flow to customize cars with real-time pricing and seamlessly to checkout flow. Booking test drives became a 3-step process, cutting down decision-making time by 40%.
Research & Insights
Narrowing down on target users
To understand the core users and whom I should solve for, I took a benchmark for the categorization of potential customers, and here’s what I found in
There is an increased preference amongst millennials and Gen Z buyers for used cars. Younger buyers, who account for 80% of the buyers base in India, are helping feed the growing field of app- and web-based channels.
“After an unprecedented year that saw record e-commerce adoption across the board, online car buying has proved to be one of the hottest trends of the year. The frequency of an individual upgrading his/her car through a complete end-to-end online platform has substantially increased, as nearly 40% of the respondents said they will prefer to buy their next car online,”
"They expect to both transact online and negotiate with a real person, and they still need to take a test drive"
- McKinsey
1. User Interviews
Before starting the design process, we conducted a series of interviews with different stakeholders to take all different perspectives and factors into consideration. These are the user persona's that concluded at
The Wise Wanderers - Retired individuals looking for simple, hassle-free processes
“When I need to service my car, I want to schedule it online with ease, so I can maintain my vehicle without confusion.”
The Urban Juggler - Busy professionals balancing work and family life.
“I need a quick and efficient process for booking test drives. I just don’t have time for anything complicated.”
The Tech-Savvy Go-Getter - Young professionals who prefer end-to-end online experiences.
“I want to customize, compare, and book my car online without stepping into the dealership.”
2. Key Findings
- Users struggled to understand their options due to poor layout and navigation.
- Booking test drives and accessing services required too much effort.
- Competitor analysis revealed that most other dealerships had visually cohesive, user-friendly websites with strong portfolio sections.
3. Major Criteria for Decision-Making for Visitors
📊 Price and Financing Options - Clear visibility into costs, offers and payment plans. Visitors compare prices with competitors and evaluate their financing options available
💰 Buying/Exploring Experience - A seamless and enjoyable browsing and buying experience can significantly influence
👔 Reputation and After-Sales Service - Brand presence and offerings should be felt to well with easy access their services and their Visitors consider the long-term reliability of the vehicle and the quality of support they will receive post-purchase. strong after-sales support were must-haves.
The Design Approach
Our methodology revolved around three key principles:
1. Empathize with Users
We created an Empathy Map 2.0 to ensure we captured users’ goals, emotions, and frustrations.
- Says: “I need something reliable and simple.”
- Thinks: “Is this process going to be quick and easy?”
- Does: Compares models, books services, and searches for financing options.
- Feels: Anxious with unclear flows, reassured by a clean, intuitive design.
2. Define the Problem Clearly
Using insights from the Jobs-to-Be-Done Framework, we defined what success looked like for our users:
- Goal: Make booking and exploring inventory seamless.
- Challenge: Create a mobile-first experience that reflects Mandovi’s trustworthiness.
3. Ideate and Iterate
We started with sketches, built low-fidelity prototypes, and conducted usability testing. Users tested two variations of the redesign, helping us finalize the most intuitive version.
4. Competitive Analysis
I went ahead and collected screenshots of several apps to observe how they show content screens and the common patterns.
The common patterns I observed:
- Landing Page
- Product & Service pages
- Search and filter
- Checkout & booking flows
- Build Flow
Refining the UX Structure: Insights from Card Sorting
After analyzing the card sorting session, we now have clear insights into how users expect to navigate the website. Here’s the final decision on the website structure and UX design:
1️⃣ Primary Navigation Structure (Top Menu)
🔹 Buy a Car – New & used car listings, compare models, financing options.
🔹 Services – Schedule service, insurance, spare parts, warranties.
🔹 Offers & Financing – EMI calculators, exchange programs, special discounts.
🔹 Customer Support – FAQs, live chat, dealership contact details.
🔹 About Us – Dealership story, customer testimonials, team.
2️⃣ Homepage Prioritization (Key Sections on Landing Page)
🔹 Instant Actions – "Book a Test Drive" & "Explore Inventory" as primary CTAs.
🔹 Latest Offers – Rotating banner for discounts & special financing deals.
🔹 Popular Cars – Highlight trending models based on customer interest.
🔹 Service & Support – Easy appointment scheduling for existing customers.
🔹 Customer Reviews – Building trust through testimonials & ratings.
3️⃣ Mobile-First Approach (Maximum Traffic)
🔹 Sticky Navigation Bar – Quick access to Cars, Services, Offers, and Support.
🔹 One-Tap Booking – Simple test drive & service booking flow.
🔹 Optimized Search – Users can search cars, offers, or dealerships easily.
Final Outcome
Updated the landing page to help users quickly find what they’re looking for.
- Improved navigation with well-defined categories and a search function.
- Build-flow with a mobile-first approach for better navigation and transparency.
- Streamlined the booking experience, reducing time from exploration to decision-making.
- A design system to maintain visual consistency across all pages.
Key Learnings & Takeaways
- 💼 Think Business Impact First: Every design decision was tied to the dealership’s goals, ensuring measurable results.
- 🔁 Iterate, Iterate, Iterate: Feedback loops were essential to arriving at the final design.
- 📈 Small Features, Big Impact: Adding details like scalable components and clear CTAs made all the difference.
The Road Ahead
The redesign is only the beginning. Next steps include:
- Implementing the designs during development.
- Gathering post-launch feedback from real users.
- Iterating further to meet evolving needs and trends.
Redesigning Mandovi Maruti Suzuki’s website wasn’t just about making it look pretty—it was about creating a seamless, intuitive experience that puts the user first. We’re excited to see how this transformation drives results for the dealership! 🚗