Project Overview

The BBB Business Portal supports millions of businesses in managing their accreditation, profile visibility, billing, and customer interactions. The legacy version used outdated interface patterns with unclear hierarchy, resulting in unnecessary customer support volume and low adoption of digital tools.

Our modernization initiative focuses on three essential experience pillars:
clarity, actionability, and trust.

Problem Statement

Research identified four primary UX issues:

Problem	Impact
Confusing navigation and terminology	Users struggle to locate core actions such as paying dues or editing profiles
Insights lacked meaning and context	“I see numbers, but I do not know whether they are good or bad.”
Design did not reflect credibility or modern expectations	Perceived as outdated and less trustworthy
Difficult to scale	Hard to introduce enhancements like new tools or data insights

“I know BBB has tools for my business, but I do not know where to find them.”

Users & Research

Target users included:

• Small business owners
• Multi-location business managers
• Accreditation and customer success representatives

Methods used:

• SME interviews with local BBB offices
• Heuristic evaluation of the current portal
• Analytics review for top tasks and most-clicked features
• User feedback collected through support conversations

Key UX insights:

1. Users prioritize billing and profile updates above all other tasks.
2. Metrics must convey meaning and prompt the appropriate action.
3. Guidance should increase self-service completion.
4. The mobile experience needs significant improvement for on-the-go business owners.

“I want to know what to fix first instead of guessing.”

Design Goals

1. Reduce time to complete top tasks by 25 percent.
2. Provide clear visual hierarchy and KPI interpretation.
3. Enable multi-business switching within a single account.
4. Create a mobile-first, scalable design aligned with the BBB design system.

Strategy & Approach

This redesign focused on:

• Restructuring information architecture around user priorities
• Introducing modular cards for scalable delivery
• Prioritizing status and urgent tasks
• Elevating data insights to actionable value
• Removing visual noise and redundant branding

“This version feels like it is helping me run my business.”

Before & After: Dashboard

Before	After
Decorative branding overshadowed function	Action-first layout with contextual insights
Support contact was primary CTA	Quick access to invoicing and profile actions
Support contact was the primary CTA	Simplified KPI cards with clear labeling and trends
Navigation unclear	Direct category navigation in hero region

Before

No visual hierarchy makes it hard for the user to scan the page and quickly find the tasks they want to complete.

After

A more purposeful hierarchy improves findability and speeds task completion.

Before & After: Business Integrity Check

Before	After
Dense copy and fragmented warnings	Single prioritized list for critical issues
Mixed affordances	Standardized action buttons with clarity
Hard to scan	Visually grouped categories with iconography
No clear severity hierarchy	Levels marked as Critical / Warning / Good

Before

After

Core Feature Enhancements

Feature	User Value
Task priority and severity ratings	Clear direction on what needs attention
Engagement metrics reformatted as KPI cards	Immediate comprehension of performance
“Take Action” workflow surfaced	Faster completion of high-stakes actions
Multi-business account switching	Easier management of multiple locations
Mobile-first responsive design	Reliable access anywhere

Validation & Feedback

Informal usability testing and stakeholder review demonstrated strong improvement:

Measure	Legacy Experience	Redesigned
First-click success locating billing	Low	+63 percent
Confidence rating navigating portal	Inconsistent	Significantly improved
Task completion friction	High	Reduced cognitive load

“I know what needs attention right away.”

Status & Next Steps

The redesign has:

• Been approved by Product and Engineering
• Entered phased development rollout
• Delivered with full requirements and design documentation

Planned enhancements:

• Guided onboarding for new accredited businesses
• AI-powered recommendations for trust improvements
• Benchmarking against similar businesses in the area

Reflection

What worked:

• Early alignment with internal business experts accelerated clarity
• Card-based modularity enables rollout in increments
• Collaboration with engineering ensured feasibility from day one

What comes next:

• Extend personalization based on business maturity
• Continue research and A/B usability validation post-launch

“Impactful design means reducing uncertainty and empowering confidence.”