In Renderforest, video templates usually include other alternative styles which not all users do notice.
About Renderforest
Renderforest is a multipurpose branding platform, offers a variety of online editing tools, including a powerful video editor. At first sight the editor may initially seem limited, but its extensive library of professional templates can significantly simplify video production. Trusted by millions of users worldwide, Renderforest has proven its value in various industries.
Before upgrading video editor to more advanced experience, it was a simple editor. After launch of our redesigned web platform, we faced a challenge: while offering a wide variety of styles, it wasn't quite optimized for users, as confirmed by data and user experience tests. Despite their availability, many users were unaware of these options, often settling for the default style and failing to create personalized videos.
My main goal was to refine the user experience without drastic changes both in the editor and template popup.
Research
To address this issue, we conducted thorough research and design testing and identified several key pain points:
Limited Visibility: Users often missed the available alternative styles within the template’s promo video, which could be lengthy and visually overwhelming.
Unclear Interface: The style tab in the editor was not always intuitive or easily accessible, potentially leading to confusion.
Lack of Interactivity: Users desired a more engaging way to explore and select styles, rather than simply browsing through a list.
No visible styles on main flow = no acknowledgment of alternative styles
Product Ideas
To enhance the user experience, I implemented several improvements:
Interactive Popup: A new popup on the template page allows users to preview and select alternative styles in a more engaging manner. The popup provides a clear overview of available options, reducing the need to watch lengthy promo videos.
In-Editor Preview: Selected styles are now visible on the canvas within the editor, providing a more interactive experience. Users can instantly see how different styles will look in their project, making informed decisions.
Simplified Interface: The popup was redesigned to reduce visual clutter and focus on the available styles. This simplification makes it easier for users to find the desired option without feeling overwhelmed.
Overcoming Challenges
While our initial concept involved an even more interactive experience, we encountered significant technical challenges. The animation team would have needed to dedicate extensive resources to separate styles from existing templates, render them in multiple aspect ratios, generate thumbnails, and upload them to CDN. This would have been a time-consuming process, requiring the team to rework over 5,000 templates.
So, yeah that was a bummer… and since we have only portrait views of the styles I had to come up with an alternative version.
As a result, I had to adjust our approach and focus on a more practical solution. We decided to prioritize the visibility of alternative styles within the editor and template page, while maintaining the overall user experience.
Despite these constraints, we successfully implemented the following improvements:
Reduced Visual Noise: We streamlined the popup interface to minimize distractions and focus on the essential information.
Clearer Style Options: We ensured that users were aware of the available alternative styles and could easily identify them.
Interactive Selection: We incorporated interactive elements into the popup to enhance user engagement and make it easier to choose styles.
Visible Changes: We addressed the technical limitations and ensured that applied changes were reflected in the editor, providing real-time feedback to users.
Impact of the Changes:
Our data analysis revealed significant improvements after implementing these changes:
Increased Usage of Alternative Styles: The percentage of users who actively selected and used alternative styles increased by x2.4 times for free projects and x1.5 times for paid projects.
Higher User Satisfaction: User satisfaction scores increased by 90% overall, indicating a significant improvement in the user experience.