# Homepage Redesign [Image] A homepage serves as the gateway to a product’s value and brand. For product designers and managers, the challenge is ensuring it communicates purpose clearly, builds trust quickly, and motivates visitors to explore further. Homepage Redesign Testing uses a design stack of UX metrics: engagement, comprehension, sentiment, and success to measure how effectively the homepage introduces the product and drives action. This approach replaces subjective opinions with measurable insights. With these findings, designers and managers can make informed design decisions, prioritize improvements, and demonstrate the impact of changes on business outcomes. For example, testing Plaid’s marketing site homepage revealed strong comprehension but weaker engagement, showing where design adjustments were needed to better capture attention and encourage interaction. * * * ### **Define Goals for Your Homepage Redesign Test** A homepage redesign should balance user needs like credibility, clarity, and appeal with business goals such as awareness, conversion, and brand differentiation. Measuring homepage performance helps ensure the new design resonates emotionally while delivering results. **Audience** To define user needs, you first need to establish who your audience is. In the case of our Plaid example, we targeted financial decision makers and business owners who may have a need for their services. **User Needs** As a visitor landing on a homepage, the five most important needs would be: 1. The homepage should immediately establish trust and legitimacy through professional design and clear messaging. (Homepage should be **Credible**) 2. The overall look and tone should be visually appealing and emotionally engaging. (Homepage should be [**Desirable**](https://glare.helio.app/define/user-needs/desirable)) 3. The content should communicate benefits and relevance to the visitor’s needs or goals. (Homepage should be [**Valuable**](https://glare.helio.app/define/user-needs/valuable)) 4. The layout and messaging should clearly convey what the brand does and why it matters. (Homepage should be [**Insightful**](https://glare.helio.app/define/user-needs/insightful)) 5. The experience should capture attention and encourage visitors to explore deeper. (Homepage should be [**Engaging**](https://glare.helio.app/define/user-needs/engaging)) These five ensure a homepage feels confident, inviting, and purposeful, setting a strong first impression that builds brand connection. **Business Goals** Here are the five most important business goals for a homepage redesign: 1. **Strengthen Brand Identity** – Clearly communicate the brand’s personality, purpose, and positioning. 2. **Increase Engagement** – Encourage users to click into high-value areas like products, services, or resources. 3. **Improve Conversion Pathways** – Make it easier for visitors to start key actions (sign-ups, demos, or purchases). 4. **Enhance Perception & Trust** – Modernize design and content to reflect reliability, innovation, or authority. 5. **Measure Impact of Redesign** – Track improvements in engagement metrics, bounce rates, and conversion after launch. These goals help the business increase brand recognition, customer trust, and conversion opportunities through a stronger homepage experience. * * * ### **Choose Metrics to Test Your Homepage Redesign** For Plaid’s homepage redesign, a design stack of five UX metrics was chosen to measure how effectively the updated experience communicates the brand’s value and connects with visitors. This stack — Loyalty, Appeal, Sentiment, Comprehension, and Engagement, was established by mapping user needs directly to measurable outcomes: - **Credible →** [**Loyalty**](https://glare.helio.app/define/ux-metrics/attitudinal-metrics/loyalty)
 A homepage should build long-term trust and confidence in the brand. Loyalty measures whether visitors feel connected enough to recommend or return to Plaid after their first impression. - [**Desirable**](https://glare.helio.app/define/user-needs/desirable) **→** [**Appeal**](https://glare.helio.app/define/ux-metrics/attitudinal-metrics/appeal)
 The redesign should capture attention and look modern, inspiring positive first impressions. Appeal reflects how visually attractive and emotionally engaging the design feels to users. - [**Valuable**](https://glare.helio.app/define/user-needs/valuable) **→** [**Sentiment**](https://glare.helio.app/define/ux-metrics/attitudinal-metrics/sentiment)
 Visitors should feel the page communicates Plaid’s purpose and value clearly. Sentiment captures whether users associate the brand with positive feelings like trust, curiosity, or excitement. - [**Insightful**](https://glare.helio.app/define/user-needs/insightful) **→** [**Comprehension**](https://glare.helio.app/define/ux-metrics/behavioral-metrics/comprehension)
 The page should make it easy for visitors to understand what Plaid does and how it helps them. Comprehension measures whether participants grasp the brand’s message and offerings at a glance. - [**Engaging**](https://glare.helio.app/define/user-needs/engaging) **→** [**Engagement**](https://glare.helio.app/define/ux-metrics/behavioral-metrics/engagement)
 A strong homepage should motivate users to take action. Engagement evaluates whether participants interact with key elements like CTAs, navigation links, or product highlights. * * * ## **Establish Hunches to Direct Your Testing** Homepage redesign testing helps determine whether a refreshed experience clearly communicates value, builds trust, and guides visitors toward key actions. Starting with hunches about what’s working and what might be confusing helps teams shape focused questions to validate design decisions with users. **Example: Plaid Marketing Homepage**

Hunch

Question

UX Metric

Plaid’s technical messaging and data-heavy visuals may intimidate non-technical visitors or first-time partners.

“Based on what you see here, how clearly do you understand what Plaid offers?”

Comprehension

The “Get Started” and “Contact Sales” CTAs may not communicate the difference between self-serve onboarding and enterprise sales, causing hesitation.

“Which of these CTAs would you click first, and what do you expect will happen after?”

Engagement

The scrolling homepage structure feels visually impressive but may spread key information too far apart, making visitors miss essential proof points.

“Was there any information you were expecting to find but didn’t?”

Success

The network credibility section (showing metrics like “12K banks” and “500K data connections”) helps build trust, but users may skip over it if they don’t understand its relevance.

“Do the numbers and stats on this page make Plaid seem more credible? Why or why not?”

Sentiment

The developer audience is likely well-served by the “API” messaging, but the business decision-maker audience may not find enough value framing or ROI-focused language.

“Who do you think this page is speaking to — developers, business leaders, or both?”

Loyalty

These hunches explore whether Plaid’s redesigned homepage successfully balances credibility, desirability, value, insight, and engagement, ensuring it connects with both technical and business audiences. * * * ## **Turn Hunches into Test Questions** Turning these metrics into participant questions transforms design assumptions into measurable signals. Each metric uses a specific question type paired with a clear example from Plaid’s homepage redesign: - [**Comprehension**](https://glare.helio.app/define/ux-metrics/behavioral-metrics/comprehension) **(5-pt Likert scale)**
 *Question type:* Agreement scale.
*Example:* “I understand what Plaid does based on the information presented on this homepage.” (Strongly Disagree → Strongly Agree) [Image] - [**Engagement**](https://glare.helio.app/define/ux-metrics/behavioral-metrics/engagement) **(First-click test)** *Question type:* Click test.
 *Example:* “Where would you click first if you wanted to learn more about how Plaid connects financial apps?” [Image] - [**Sentiment**](https://glare.helio.app/define/ux-metrics/attitudinal-metrics/sentiment) **(Multiple-choice impressions)**
 *Question type:* Impression checklist.
 *Example:* “Which of the following words best describe your impression of Plaid’s homepage?”
 (Positive: Clear, Modern, Trustworthy, Professional. Negative: Confusing, Overwhelming, Generic, Distracting) [Image] - [**Loyalty**](https://glare.helio.app/define/ux-metrics/attitudinal-metrics/loyalty) **(Likelihood to promote)**
 *Question type:* 10-point likelihood scale.
 *Example:* “How likely are you to recommend Plaid to a colleague or friend?” (0 = Not at all likely, 10 = Extremely likely) [Image] - [**Appeal**](https://glare.helio.app/define/ux-metrics/attitudinal-metrics/appeal) **(5-pt Likert scale)**
 *Question type:* Satisfaction scale.
 *Example:* “How do ou fe?” [Image] * * * ## **Calculate UX Metric Scores from User Feedback** For Plaid’s marketing site homepage redesign, participant responses were translated into UX metric scores on a 0–100% scale. Each metric in the design stack — Engagement, Comprehension, Appeal, Sentiment, and Loyalty — was calculated using survey responses and behavioral data, then benchmarked against the following scale: - **Very Good** \= 90% and above - **Good** = 70%–89% - **Average** = 50%–69% - **Poor** = 30%–49% - **Very Poor** = below 30% Once the individual UX metric scores are calculated, the average of those scores are used to determine the overall score for the user experience. **Plaid’s Results:** - [**Engagement**](https://glare.helio.app/define/ux-metrics/behavioral-metrics/engagement) **(29% — Very Poor):** Few users interacted with CTAs or core navigation elements on the homepage, signaling unclear entry points or calls-to-action. - [**Comprehension**](https://glare.helio.app/define/ux-metrics/behavioral-metrics/comprehension) **(71% — Good):** Users generally understood Plaid’s purpose and positioning, with feedback showing solid grasp of its financial data services. - [**Appeal**](https://glare.helio.app/define/ux-metrics/attitudinal-metrics/appeal) **(80% — Good):** The visual design and first impressions of the homepage resonated positively with participants. - [**Sentiment**](https://glare.helio.app/define/ux-metrics/attitudinal-metrics/sentiment) **(55% — Average):** Emotional response was mixed — users liked the aesthetics but felt disconnected from the message’s tone and focus. - [**Loyalty**](https://glare.helio.app/define/ux-metrics/attitudinal-metrics/loyalty) **(46% — Poor):** Willingness to recommend Plaid was low, suggesting the page didn’t strongly reinforce brand trust or differentiation. [Image] Together, these findings produced an overall test score of 56% — Average. While Plaid’s redesign succeeds in creating an appealing and understandable first impression, weak engagement and low loyalty scores show that the page still struggles to move visitors toward deeper interaction or advocacy. Strengthening CTA visibility, reinforcing brand trust, and connecting design appeal to clear user actions will be key to improving overall performance. Click here to check out the [raw survey data and UX metric scores for Plaid's homepage](https://my.helio.app/report/01K6EJE6TYM4MHX1ZC3P9Z99Y7). * * * ### **Draw Signals from Your Design Stack** Here’s how signals were surfaced from the Plaid's homepage test results by following these five steps: 1\. **Focus on poorly scoring metrics** [Image] The homepage test results for Plaid reveal weak engagement (29%) and low loyalty (46%), both falling in the Poor to Very Poor range. While Comprehension (71%) and Appeal (80%) perform well, Sentiment (55%) remains average, signaling that even though users find the design appealing and easy to understand, it’s not motivating them to act or explore further. **2\. Identify patterns across metrics** [Image] The pattern suggests that Plaid’s homepage succeeds visually but fails behaviorally. Users understand the brand and appreciate the aesthetic, but they’re not taking meaningful next steps. The low engagement and loyalty indicate that while the design earns attention, it doesn’t create connection or drive action — a sign that the brand message is landing intellectually, but not emotionally or functionally. **3\. Determine if user needs are being met** [Image] - **Credible:** Met — professional design and clear messaging establish legitimacy and trust. - [**Desirable:**](https://glare.helio.app/define/user-needs/desirable) Met — strong visual appeal and positive feedback on look and feel reflect an attractive brand presence. - [**Valuable:**](https://glare.helio.app/define/user-needs/valuable) Partially met — while the content communicates value, users aren’t compelled to engage deeper, suggesting surface-level relevance. - [**Insightful:**](https://glare.helio.app/define/user-needs/insightful) Partially met — the homepage explains what Plaid does, but doesn’t clearly convey why it matters or what users should do next. - [**Engaging:**](https://glare.helio.app/define/user-needs/engaging) Not met — very poor engagement indicates users aren’t motivated to explore further, likely due to unclear or uninspired calls to action. 4\. **Compare outcomes to your business goals** - **Strengthen Brand Identity:** Supported — consistent design and tone help reinforce Plaid’s credibility and polish. - **Increase Engagement:** Poor — weak first-click engagement and exploration suggest users aren’t connecting with CTAs or next steps. - **Improve Conversion Pathways:** At risk — without stronger engagement, conversion opportunities are underutilized. - **Enhance Perception & Trust:** Supported — users find the brand trustworthy and appealing, reinforcing authority. - **Measure Impact of Redesign:** Moderate — while design quality improved perception, low engagement limits the measurable business impact. 5. **Surface signals & establish a direction** **Signals derived from the data:** 1. Visual appeal doesn’t translate into action — users admire the design but rarely click or explore. 2. Messaging is clear but not compelling — comprehension is solid, yet emotional and motivational resonance is lacking. 3. Engagement and loyalty are the weakest links — users understand and like Plaid but don’t feel moved to connect or return. **Direction based on business context:**
 To align with Plaid’s goals of increasing engagement and improving conversion pathways, design improvements should focus on: - Strengthening CTA hierarchy and clarity to encourage exploration of products or demos. - Introducing storytelling or brand moments that connect Plaid’s mission to user needs. - Creating a more dynamic homepage flow — motion, interaction, or modular sections — to maintain interest and guide visitors through discovery. Based on the signals and design direction, we created an updated version of the design with the expected UX metric improvement: [Image] The direction is clear: *Plaid’s homepage redesign establishes a credible and appealing first impression but fails to inspire exploration or connection. By amplifying CTAs and emotional storytelling, Plaid can turn visual appeal into meaningful engagement and loyalty.*