Hamshahri’s Comeback
How a Strategic Redesign Revived a Pioneer’s Presence
This case study explores how a strategic redesign of Hamshahri’s platform enhanced user experience and successfully brought the platform back into the competitive market.
About Hamshahri
For decades, Hamshahri stood as a household name in Iran’s classified ads market — one of the earliest pioneers with over 3 million users and 60,000+ daily active users. But as user behavior shifted and agile, tech-savvy competitors entered the field with sleeker interfaces and smarter services, Hamshahri struggled to keep pace. Its once-loyal user base began drifting away, and the platform’s relevance slowly faded in an increasingly fast-moving digital world.
This case study is the story of how we helped Hamshahri evolve. Through a strategic redesign and a human-centered approach, we reimagined the product experience from the ground up. The transformation not only revived user engagement but also repositioned Hamshahri as a competitive force in the modern marketplace.
Outcome
With a focused strategy and a clear design vision, we set out to help Hamshahri reclaim its voice in a competitive and fast-changing market. Our team combined in-depth user research with data-driven decision making to identify critical usability barriers — then turned those pain points into real opportunities for growth. What followed was more than just a visual redesign; it was a complete transformation of the platform’s user experience and business performance.
• Conversion rate on the ad submission flow increased by 64%, as the process became more streamlined and user-friendly.
• Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) rose from 49% to 82%, thanks to clearer guidance, cleaner layouts, and fewer user frustrations.
• Daily active users grew to 250,000, signaling a sharp increase in both user engagement and retention.
• The platform saw at least 12,500 new listings per day, maintaining steady content growth across both mobile and web.
• Support calls dropped by 73%, freeing up the team to focus on ad quality and higher-value user issues.
My Role
I joined Hamshahri in August 2020 as a Senior Product Designer, leading the redesign of the platform during a key phase of its digital transition. While I worked across multiple areas, my main focus was on modernizing the overall user experience — especially shifting the ad submission flow from an offline process to a fully online one. My goal was to simplify the journey, reduce friction, and help the product better serve both existing and new users.
I worked in a centralized team, collaborating closely with other members to ensure quick decision-making and a seamless design process throughout the project.
Imagine a company that once pioneered the classified ads market in Iran — the first to introduce newspaper listings through Hamshahri, a household name known across the country. For years, it held a dominant position in the market. But as digital platforms began to rise, Hamshahri struggled to keep up. Its government-owned infrastructure made it slow to adapt, and soon, faster, more agile competitors like Divar and Sheypoor took over the digital space
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Despite this, Hamshahri still had one major advantage: its nationwide network of over 100 branches and a large existing user base. Many people continued to submit ads in person, which were later published both in print and on the website. However, most users still relied on the offline process, and the company wasn’t seeing the shift toward self-service digital submissions.
Why weren’t users migrating from offline to online? What was holding them back?
To answer that, I needed to dive deep — collecting fresh data, reviewing past research, and reaching out to real users. Only by understanding their expectations, habits, and pain points could we uncover what was standing in their way.
Most users still relied on Hamshahri’s offline services to submit and manage their ads — a behavior that not only drove up operational costs but also prevented digital growth. This made it difficult for the platform to stay competitive or attract new users. The core challenge was to shift this behavior toward online usage by creating a seamless, modern platform that could reduce reliance on physical branches and establish Hamshahri as a strong digital player in the classifieds market.
Rebuild a competitive digital platform to restore Hamshahri’s presence in the online classifieds market.
-> Key Metric: Daily Active Users
Design a seamless and behavior-based submission flow to better serve current users and drive engagement.
-> Key Metrics: Conversion Rate, Listing Completion Rate
Automate the ad submission process to reduce reliance on physical branches and minimize user frustration.
-> Key Metric: Contact Support Rate (calls related to ad submission & tracking)
Increase the number of self-service online listings by making the process faster and more intuitive.
-> Key Metrics: AVG Online Daily Ad Submissions, Time to Publish
Boost user satisfaction through a modern and intuitive experience that aligns with expectations set by digital-native competitors.
-> Key Metric: CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score)
Before diving into design, we needed to understand the core reasons behind user reliance on offline services and their reluctance to transition to Hamshahri’s digital platform. Our research aimed to uncover these barriers, explore user expectations, and define opportunities for improvement. We used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to ensure a well-rounded perspective.
Objectives
Identify why users preferred offline channels despite the availability of an online platform.
Understand the expectations, frustrations, and behavioral patterns of both existing and potential users.
Extract actionable insights to inform a redesign strategy that would support user migration to digital.
Methods
To ensure we approached the problem with clarity and structure, we started by defining our key research goals, then mapped out a research plan that covered both qualitative depth and quantitative breadth. We prioritized methods that could give us reliable insights within our time and resource constraints. This included a mix of direct user interaction, large-scale surveys, and internal data analysis to triangulate findings and validate patterns from different sources.
Key Finding
• Strong preference for offline submission
70% of users trusted in-person interaction and found the offline process more familiar.
• Complex and unintuitive online flow
65% found the current digital process time-consuming or confusing.
• Lack of trust in online payments
46% were hesitant to submit ads online due to security concerns.
• Low awareness of the digital platform
34% didn’t know an online option even existed.
Research Results
• Education is key
A significant number of users were unaware of the online platform, highlighting the need for awareness campaigns.
• Process simplification needed
The current online flow needed major improvements in clarity and ease of use.
• Trust-building features
Transparency in payment and ad status could help reduce hesitation in switching to online.
• Support as a safety net
A more effective online support system could reduce reliance on call centers and reinforce user confidence.
To better position Hamshahri in the competitive landscape, we benchmarked local platforms like Divar and Sheypoor—both offering intuitive ad posting flows, strong moderation systems, and simplified user journeys that had earned them significant market share. In contrast, Hamshahri’s outdated experience lacked the efficiency and clarity these users had come to expect. Internationally, platforms like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist offered valuable insights into high-volume, low-barrier ad listings. Facebook leveraged social trust and reach, while Craigslist succeeded with its simplicity and minimal friction in posting. These comparisons highlighted clear opportunities: we needed to streamline our submission flow, improve mobile accessibility, and build a more user-centric, competitive platform to re-engage both existing and potential users.
Benchmark Results
• Simplicity & Speed of Submission
Craigslist and Divar both offer extremely low-friction ad submission flows. Their step-by-step forms are short, fast, and require minimal effort, making them approachable for all user types.
• Trust & Community Integration
Facebook Marketplace uses users’ existing social networks to add a sense of trust and familiarity, while Sheypoor integrates seller ratings and verification badges to build credibility.
• Mobile Optimization
All benchmarked platforms are fully optimized for mobile. Divar and Facebook Marketplace, in particular, offer seamless native app experiences that outperform Hamshahri’s older mobile approach.
• Content Moderation & Speed
Divar and Craigslist both ensure fast publishing while using lightweight moderation systems, allowing most posts to go live quickly unless flagged. This speed keeps users engaged and active.
• User-Centered Design
Local platforms have focused interfaces, personalized suggestions, and streamlined categories. Users don’t feel overwhelmed, which contributes to higher completion and retention rates.
• Support Touchpoints
Unlike Hamshahri, most platforms reduce the need for human support. Automated status updates, self-service dashboards, and clear publishing steps reduce user dependency on customer service.
MVP Online Flow
I designed an initial user journey to get an overview of how users navigate the process, helping me identify and design the most suitable solution. This approach ensures better accessibility, optimizes the timing and placement of key interactions
After gathering and organizing qualitative and quantitative insights from earlier research, I led several working sessions with the product manager and product team to align on key user pain points and business priorities. I took ownership of building the initial roadmap, which helped us structure the entire redesign journey and move forward in an agile and collaborative way. Using the updated brand book—which was introduced to give Hamshahri a more modern and innovative look—I created the first set of design guidelines and started shaping the overall layout. At this stage, our main focus was the website. I began by mapping the core user flows, setting the design strategy, and analyzing modern UX patterns to ensure the platform could both meet the expectations of current users and attract a younger, more digital-savvy audience.
I led the redesign of the homepage as the foundation of our new experience, and after several iteration and feedback rounds, we established a strong visual and functional direction. From there, I worked on auditing, prioritizing, and redesigning each critical component based on the user insights we had gathered—always making sure each decision balanced user needs with business objectives.
Here, I’ll just present a few examples of the designs and changes we made — briefly and to the point. All of these were iterated and refined through multiple rounds of testing to ensure they truly met user needs.
Ad Cards
One of the most critical components I needed to redesign with precision was the ad card—a key unit users interact with constantly across the platform. During the research phase, I identified multiple pain points related to how information was displayed on these cards. In our survey, 64% of participants mentioned having issues with how categories, urgency tags (like “urgent”), and timestamps were displayed. These findings were also confirmed through usability testing: in a test with 10 participants, 7 struggled to distinguish or locate relevant ads based on specific scenarios, with 5 of them unable to find a match and 2 needing significantly more time to do so.
To address these challenges, I focused on restructuring the content hierarchy and visual clarity of the card layout. Key updates included:
• Making category labels more prominent and useful for users to quickly scan through diverse ad types.
• Ensuring the image placement worked consistently across categories while remaining visually clear and recognizable.
• Visually separating key details like address, posting time, and ad title so users could identify them at a glance.
• Designing the “urgent” label to stand out in the initial scan of the page, without overwhelming the card.
• Tailoring the card content for each category based on user feedback—only showing details that influence decision-making the most for that specific context.
Search Bar
The search bar was one of the most frequently used components on the platform, serving as the entry point for users looking for specific listings. Given its central role in a classified ads business, it was clear that this component needed to be significantly improved to better serve user needs. Through behavior analysis and user interviews, I discovered that a large segment of our active users were professionals operating within specific categories—such as real estate or car dealerships. These users required a more efficient and personalized search experience.
To address this, I led targeted research efforts to understand their workflows and priorities. One of the key insights was the demand for saving frequently used filter sets. However, simply adding a filter-saving feature could have introduced complexity, both in terms of user experience and interface management—especially for general users. To avoid this, I conducted a benchmark analysis to identify elegant solutions that wouldn’t overwhelm the interface.
I eventually implemented two key features that enhanced the experience while maintaining simplicity:
• Smart suggestions with filter memory: When users typed frequently searched terms, the suggestions now included previously used filters associated with that term. This allowed power users to quickly access context-specific filtered results without needing to rebuild their filters every time.
• Pinning saved searches: I introduced the ability to pin frequently used search queries and filters to the top of the suggestion list, giving users one-click access to their most important search configurations.
These improvements brought significant value to both casual and power users by:
• Streamlining the search process and adapting it to real behavioral patterns
• Avoiding a cluttered filter-saving system that would have confused general users
• Improving accessibility by surfacing critical filters in the most immediate and familiar location
• Reducing time spent searching for high-priority listings
• And ultimately boosting the conversion rate and improving user satisfaction (CSAT)
Measuring Impact Through Iterative Testing
To ensure each design decision was grounded in real user behavior, I adopted an iterative testing approach throughout the redesign process. As soon as a core user flow was designed and prototyped, I led usability testing sessions to evaluate its effectiveness before advancing to the next phase.
The primary goal was to understand how users interacted with the new interface—particularly whether the redesign helped them navigate more efficiently and make decisions faster. Based on observations and direct user feedback, I refined the prototypes to address friction points, then conducted a second round of testing to validate the changes.
Working within an agile team environment, we focused on one user flow at a time, which allowed us to align closely across design, product, and development teams. Each tested flow had to meet our usability benchmarks before moving on.
we tracked key metrics before and after each iteration:
• Time on Task (ToT) – Reduced by 55% on core tasks like ad discovery and filtering.
• Task Completion Rate – Improved from 42% to 87% across tested flows.
• Drop-off Rate – Decreased by 37%, particularly on multi-step submission flows.
Through continuous testing, analysis, and refinement, I ensured that every stage of the redesign was both user-centered and performance-driven, leading to measurable improvements in usability and overall experience.
After fully launching the redesigned experience across the main product and activating targeted promotions through Hamshahri’s offline offices, we successfully guided users toward the digital platform. With strategic incentives in place—such as submission discounts, office-only QR redirects, and first-time user campaigns—we encouraged offline users to try the new online process.
To ensure we weren’t just moving traffic but actually improving the experience, we closely monitored user behavior through tools like Microsoft Clarity. Over the course of a month, we tracked daily user sessions across major funnels, paying attention to rage clicks, dead clicks, excessive scrolling, and drop-offs. All of this qualitative data was stored and tagged for use in our next phase: UX improvement.
• Conversion rate on the ad submission flow increased by 64%
Our streamlined, intuitive design directly reduced friction, especially in onboarding and the multi-step form process. Users who previously abandoned offline or partially-filled submissions now moved smoothly through the entire flow.
• Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) jumped from 49% to 82%
This improvement stemmed from cleaner layouts, clearer language in CTAs and tooltips, and better feedback throughout the flow—especially confirmations and real-time error handling.
• Daily Active Users (DAU) reached 250,000
Not only did more users return to the platform, but we also saw longer session times and increased activity across high-interest categories like real estate and auto sales.
• The platform saw an average of 12,500 new listings per day
This steady content generation helped boost engagement for buyers as well—more fresh listings meant better results for search and higher satisfaction on both sides.
• Support calls dropped by 73%
With fewer users getting stuck or confused, the support team could focus more on improving ad quality and resolving meaningful escalations instead of helping users navigate outdated forms.
At this stage, I analyzed user behavior data to identify pain points in the existing design. Working closely with the product team, I prioritized improvements based on user needs and began iterating on key flows. Many of the changes were small enhancements—like adding useful micro-features across the journey—that helped make the experience smoother and more intuitive.
One of the most impactful improvements I led was the introduction of dedicated business profiles. Through our analysis, I found that a significant portion of our active users were actually businesses—such as car dealerships, real estate agents, and retailers—who submitted multiple ads every day. These users needed a space that felt like a storefront, where they could showcase all their listings in one place.
So I designed a new structure that allowed business users to display their full inventory under a branded, clean, and trusted profile page. Meanwhile, regular users could easily access all of a business’s listings in one place, which improved their navigation and decision-making flow. This feature helped boost user confidence and encouraged higher engagement with verified sellers.
One of the most valuable things I took away from this project was the real power of teamwork and alignment. Being part of a team where everyone shares the same vision and openly collaborates across different roles made all the difference. It created an environment where we could grow together—not just as a product team, but also as individuals. I truly saw how a strong, supportive culture can speed up progress, especially in companies that are still growing and shaping their identity.
Another big lesson for me was around data-driven design. Throughout the project, we constantly used real user data to guide our decisions. This helped us stay grounded—focused on solving real problems for users while also meeting business goals. It wasn’t just about making the product better visually; it was about making it work better, smarter, and more in tune with what people actually needed. I saw the impact clearly at Okala, where the outcomes of our redesign went beyond our expectations. That experience really shaped how I now approach every product challenge—with curiosity, empathy, and a strong belief in testing and iteration.
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