Redesigning the landingpage of openiap.io to increase traction
Job
Openiap.io
Category
Product Design
My Role
Product Designer
Impact
Let's start at the end. The outcome of this design process has resulted in a significant increase in usage of our site while decreasing the bounce rate - users that clicks away after only viewing one page for a short time.
Page views
33% increase
Sessions
27% increase
Time spent on site
20% increase
Bounce rate
19% decrease
Context and problem space
OpenIAP is an open-source automation platform that helps developers integrate and orchestrate tools like RPA (Robotic Process Automation), AI, and workflow engines. While the product itself was powerful and developer-friendly, the old website didn’t reflect that. It was trying to serve business decision-makers with marketing language — and as a result, missed the mark with the people actually using the tools. The original site tried to appeal to both technical and business audiences — and ended up resonating with neither.
Early research: Persona
As a first step in designing the new website we were facing a strategic dilemma. Who should it cater to? The business decision-maker in the company or the technical person who will actually use the product within the company? Previously, we had tried to cater to both but our user research showed that that style of communication was not effective. After having internal discussions we identified that our real champions were the developers who installed, configured, and worked with OpenIAP's tools day-to-day. They could become our internal advocates and drive adoption within their companies. I therefore created a user persona to serve as a clear foundation for design direction, helping ensure that user needs and motivations stay central throughout the design process.
Early Research: Service Safari & inspiration
To get inspiration for designing our new UI, I looked at different succesful technical SaaS websites. I noticed that a lot of them made use of "hand-crafted" illustrations in their feature cards. I thought that having great visuals is a cool way to make technical concepts more exciting to look at and explore: "If I love this, there is a chance that the user might also gravitate towards it". A lot of the sites also made use of "social-proof" testimonials from customers. This was also something I wanted to implement on our new site.
The Solution: Modular feature cards
One of the key changes in the redesign was the introduction of modular feature cards — a flexible layout that let us break down OpenIAP’s capabilities into focused, digestible blocks.
Each card covers a specific technical feature or use case — such as queue management, robot orchestration, or API integration — and goes beyond surface-level explanations. Instead of vague marketing phrases, we used clear, concise language, real terminology, and developer-centric examples. This made it easier for users to quickly scan, explore, and dive deeper into the features that mattered most to them. To make the cards more aesthetically pleasing and to excite the users to dive deeper, I created illustrations that fit the content for all of them.
The solution: Case Studies
To better support our core audience — developers — we introduced a dedicated User Story page. This section showcases real-world use cases of how others have implemented OpenIAP, from automating repetitive admin tasks to integrating complex workflows across systems. By showing what’s possible with OpenIAP in real environments, the page helps developers quickly visualize how the platform could fit into their own stack — whether they’re building automations, experimenting with AI integrations, or orchestrating backend processes. It’s not just validation — it’s inspiration.
Learnings
This project was a strong reminder of how powerful design thinking and service design methods can be when applied intentionally. By committing to one clear user persona — the technical developer — I was able to create a landing page that not only looked good, but functioned as a successful digital product in its own right.
By trying out different approaches and choosing methods that fit the problem space, I found that applying a service design method — creating and focusing on a clear persona — was especially effective. It helped me cut through conflicting priorities and align the content and UX with the needs of the actual user: the developer.
Through user conversations and internal insights, I immersed myself in the developer’s world: how they discover tools, what questions they ask, and what kind of language and content builds trust. These insights directly informed decisions around layout, messaging, and information architecture. And it worked. Bounce rates dropped by 19%. Time spent on site increased by 19%. Those numbers reflect not just better design, but better alignment between user needs and business goals.
I also learned to effectively collaborate with our front-end developer ensuring that most design decisions translated smoothly into implementation.
Most importantly, I learned that talking to users early and often is key. Their input didn’t just inspire design decisions — it validated them, made them sharper, and ensured that the end result truly resonated.