Case Study — Improve GST Portal

In this article, I’ll explain my approach to redesigning the GST Portal with the aim of enhancing usability, removing visual clutter, and increasing a seamless experience.

Overview

GST (Goods & Services Tax) portal is an important channel for anyone who wants to run a business in India. This is a portal from where a new business can apply for GST number, check on latest rules, notices & dates, return filing, pay taxes and more.

Why Redesign

The site feel quite jaded, especially contents are cluttered, the contents of the portal feel cluttered, it can result in a poor user experience. By solving the layout and information architecture, the content can be organized in a more structured and intuitive manner, making it easier for users to find the information they need.

My Approach

I conduct web analysis and heuristic evaluation to identify gabs in the existing site, Here are some of my observations, and in this case study I’m going to elaborate on them.

• Visual clutter makes it difficult to comprehend the important information.
• Lack of visual hierarchy results in overlooking of important data such as Taxpayers (Normal/TDS/TCS), GST Practitioners, Upcoming Due Dates

Goals

• Easier navigation for most frequent use cases
• Better ways to display important information

Solutions/Redesign

Problem 1: Recognition rather than recall

In order to access the content within each tab, users need to hover over them individually and remember the elements associated with the tabs. Interestingly, some menus remain hover despite not containing any sub-items.

Solution

By consolidating all the options into a single dropdown categorized accordingly, users can conveniently access all the information associated with the main menu. This solution enables users to efficiently utilize the available information without the need to navigate through separate tabs or menus

Problem 2: No triggering action for users to take action as primary

The lack of a clear triggering action for users to take primary actions. This means that users may encounter difficulty in identifying or knowing what specific actions they should take on the website.

Solution

In the context of a GST website, the primary users are individuals or businesses who are required to register their business for GST. In order to facilitate this primary action, the website should prominently feature a call-to-action in the hero section, encouraging users to register and track the status of their registration. This ensures that the primary task of registering for GST is easily accessible and clearly communicated to the target audience. By placing emphasis on this key action, the website can effectively guide users through the registration process and provide a seamless user experience for businesses.

Problem 3: Cognitive Load

According to the Millers law, The average person can only keep 7 (plus or minus 2) items in their working memory. User will frustrate to scan the data and get confused since there are lot of touch points at a single space.

Solution

Chunking the content is the better solution for the cognitive overload,
We can use this technique to help users understand underlying relationships and hierarchy by grouping content into distinctive modules. Especially in information-dense experiences, chunking can be leveraged to provide structure to the content. Not only is the result more visually pleasing, but it’s more scannable.
Therefore we have arranged the information in a better way that supports for both new and existing users.

Problem 4: Redesign pattern to easy accessing

The current design of the GST portal places the Tax Payers and GST Practitioner sections in a lower section, resulting in low visual emphasis. However, considering the significance of these user categories on the GST portal, it is crucial to provide straightforward and easily noticeable call-to-action elements.

Solution

A potential solution would involve giving more prominence to the Tax Payers and GST Practitioner sections. This can be achieved by placing them in a more prominent position on the page, such as the upper section, By making these call-to-action elements more straightforward and easily empathize, the design can effectively cater to the needs of the user base on the GST portal and ensure a more intuitive and user-friendly experience.

Problem 5: Visual clutter and lack of information hierarchy

The table format of upcoming dates is that users need to exert more effort to locate their appropriate deadline for submitting returns. The current design may not effectively capture the users’ attention or facilitate easy scanning of the table for the relevant information. As a result, users may find it time-consuming and frustrating.

Solution

To address this issue, it is important to improve the visual hierarchy and organization of the table. Implementing clear headings, grouping related deadlines together, and using visual cues like color help users quickly identify and locate their specific deadline can enhance usability.

By optimizing the table design to prioritize readability and ease of information retrieval, users will be able to quickly find and comprehend their relevant deadlines, leading to a more user-friendly and efficient experience on the website.

Problem 6: Consumption of Information

In news section user have to read the lines. it would be cause abandon news section after spending two line of news.

Solution

Law of Prägnanz
According to Prägnanz law, People will perceive and interpret ambiguous or complex images as the simplest form possible, because it is the interpretation that requires the least cognitive effort of us.

I have tried to Display the information visually so that they will be able to process the information without complex.

And that’s a wrap! Key Takeaways

• Small changes in design can make a huge impact on the whole user experience.
• Each data point holds a different rank in hierarchy and needs to be identified and conveyed accordingly.
• Understanding the streamline processes and tasks for users, increasing their efficiency and productivity. By optimizing workflows, reducing user friction.