Redesigning the Marktplaats Browsing Experience
Marktplaats is one of the largest second-hand marketplaces in the Netherlands, where users buy and sell items locally. However, browsing and evaluating listings can be time-consuming due to cluttered information hierarchy and inconsistent filtering. This project explores opportunities to improve how users discover and evaluate listings by redesigning three core areas: the home page, search result, and product detail page.
project type
App Redesign
role
UX Designer
timeline
1 Week
team
Solo Project
About Marktplaats
What was the problem?
Despite the wide variety of listings available on Marktplaats, discovering and evaluating items can be time-consuming. Important information such as location and item condition is not always visible in the listing preview, and the filtering experience requires multiple steps to refine results. As a result, users often need to open several listings and scroll through multiple pages before determining whether an item matches their needs.
Key challenges
Information hierarchy does not support fast scanning
Then what are the goals?
🧐
Improve listing scanability
⚙️
Create a clearer information hierarchy
✨
Improve the efficiency of search and filtering
🌎 Research & design exploration
Key activities in this stage:
Conducted heuristic evaluation on Marktplaats to identify usability issues.k
Analyzed competitors such as Vinted, eBay, and Amazon to understand effective marketplace patterns.
Reviewed the listing structure and metadata hierarchy used in search results.
Research Approach
To understand the current browsing experience and identify usability issues, I conducted a combination of heuristic evaluation and competitive analysis.
Heuristic Evaluation Result
Competitive Analysis
To identify effective patterns in e-commerce interfaces, I analyzed both second-hand and traditional marketplaces such as Vinted, eBay, and Amazon. The key findings are:
Grid and list layouts support different browsing behaviors
Filtering and sorting controls are designed for continuous use. So it should be accessible and always visible
Metadata visibility strongly affects scanning efficiency
Product thumbnails are the primary entry point to listings
Favorites and saved items support comparison behavior
Balance browsing and decision making stages
✏️ Final Result
Based on insights gathered from the product and competitor analysis, the layout was redesigned to improve information hierarchy and browsing efficiency
Improvements
Location Visibility and Favorites Shortcut
The redesigned layout shows the user’s current location to make location information clearer while browsing.
A favorites shortcut is also added next to the search bar, allowing users to quickly revisit saved items during the browsing process.
Visual Grid Layout
The original list layout makes it easier to compare listing details side by side but limits visual browsing. The redesigned layout uses a grid view to support visual discovery and show more items on the screen, while key product details remain visible on the cards and further evaluation happens on the product page.
Simplified Filter Controls
In the original design, the selected category takes up a full row and pushes important controls further away from the search bar. The redesigned layout places sort, filters, price, and distance in a single horizontal row, making them easier to reach and creating more space to display products.
Improved Product Evaluation and Action Placement
A clearer visual hierarchy and more space for content help users quickly understand product details.
Key action buttons are placed in a fixed bottom bar to preserve the page hierarchy.
This allows users to review product information before taking action while keeping actions easily accessible.
Final design
Drag the slider to compare the old and new design.
This project highlighted how small interface decisions can significantly affect browsing efficiency in marketplace platforms.
Prioritizing key metadata such as price, condition, and location helps users evaluate listings faster without opening multiple pages. It also reinforced the importance of accessible filtering controls, since users frequently refine results while browsing.
