A Story of Smooth Evolution
Here's how we've helped our client get his service — an mp3 pool for professional DJs — back on track, stop the traffic decrease, and restore sales growth by creating a new, modern version of its website.
It all started when our client Delvin engaged us by asking to help to investigate the reason for traffic decrease which, in return, cased income recession.
At some point, he also noticed that his competitors began to pull ahead in terms of functionality and usability, so it became necessary to catch up with them.
The problem the client
came to us with
Traffic decrease caused by growing competitors
and outdated
UX/UI
Understanding
the business model
Any research starts with understanding as clearly as possible how the business works. What is a DJ pool? Here's what Wikipedia says:
A music pool or DJ record pool is a method of music distribution that allows DJs to receive promotional music to play in nightclubs and other events such as weddings, festivals, and on the radio.
Record labels worldwide send their newest releases to the pool of DJs; in exchange, the pool provides feedback on each release as well as exposure in the clubs and other venues they play in.
DJs typically pay a monthly subscription to join the service provided by these record pools.
Who are our users?
The business model analysis revealed to us the two types of users: labels and DJs.
Following this, we've branched out and identified three main types of DJs that use our system.
Feedback
Since the site was launched back in the 2000s and had a solid user base, we decided to find out the reasons for the traffic decrease from them directly
Is there any way to download all the new tracks in a zip file instead of clicking on each one? I spend a few minutes each morning clinking on every individual track, would be faster to click on 1 zip file🔥
The download process is not smooth! 😥😭😥
Search feature is not accurate or does not work the best 😬
Sometimes can't find songs I need
Based on users reviews, we identified the main reasons behind the churn
- Inconvenient search
- No bulk downloads
- Mistakes in MP3 ID tags
- Overall slow performance
- Outdated look and feel
Conclusion
Having carefully analyzed the problems, we decided that we need to rework the UX of the site, add missing functionality, and update the visual style.
Unfortunately, the existing website was outdated at the core as well as on the surface, so after discussing it with the client, we decided to create a completely new solution.
However, this posed a problem: the old site had active users with active subscriptions. We had to migrate users to the new site in a way that looked like a regular interface update to them.
The challenge of developing the new interface was to combine design upgrade with familiarity.
It was important to make the new system more convenient and easy to use than the old one yet keep it recognizable for existing users.
From low fidelity prototype to real design
- UI
- High Fidelity
- Low Fidelity
- Data
We've slightly adjusted the main page by moving focus to search and filters
Music is key, so we've rebuilt the code to make playback go on while browsing the website
No more misprints, we've added autosuggestions to improve searching experience
All audio and video information is now logically structured
Download
Downloading multiple tracks is now a piece of cake
Detailed info about artists
Pre-releases, exlusive songs, charts, curated playlists, and top downloads
Most DJs work at night, so we've created a dark theme
MP3 ID Tag verification system
One of the problems users complained about was occasional errors in MP3 ID tags. To fix this, we've developed an ID tag validation system for all uploaded MP3 files. Now the admin can monitor the music quality and users can be sure they download correct MP3 files.
Another challenge for our team was that we needed to replace the old mp3pool website with the new one without users noticing the transition: all user data and subscriptions had to be preserved.
To achieve the smoothest transition possible, we've broken the process down into several steps.
First of all, we uploaded the site to a new server with a new domain.
After that, we've synced all user data between servers using a special API so that all users kept their active subscriptions and personal data.
Having transferred all the data, the new server was tied to the main domain name, while the old site was moved to a sub-domain and hidden from indexing.
Clean look and design and folder downloads!
The new design is fabulous, easier to search. I like how playlists are easy to access
You fixed all issues! Thanks
Front-End Development
We've built the new MyMP3Pool as a Single-Page Application. It now uses Vue.JS framework and a Server-Side Rendering technology.
Back-End Development
Backend of the MyMP3Pool was written using Ruby on Rails. We’ve used FFMpeg to prepare tracks for the HLS streaming.
Payment System
All subscriptions payments management is based on the PayPal and Authorize.Net services.
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