CASE STUDY
Redesigning the Goodreads App According to the Most Common User Pain Points on the Apple AppStore
Role
Lead Product Designer
Timeframe
Skills
Product
UI/UX
Research
Branding
Marketing
TLDR
As an avid reader, I was also an active user of Goodreads, Amazon's online social book database. But much like many other users, I had problems using the site, due to low priority and production. So I took it upon myself as a designer to brainstorm how I would resolve these issues.
IDEA
Let's be honest. Goodreads sucks.
But don't take it from me, take it from the people of the internet.
problem
How did it get to this point?
Goodreads was initially founded in 2006 to allow users to integrate this scanning experience and create a space where people could write reviews regarding the books they read. Within a year of launch, the Goodreads community had grown to over 650,000 users with an online library of over 10 million books. Then they were acquired by Amazon in 2013, and supposedly it was all downhill from there. Amazon bought Goodreads with the idea that it could help them sell more books. An article by the Washington Post discusses exactly where it went wrong.
IT STopped evolving
After Amazon bought Goodreads, the outdated interface and lack of meaningful updates left users frustrated and stuck with clunky features.
all about the money
Instead of focusing on organic book discovery, Goodreads became heavily geared toward pushing Amazon’s sales and marketing.
No personal touch
The community vibe faded as users felt Goodreads prioritized collecting data for Amazon over fostering genuine reader connections.
audience
So, who still uses Goodreads?
Admittedly, I still do because I have yet to find something that works better. Like me, I brainstormed what type of users may be actively using Goodreads based on real feedback from their reviews.
project
Simply put, Goodreads has been shelved (Get it?).
See what I did there? Since Goodreads clearly has a lot of room for growth, I challenged myself to ideate how I, as a designer, might be able to solve some of Goodreads' problems. The first step was to identify the most common user pain points, After scrolling through some of Goodreads thousands of unsatisfied reviews on the Apple App Store, the most common topics were:
PLEASE UPDATE THIS APP
Mar 17
·
bookiebook_
please do a modernized update on this app and redo the website. it looks like it was made in 2012 and never updated. i love y'all but please
Love it but can we update a little
Aug 6
·
Chloborino
Don't get me wrong I love Goodreads and have been using it for years but it's time to update it. It hasn't changed in the slightest since…2012?
Such an ugly antiquated UI
Nov 23
·
BadGirlRi
This app is so ugly and hard to use. Love the concept but it is so out of date. Please update ASAP. Do you need new software engineers?
Good but could be great
Aug 4
·
chezbrianna
I like using Goodreads but this app needs an update. A major update. The interface gives 2006 Amazon vibes. I know they got the money to catapult it to the 2020s decade.
Horrible UI
Jan 27
·
MrGalliard
Feels like this app is stuck in 2010 with this ui.
Worst UI of an app I've ever seen in 2024
Jul 30
·
Okie dokie lmaoooooo
Title says it all, I've got no time for an app that looks like it hasn't been updated since 1923.
It's 2024. Can we get an update?
Jan 20
·
Tjlc
I'm so tired of this app crashing in the middle of writing a review. Is this issue really do hard to fix? We have AI that can basically read our minds, but I still can't finish typing a paragraph in a text box without a crash???
Not saving review drafts in the app
Nov 2
·
bailey0192
I dont know why the app doesn't save drafts of your reviews like the browser version does but its really annoying. On the app its so easy to miss click and have your whole draft deleted with no way to get it back which makes no sense considering the feature has been implemented on the browser version.
daily crashes
Feb 26
·
lyz729
EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I TYPE A REVIEW FOR A BOOK I FINISH….. the app crashes…. then i don't bother to go back and retype my thoughts after i was RUDELY interrupted
app crashes often
Feb 6
·
Kyvvo
in the middle of writing a LONG review and my app crashed so it was completely lost. now i know to not write reviews anymore /:
GLITCHIEST APP EVER
1y ago
·
Tatiana hates glitches
I may actually go insane with how glitchy this app is, ALWAYS kicking me out in the middle of writing a review and not keeping ANY OF IT. I'm so angry. This is why I never use this app. PLEASE HELP I'M SO MAD
➌ "WHY NO DARK MODE?"
WHY NO DARK MODE?
Nov 18
·
Sttephaniee
why no dark mode ???
Terrible UI
Jan 31
·
agireud
The UI is incredibly outdated and does not respect dark mode system settings.
STILL no dark mode
Mar 23
·
strubiedo
Pathetic. They care so little for their users that they still haven't implemented such a basic feature.
design
With all this in mind, I started to draft up how I could restructure and redesign the Goodreads app to solve these main pain points. I began by referencing other popular social review and discovery apps like Letterboxd, Pinterest and Spotify.
the design
We started with low-fidelity wireframes to outline the basic structure and flow of the messaging feature. These initial sketches allowed us to iterate quickly and gather feedback from stakeholders. Once we had a solid foundation, we moved on to high-fidelity prototypes using Figma.
takeaways