Case Study · SaaS Platform Design

Redesigning Kuhstomshop for Merchants Who Don't Want Friction

An end-to-end redesign of a Shopify-style e-commerce platform, removing barriers to entry, simplifying store setup, and letting merchants focus on selling.

Role

Sole Product Designer

Timeline

May 2024 – Jan 2026

May 2024–Jan 2026

May 2024 – Jan 2026

Platform

Web & Mobile

Company

Kuhstomatica

Platform

Web & Mobile

Company

Kuhstomatica

25%

Increase in conversion rate after redesign

31%

Improvement in user engagement metrics

4

Products designed across the full ecosystem

Overview

A full product suite. One designer.

Kuhstomatica is an enterprise SaaS company building a suite of interconnected digital products for businesses. As the sole designer, I was responsible for designing three of the four products in the ecosystem — as well as the umbrella website that brings them together.

The flagship product, Kuhstomshop, is an e-commerce platform builder comparable to Shopify or Shopbase. It enables businesses to launch and manage online stores — complete with product listings, payments, custom domains, and analytics — without needing technical expertise or staff support.

This case study focuses on the Kuhstomshop redesign, where the most significant UX problems existed and where design decisions had the greatest measurable impact.

Kuhstomatica is an enterprise SaaS company building a suite of interconnected digital products for businesses. As the sole designer, I was responsible for designing three of the four products in the ecosystem, as well as the umbrella website that brings them together.

The flagship product, Kuhstomshop, is an e-commerce platform builder comparable to Shopify or Shopbase. It enables businesses to launch and manage online stores, complete with product listings, payments, custom domains, and analytics, without needing technical expertise or staff support.

This case study focuses on the Kuhstomshop redesign, where the most significant UX problems existed and where design decisions had the greatest measurable impact.

Kuhstomatica is an enterprise SaaS company building a suite of interconnected digital products for businesses. As the sole designer, I was responsible for designing three of the four products in the ecosystem , as well as the umbrella website that brings them together.

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Kuhstomshop

E-commerce platform builder (Shopify-style)

THIS CASE STUDY

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Kuhstomdiscovery

Legal services product

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Kuhstom LMS

Online learning management system

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Kuhstomatica.com

Umbrella website housing all products

THE PROBLEM

The product was gatekeeping the people it was built for.

When I came on board, Kuhstomshop had a significant drop-off problem. The root cause wasn't the product itself — it was how the product introduced itself to new users. Several design decisions were actively working against merchant adoption

Forced Payment at Signup

Users were required to enter credit card details the moment they created an account — before they had explored a single feature. This created immediate distrust and caused a significant portion of potential merchants to abandon the signup flow entirely.

Users were required to enter credit card details the moment they created an account, before they had explored a single feature. This created immediate distrust and caused a significant portion of potential merchants to abandon the signup flow entirely.

No Dashboard Without Subscription

The product's core value was locked behind a paywall at the very first touchpoint. New users couldn't access the dashboard — or understand what they were paying for — until they had already subscribed. There was no opportunity to build trust or demonstrate value first.

The product's core value was locked behind a paywall at the very first touchpoint. New users couldn't access the dashboard, or understand what they were paying for, until they had already subscribed. There was no opportunity to build trust or demonstrate value first.

Complex Store Setup

Setting up a store required staff assistance. The process lacked clear guidance, progress indicators, or contextual feedback — making it feel overwhelming and inaccessible, particularly for non-technical business owners who made up the core audience.

Setting up a store required staff assistance. The process lacked clear guidance, progress indicators, or contextual feedback , making it feel overwhelming and inaccessible, particularly for non-technical business owners who made up the core audience.

Setting up a store required staff assistance. The process lacked clear guidance, progress indicators, or contextual feedback, making it feel overwhelming and inaccessible, particularly for non-technical business owners who made up the core audience.

No Onboarding Feedback Loop

Users moved through setup steps with no indication of progress, success, or what came next. The absence of feedback made the process feel uncertain and unfinished — a common trigger for drop-off in multi-step flows

Users moved through setup steps with no indication of progress, success, or what came next. The absence of feedback made the process feel uncertain and unfinished, a common trigger for drop-off in multi-step flows

The goal is simple.

Reduce user drop-off during onboarding increase independent store set up.

The Solution

Earn trust first. Ask for commitment later.

The redesign was built around a single principle: let merchants experience the product before asking anything of them. Every screen was rethought to reduce friction at the point of entry and give users the confidence to move forward on their own terms.

The result was a cleaner, more trustworthy experience — from the first landing page impression through to store creation and payment — designed for both web and mobile

The result was a cleaner, more trustworthy experience, from the first landing page impression through to store creation and payment, designed for both web and mobile

The result was a cleaner, more trustworthy experience, from the first landing page impression through to store creation and payment , designed for both web and mobile

01 - LANDING PAGE

Simplified Sign Up

No card required at entry. Users sign up with just their name, email, and password — or via Google. A free trial window gives merchants full dashboard access before any commitment is made

No card required at entry. Users sign up with just their name, email, and password, or via Google. A free trial window gives merchants full dashboard access before any commitment is made

02 — Frictionless Sign Up & Dashboard Access

Transparent Pricing — Choose When Ready

Users land directly in their dashboard post-signup. A non-blocking trial reminder appears contextually — informing without interrupting — and only prompts plan selection when the trial window approaches its end

Users land directly in their dashboard post-signup. A non-blocking trial reminder appears contextually, informing without interrupting, and only prompts plan selection when the trial window approaches its end

Simplified Sign Up

Simplified Sign Up process

Simplified Sign Up

No card required at entry. Users sign up with just their name, email, and password — or via Google. A free trial window gives merchants full dashboard access before any commitment is made

No card required at entry. Users sign up with just their name, email, and password, or via Google. A free trial window gives merchants full dashboard access before any commitment is made

Merchant Dashboard with Trial Nudge

02 — Frictionless Sign Up & Dashboard Access

03 — Plan Selection & Domain Purchase

Transparent Pricing — Choose When Ready

Four clear tiers (Basic to Enterprise) with a recommended plan highlighted. Crucially, a "Skip, I'll decide later" option removes pressure — users can explore before committing. Plans range from $25–$60/month with Custom enterprise pricing.

Four clear tiers (Basic to Enterprise) with a recommended plan highlighted. Crucially, a "Skip, I'll decide later" option removes pressure, users can explore before committing. Plans range from $25–$60/month with Custom enterprise pricing.

Four clear tiers (Basic to Enterprise) with a recommended plan highlighted. Crucially, a "Skip, I'll decide later" option removes pressure users can explore before committing. Plans range from $25–$60/month with Custom enterprise pricing.

Integrated Domain Registration

Inspired by Hostinger's domain marketplace, merchants can search, register, and manage custom domains directly within Kuhstomshop — eliminating the need for third-party domain tools and keeping the setup experience self-contained.

Inspired by Hostinger's domain marketplace, merchants can search, register, and manage custom domains directly within Kuhstomshop, eliminating the need for third-party domain tools and keeping the setup experience self-contained.

03 — Plan Selection & Domain Purchase

04 — Store Setup & Payment Flow

Self-Serve Store Creation

Store setup was redesigned to be fully staff-independent. Merchants name their store, add a subdomain, and see a live plan summary in one view — with all information visible before any payment is made.

Store setup was redesigned to be fully staff-independent. Merchants name their store, add a subdomain, and see a live plan summary in one view, with all information visible before any payment is made.

Payment Only When Ready

Card details are collected only at the point of deliberate subscription — not at signup. Users arrive here having already experienced the product, reviewed their plan, and made an informed choice to proceed

Card details are collected only at the point of deliberate subscription , not at signup. Users arrive here having already experienced the product, reviewed their plan, and made an informed choice to proceed

Card details are collected only at the point of deliberate subscription, not at signup. Users arrive here having already experienced the product, reviewed their plan, and made an informed choice to proceed

Decoupled Signup from Payment

The most impactful change. By removing card details from the signup flow entirely, we eliminated the primary trust barrier at the point of first contact. Users could now create an account, explore the dashboard, and begin building their store — all before being asked to subscribe.

The most impactful change. By removing card details from the signup flow entirely, we eliminated the primary trust barrier at the point of first contact. Users could now create an account, explore the dashboard, and begin building their store , all before being asked to subscribe.

The most impactful change. By removing card details from the signup flow entirely, we eliminated the primary trust barrier at the point of first contact. Users could now create an account, explore the dashboard, and begin building their store, all before being asked to subscribe.

Free Trial with Full Dashboard Access

New users received a trial period with unrestricted dashboard access. This allowed merchants to experience the platform's value — creating stores, browsing features, setting up their domain — before any monetary commitment. Conversion was driven by demonstrated value, not forced entry.

New users received a trial period with unrestricted dashboard access. This allowed merchants to experience the platform's value, creating stores, browsing features, setting up their domain , before any monetary commitment. Conversion was driven by demonstrated value, not forced entry.

New users received a trial period with unrestricted dashboard access. This allowed merchants to experience the platform's value, creating stores, browsing features, setting up their domain, before any monetary commitment. Conversion was driven by demonstrated value, not forced entry.

Guided, Self-Sufficient Store Setup

The store creation flow was restructured with clear steps, contextual feedback at every stage, and a live plan summary visible throughout. Merchants could complete the entire setup without staff assistance — reducing support overhead and improving the autonomy merchants felt over their own experience.

The store creation flow was restructured with clear steps, contextual feedback at every stage, and a live plan summary visible throughout. Merchants could complete the entire setup without staff assistance , reducing support overhead and improving the autonomy merchants felt over their own experience.

The store creation flow was restructured with clear steps, contextual feedback at every stage, and a live plan summary visible throughout. Merchants could complete the entire setup without staff assistance — reducing support overhead and improving the autonomy merchants felt over their own experience.

Three-Tier Dashboard System

Beyond the merchant-facing experience, the redesign included a full Super Admin dashboard, Admin dashboard, and User (merchant) dashboard — each tailored to its respective user's responsibilities and access level. This gave the business complete operational visibility while keeping the merchant experience focused and uncluttered.

Beyond the merchant-facing experience, the redesign included a full Super Admin dashboard, Admin dashboard, and User (merchant) dashboard, each tailored to its respective user's responsibilities and access level. This gave the business complete operational visibility while keeping the merchant experience focused and uncluttered.

RESULTS

Design decisions that moved the numbers.

The metrics below were recorded following the first live redesign of Kuhstomshop. Both iterations of the redesign share the same core architecture and UX principles — meaning the design decisions that drove these results carried through.

The metrics below were recorded following the first live redesign of Kuhstomshop. Both iterations of the redesign share the same core architecture and UX principles, meaning the design decisions that drove these results carried through.

25%

Increase in conversion rate

Driven by removing forced payment at signup and introducing a free trial — reducing drop-off at the highest-friction point in the original flow.

31%

Improvement in engagement

Users who accessed the dashboard freely explored more features, spent more time in-product, and were more likely to complete store setup.

Staff required for store setup

The redesigned onboarding and simplified site set up made the full store creation flow self-serve — eliminating the dependency on support staff that existed in the original product

The redesigned onboarding and simplified site set up made the full store creation flow self-serve eliminating the dependency on support staff that existed in the original product

31%

Improvement in engagement

Users who accessed the dashboard freely explored more features, spent more time in-product, and were more likely to complete store setup.

Reflection

What this project taught me.

Kuhstomshop was the largest and most complex project I've worked on — spanning nearly two years as the sole designer across a multi-product ecosystem. It required me to think at both a systems level (how products connect) and an interaction level (how each screen earns trust).

Working under significant time pressure on the first redesign meant learning to make high-confidence decisions quickly — and then having the clarity to revisit and improve them when the opportunity arose. The second iteration of Kuhstomshop, though stalled in development, represents my most considered thinking on the product

Kuhstomshop was the largest and most complex project I've worked on — spanning nearly two years as the sole designer across a multi-product ecosystem. It required me to think at both a systems level (how products connect) and an interaction level (how each screen earns trust).

Working under significant time pressure on the first redesign meant learning to make high-confidence decisions quickly , and then having the clarity to revisit and improve them when the opportunity arose. The second iteration of Kuhstomshop, though stalled in development, represents my most considered thinking on the product

Kuhstomshop was the largest and most complex project I've worked on , spanning nearly two years as the sole designer across a multi-product ecosystem. It required me to think at both a systems level (how products connect) and an interaction level (how each screen earns trust).

Working under significant time pressure on the first redesign meant learning to make high-confidence decisions quickly, and then having the clarity to revisit and improve them when the opportunity arose. The second iteration of Kuhstomshop, though stalled in development, represents my most considered thinking on the product

Trust is a design material. The original product treated payment as a gatekeeping mechanism. The redesign treated it as a milestone users should want to reach — and that shift in framing drove everything.

Trust is a design material. The original product treated payment as a gatekeeping mechanism. The redesign treated it as a milestone users should want to reach, and that shift in framing drove everything.

Simplicity requires discipline. Making store setup staff-independent wasn't about removing steps — it was about adding the right guidance at the right moment so users never felt lost.

Designing at scale means designing for different users. A super admin, an admin, and a merchant all live inside the same system — but have completely different goals. Keeping those mental models separate while maintaining visual consistency was a core design challenge throughout