Constant Contact:
Help Panel Redesign
The help panel is one of the most frequently used surfaces in the product, with tens of thousands of interactions each month. It represents a critical moment where users are experiencing friction and actively seeking resolution.
However, instead of guiding users forward, the existing experience often created more confusion, leading to abandonment, increased support dependency, and missed opportunities to retain at-risk customers.
This project focused on redesigning the help panel to better support users in moments of need, starting with a foundational reset of the experience before layering in personalization and AI.
The Problem
1. High Intent, Low Success
Users coming to the help panel had strong intent to solve a problem, but the experience failed to guide them effectively. Many users exited without resolution or escalated to support.
2. One-Size-Fits-All Experience
The help panel treated all users the same, regardless of where they were in their journey. This was especially problematic for high-value users showing early signs of churn, who were not guided back to value.
3. Cognitive Overload & Poor Navigation
The interface included:
Multiple redundant entry points (Knowledge Base, Community, etc.)
Unclear hierarchy and competing actions
Dead ends that forced users to restart
This created friction and decision paralysis.
4. Weak Search Experience
Search was the most common behavior, yet:
Results required exact matches
No tolerance for typos or partial queries
Outputs lacked clear, actionable answers
5. Over-Reliance on Support
Because the product did not effectively resolve user issues, users frequently escalated to human support, which is not scalable.
