With the growing demand of over one million users and new brand guidelines in place, Ancestry.com challenged Hot Studio to redesign its website.

The goal: To enhance the site experience for loyal contributors and rigorous researchers while delivering an intriguing, intuitive experience for the hobbyist newly acquainting themselves to the world of genealogy.

A relative experience
To truly understand the Ancestry.com user experience, Hot Studio embarked on a comprehensive discovery process. Shuttling between Ancestry’s corporate headquarters in Provo, Utah to their new digital office in San Francisco, the Hot team interviewed company stakeholders to understand the cultural changes and organizational landscape that was already underway. They then interviewed target users ranging from casual researchers to seasoned genealogists and finally dove head-first into the site experience through their own personal ancestral journeys. Most compelling (and certainly impressive) to Hot was learning the back-end technology that had been built by Ancestry’s engineering group to manage the extraordinary amount of global content—over 6 billion pieces of content—and to identify improvements in how that content could be accessed and consumed by users.

The process uncovered core usability issues, user recommendations, and branding opportunities for the website (not to mention many long lost relatives!). By working closely with the Ancestry team, Hot turned this valuable data into a strategic plan for the next generation of Ancestry.com.

Creating a legacy of quality
Today, the Ancestry.com website resonates a deep understanding of the people who use it. Its fresh, intuitive design creates a satisfying research experience for every type of user while reinforcing the new brand identity in its voice, tone, and visual assets. Built to evolve with new user upgrades and business growth, this flexible design framework provides a solid root for generations of family trees to flourish.