Leading online classifieds portal PigiaMe has just launched a new website, with a fresh interface and improved user experience. The platform is an open marketplace which connects buyers and sellers directly, allowing sellers to market their products and services themselves. It attracts a significant audience, building a reputation as the marketplace of people “you want to trade with” and strives to deliver the best-in- class user experience.
The website overhaul comes after a year of strong growth for PigiaMe, which is one of the core assets of Ringier Classifieds, the Swiss media group which is merging assets with One Africa Media to build the largest classifieds group in Africa. With a fresh new look and improved features, PigiaMe is preparing for accelerated growth in 2017, as it comes closer to One Africa Media brands BrighterMonday and Cheki. The redesigned site has a simple and slick design with updated fonts, graphics and functionality. Aesthetically, it brings a fresh look, banking on a clean and cutting-edge visual palate. PigiaMe have also enhanced the website’s feature to improve the experience of the user. It’s not just about the way it looks, but about the way the website works. The changes to UX can be seen all across the website, but the main improvements are the following: Facebook login for smoother registration
Social media is integrating with the way Kenyan’s shop online more than ever and PigiaMe is taking this to their site. The new Facebook feature makes it quicker to register by importing your information directly from Facebook and making it easy to login again. As long as you are logged into Facebook on your browser, you won’t need to type in a user name or password, simply click “login with Facebook” to access your PigiaMe account. Improved search and navigability
Search is changing, with Google becoming smarter than ever at understanding search queries, Kenyans are expecting more from their search results and Kenyan sites have to adjust to the market. PigiaMe has over 40,000 products and services listed on the platform, so robust search and filtering features are key to easily find what you need. With the new website comes a new custom internal search engine, that intelligently identifies and ranks the most relevant search results. The new website also relies on “elastic search” an innovative technology that improves search and filtering on the platform. Automatic suggestions for locations and attributes are also a big improvement for navigability.
Richer Mobile experience Mobile led design is the future, especially in the Kenyan market. The new PigiaMe website is entirely responsive for all types of mobile devices, which means it does not only resize to when displayed on different screen sizes, but also adapts design to provide optimal navigability on different devices. A version of the website was also specifically designed to browsers with low data usage like Opera Mini. With the website’s increased mobile compatibility, users can now seamlessly use the service in any environment.
The company is also preparing the launch of a mobile app that will improve further usability for mobile users. The mobile app is expected to come in February and will bring new features like internal messaging and low data usage, features that will benefit the everyday user greatly. Faster page load time and other privacy- first enhancements
The new website has been optimized to increase speed of the website and reduce page load times. The platform is now also encrypted with HTTPS, thus improving the confidentiality and integrity of your data. All these improvements to the platform come less than a year after PigiaMe introduced a series of new features. Previous changes included a robust safety and quality checking system that has instilled confidence in users. The technology behind the verification system is backed by a dedicated team that reviews listings posted on the website. PigiaMe has also taken a hard stand against fraud to keep scammers away. One of the measures implemented is the Verified Seller badge, which is awarded after thorough background checks on sellers by PigiaMe staff, including interviews of the seller’s previous customers. Other innovations this year concern new services for businesses, like paid products providing additional visibility on the platform, or business pages which act as a seller’s own “mini-website”. With the planned Ringier – One Africa Merger and many improvements planned in the upcoming months, PigiaMe is on an exciting journey to take on formerly dominant competitor OLX.
