Increasing BTT usage within BitTorrent Web

Role
Sr. Director, Product Design

Team
1 Product Designer
1 Sr. User Researcher

Duration
2 Quarters

Business goals
2X open rate for BitTorrent Speed
1M wallets created

OVERVIEW

BitTorrent Web is a web-based torrenting application used to share various types of media through peer-to-peer connections, and is packaged with BitTorrent Speed, a web-based cryptocurrency application and digital wallet used to access and transact with BTT (BitTorrent Token) in exchange for faster torrent download speeds.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Low engagement with BitTorrent Speed
Users gain access to the BitTorrent Speed app from inside BitTorrent Web, which was only seeing a 2% open rate, with 5% of those users creating a digital wallet.

Research

Survey

The first thing we did was launch a survey inside BitTorrent Web to gauge users interest in BitTorrent Speed, as well as collect emails to better target participants for future interviews and testing.

NUMBER OF RESPONSES
1,738

EMAILS COLLECTED
87

Findings from the survey:

User interviews

We reached out to survey participants via email based on a range of responses to set up interviews as a way to dig deeper into analysis. In total we interviewed 10 users of 2 cohorts over Zoom, 5 of which were actively using BitTorrent Speed, and 5 which expressed interest in cryptocurrencies, however were not using Speed.

We collected our feedback into an affinity map, and identified the most common themes:

For users actively using BitTorrent Speed, themes we found:

  • Confused why BitTorrent Speed opened in a new browser tab

  • Interested in viewing BTT “spendings” and “earnings”

  • Control over which torrents spend BTT for faster downloads

For users who expressed interest in crypto, but not actively using BitTorrent Speed, themes we found:

  • Not aware of BitTorrent Speed

  • Better education and onboarding about how/why to use BitTorrent Speed

  • Hesitancy to set up a wallet

I’m interested in downloading torrents faster, but why do I need to create a wallet

I use BitTorrent Web once a week and have no idea what BitTorrent Speed is

Ideation & prototype

Based on the key findings from the survey data and interviews, we identified 3 areas to explore, formed hypotheses, and finalized solutions we wanted to test.

Information architecture and CTA

EXISTING SOLUTION

To access BitTorrent Speed, users click the Speed icon in the top right corner of the header. The only description of the feature is a small popover below the icon present during onboarding, with no incentive or CTA. Based on this design, we were seeing roughly 2% open rate to BitTorrent Speed.

PROPOSED SOLUTION

Typically the top right area of a web-based application is designated for secondary/tertiary account level options and settings, so we wanted to explore BitTorrent Speed as a ‘primary’ feature of BitTorrent Web.

We explored a few ideas for restructuring the navigation, and landed on a simple low effort solution, moving BitTorrent Speed into the primary navigation system.

Next, we hypothesized the updated IA would increase engagement, however more could be done to engage users at the top of the funnel. This led us to the idea of a contextual popover.

The popover would nudge users during their first torrent download and provide clear messaging to “Boost their download speed” along with an incentive of free BTT and a strong CTA to “Get started now”. Moreover, we added an illustration for additional context and visual cue to entice users.

Onboarding & Speed-as-a-feature

EXISTING SOLUTION

The BitTorrent Speed app opens inside a new browser tab from inside BitTorrent Web, which confuses users and is perceived as disconnected from the torrenting experience. In addition, when a user navigates to Speed, they land on a dashboard screen with no messaging on the benefits of using Speed, nor any guidance on what to do next.

PROPOSED SOLUTION

The simplest solution here was to move the Speed UI into BitTorrent Web as a feature opposed to a standalone app, providing a more seamless integrated experience for the user.

Additionally, we created an onboarding system to better guide users and educate them on using Speed and how to set up a wallet.

Prototype

Before moving forward with design changes in production, we followed up with participants from previous research who have used BitTorrent Speed to test a clickable prototype. 5 out of 5 participants preferred the integrated version of Speed, and all of them were able to complete tasks and navigate the prototype successfully.

We did receive feedback from 3 participants that the newly added Speed onboarding was useful in highlighting features, however some expressed concern around wallet security.

ITERATION

Based on the feedback, we added a value prop walkthrough screen for the first-time user experience to ensure peace of mind about the security of BitTorrent Wallet.

Split testing

After the prototype testing commenced, we created a plan for testing the changes in development. We decided to run 3 sequential split tests — navigation, popover, and integration respectively. Running the tests separately allowed us to focus on individual design changes, that way we had a clear signal on the factors affecting the outcome.

TEST 1: PRIMARY NAVIGATION (A/B)

For the first split test, we moved the Speed icon to the left sidebar along with a label, and retained the existing popover during BitTorrent Web onboarding. To recap, the hypothesis was users would engage at a higher rate because the sidebar was designated for ‘features’ or primary sections opposed to secondary/tertiary settings area in the header.

RESULTS

After running the test we achieved a 250% increase in open rate which came out to a 7% for the B version of the test. The result was statistically significant.

TEST 2: CONTEXUAL POPOVER (A/B)

We achieved a nice CTR bump with the first test without sacrificing the overall experience, so we went ahead and released the navigation change to 100% of users. The second test was the new control against the contextual popover design, hypothesized to engage users at the right moment in the user journey, and entice them to interact at a higher rate with better messaging and CTA.

RESULTS

After running against the new control at 7%, we saw a BitTorrent Speed open rate increase of 185% which came out to a 20% open rate for the B version.

All said and done with the first two tests, we achieved an increase of 900% when comparing the initial control of a 2% open rate.

TEST 3: INTEGRATION + ONBOARDING (A/B/C)

The first two tests were fairly low effort to execute, and yielded great results at the top of the funnel from an engagement standpoint.

For the third group of tests, we migrated the existing components from Speed into the BitTorrent Web UI, allowing users to interact directly with Speed without leaving the app. In addition, we added new walkthrough screens and tested two different types of onboarding systems — a traditional wizard-style tour ending with a CTA to set up a wallet, and an action-based system + tour where setting up a wallet was required for users to continue using Speed.

INTEGRATION (Speed-as-a-feature)

RESULTS

With the new integrated version of Speed, we saw the average time on page increase by 8 seconds, and a decreased bounce rate by 50%.

ONBOARDING

RESULTS

Both B and C versions tested better than control but the action-based system, version C converted 66% better with our activation metric (creating a wallet) than the wizard-style tour, version B.

Final results

SUCCESS METRIC

2X open rate for BitTorrent Speed

ACHIEVED METRIC

10X open rate for BitTorrent Speed

SUCCESS METRIC

1M wallets created

ACHIEVED METRIC

1.5M wallets created