Building a Wedding Website

A personal journey in solution crafting

When my partner and I informed our families about our decision to get married, it was amusing to see the natural inclination of people wanting to give gifts, even though we weren't planning a celebration or party. We already lived together, had our home set up, and didn't need the conventional wedding gifts.

What Was The Problem?

We had plans to move abroad and hoped the gifts could support our dream financially. We explored existing wedding gift websites and honeymoon funds but found nothing that fit our needs.

We wanted customization and simplicity for our families and, since no solution existed, we decided to create one.

Main Issues

The gifts
Relatives wanted to give gifts we didn't need
Costly ready-made solutions
Available solutions had high fees for each gift received
Poor customization options
Ready-made solutions provided a bad user experience

What Did We Build?

After researching references, we determined the main features that would meet our needs. Because our target audience was aged between 35 to 60, with limited digital fluency, we decided to create a familiar interface, resembling a shopping site with a cart and checkout page. We also used the most common payment method for this persona: PIX key.

For international readers: PIX is the government supported way for instant Real transfers. It’s also the leading payment method in Brazil. Think of it as the Brazilian SWIFT.

Solution

I took on the Product Owner role and, along with my husband, who is a web developer, we were able to finish everything by ourselves in a week!

What did we build:

Gift selection page (homepage)
Gifts with values available for choosing
Cart
Place to change quantities, so you can give as many gifts as desired
Payment via PIX
Page with the QR Code and copy-paste link for the PIX key
Thank you/Send a message to us
Place where we thank you and where you can send us a message

Tools used:

Trello as a task board.
Notion as main ideation tool and as a text editor.
Figma to brainstorming and create wireframes.

My role

As a Product Owner of this product, my role was pivotal in shaping the direction and functionality of our website. I embarked on a investigation of the most popular features on existing honeymoon fund platforms. Based on these insights, I selected benchmark results that closely aligned with our product vision, ensuring we were creating something both unique and in demand.

A significant part of my job involved establishing work segments and setting priorities. I also took charge of creating the user journey, meticulously planning each step of the user's interaction with our platform to ensure a seamless and intuitive experience.

Finally, I was responsible for drawing the wireframes. This step brought our ideas to life, providing a visual blueprint of our website. It was a process that required both creativity and technical knowledge, as I had to ensure that the design was not only aesthetically pleasing but also functional and easy to navigate.

The Final Product

Through this project, I learned how to identify a need and create a tailor-made solution. We focused on simplicity and familiarity, ensuring the interface was intuitive, much like a conventional online shopping site. This approach, coupled with the integration of PIX for easy and familiar payment, made our solution accessible and user-friendly.

The process of building this platform was as educational as it was rewarding. From conducting thorough research on existing honeymoon fund platforms to drawing wireframes, every step was a learning opportunity. It sharpen my skills in identifying essential features, fine-tuning benchmarks, creating effective user journeys, and prioritizing work segments.

Visit https://tayargarzon.com/ to explore and see the final product.