When starting this redesign, I first needed to understand the users of Craigslist and identify the pain points of the site. I want to figure out why, despite is unmodern and less usable design, is it still a popular site for users.
Market Research
I did not have access to users for interview or survey, but I performed some research on the user base and impressions of the site from regular users.
Wikipedia
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2022: 19th most visited site in the United States
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2023: 16th most visited site in the world
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2025: average of 147 million monthly visitors
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Most users are from the U.S.
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45-54 age group is the largest portion of visitors
Wired Article: "Is Craigslist the Last Real Place on the Internet?"
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"untold numbers...many in 30s and 40s" who still consider the site essential
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site is anachronistic part of everyday lives
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​can stay anonymous on the site
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money doesn't have to be exchanged on site
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can facilitate meaningful connections
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no algorithms to predict what users want to see
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disincentivizes clout-chasing and virality-seeking that would be rewarded on other plaforms
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Craigslist doesn't share data about its users
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random-factor makes it exciting
Investopedia: Top 10 Craigslist Alternatives for Buying and Selling Online
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reasons for people to turn to modern alternatives: user friendly, safer, more advanced features, specific niches
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drawbacks to Craigslist: higher possibility for scams, limited security, outdated interface
From this research, I gathered that users appreciate that Craigslist is non-commercialized, does not sell data, and does not rely on algorithms. Despite the poor interface in comparison to its competitors, Craigslist is a straightforward site where you know what you are getting. Regular users are accustomed to the the interface and accept it because of these benefits.
Competitive Analysis
First I would do an analysis of three main user flows for Craigslist, with the goal of assessing the usability, accessibility, and visual design interface for improvements. Then I would assess direct competitors like Ebay, Facebook Marketplace, and OfferUp for the same factors, as well as their commerciality. And finally, I would assess text-heavy sites to analyze their information architecture and visual design for inspiration for how to improve Craigslist.
Craigslist Analysis
User Flow 1: Looking for a Community Event/Class Takeaways
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The homepage is very crowded with text. Event calendar isn't very useful on the homepage.
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The community events listings' page is the most egregious when it comes to design and info architecture. The filter system is especially confusing. There are a filters and the left and the top, above the results that are related, but it is not very clear.
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When looking at a specific ad, the visual design and information architecture, while not hard to decipher leaves a lot to be desired. The map isn't very useful as it is presented with little context. Relevant tags are also listed in an awkward place, beneath the map
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I think the description for the ad should be within the same window as the relevant image.
User Flow 2: Posting an Ad
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The UI for both "post" buttons (under the logo) and to the right of the navbar are very different and jarring
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When choosing the type of ad you are making, the types of ads are visually separated via category, but with no additional labelling. Also the very limited UI elements that are on there, the button and the radio buttons can be unified.
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There is perhaps a better way to organize the categories.
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Some of the text fields are green and less accessible. Email address text field is a different font than the rest of the page.
Competitive Analysis: Direct Competitors
Ebay
Strengths
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information architecture aligns with commercial website standards and so is familiar to navigate.
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Filter system for search, while large, has a means of organizing via dropdownds
Weaknesses
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too commercial, too overcrowded with content
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focus is on getting the user to buy, buy, buy
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requires sign in to post a product listing
Facebook Marketplace
Strengths
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very clean, accessible, and straight-forward layout
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lots of menu, section listings, but organization makes it less overwhelming
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location adjustment is also very simple.
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feels user led, rather than corporate
Weaknesses
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requires sign-in to buy and sell
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no community events, but that isn’t really the purpose of marketplace
OfferUp
Strengths
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easy navigation at the top
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has specific categories of items
Weaknesses
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crowded by images.
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images for the categories are not specific enough.
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feels very commercial
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needs sign in to sell
My Takeaways: The direct competitors to Craigslist have very commercialized layouts and trends. They all require sign-in for selling/posting and buying. Facebook Marketplace has the least commercialization and a simple and usable layout. Like Craigslist, it is user/community led and is not an e-commerce site.
Competitive Analysis: Indirect Competitors
NYTimes
Observations
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two column layout for homepage
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image thumbnails draw attention
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replicates physical newspaper.
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search results have title, description, and small thumbnail
Wikipedia
Observations on Info Architecture and Layout
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partial two column layout
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each box has short blurb and small image.
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color of box groups certain content together
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layout and content encourage exploration.
Twitter/X
Observations on Info Architecture and Layout
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3 column layout
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left side is menu/navigation
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main content is center that scrolls
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right side is trends and recommendations
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clean and usable layout
The Design
With these Low Fidelity Wireframes I aimed to perfect the information architecture and layout issues that I found on the original site. My insights from competitive analysis informed my choices. The cards on the homepage are meant to reduce the text content for the viewer so they can then choose to explore specific categories according to their needs. The filter system was also something that I simplified and organized.
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For the Ad creation I aimed to create an interactable field that would match close to the final version, emulating FB Marketplace's way of doing it.
High Fidelity Wireframes
The colors of the site emulate that of a yellow notepad. The cards for each topic are collapsible, with the ability to expand all if you wish to view everything at once. Instead of having a calendar, I listed upcoming events based on the date you visit that are near the area you choose. Making the tagging system clearer was a priority as well.
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For the ad posting, I wanted to make the editing field emulate the final look of the ad. In Craigslist's original site, the input fields for your content were very disparate, and while you could press a preview for the post, it was more out of the way. I chose to make it more seamless.
User Flow One: Finding A Community Event Ad
User Flow Two: Posting a Volunteer Event Ad
