Rahima Wahizi Portfolio

BACK

BACK

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OVERVIEW

Challenge:

Transform basic product listings into beautiful storefronts that brands would proudly share - critical for business growth

Solution:

I created a simple four-step storefront builder that lets brands build gorgeous storefronts in under 30 minutes (instead of weeks), resulting in 112% sales increase and stronger brand partnerships

CONTEXT

What is THE LNK?

THE LNK is an e-commerce platform that helps fashion and home brands sell internationally without the headaches. When a brand joins the platform, they get a storefront where their shoppers can enjoy:

Free international shipping

Free international shipping

No surprise custom duties

No surprise custom duties

Shopping in local currency & payment method

Shopping in local currency & payment method

60-day free returns

60-day free returns

PROBLEM

Underwhelming Storefronts

The storefront landing page were just basic listing pages with only their name, logo and description. Brands felt these pages were not up to par with their brand image.

Existing brand page with name only

Existing brand page with logo & description

This created a serious business problem

Low Traffic & Sales

Brand pages received minimal international traffic, resulting in reduced sales potential for both the platform and brands

Limited Platform Adoption

Brands rarely used their storefront or the platform, limiting adoption despite our strong international commerce offering

Abandoned Onbaording

68% of brands abandoned the setup process when asked to share their storefronts with international customers

After talking to our brands, one comment kept coming up: "This doesn't match the experience on our main website."

And they were right. This wasn't just a design issue - it was threatening our entire business model.

THE RESEARCH

Competitive Analysis

I evaluated how brands were building storefronts across e-commerce platforms

Brand Primary Sites

Studied our brands' main websites on Shopify, Wix, and WooCommerce to understand what they'd already invested in

High-Performing Retailers

Analyzed top retail sites like Uniqlo, H&M, Mango, and Zara to identify successful visual patterns

Industry Benchmarking

Reviewed how different platforms approached storefront creation and what friction points existed

What became clear was that successful e-commerce sites shared common elements: large, impactful imagery, clean section-based layouts, minimal but strategic text, and clear calls to action that guided the shopping journey.

User Interviews

I conducted in-depth interviews with 14 brands across different regions (North America, Europe, and Asia) and varying sizes.

Storefront Dissatisfaction

Brands consistently expressed that our basic product listings didn't reflect their brand identity

Primary Site Investment Reality

A critical discovery was that brands had already invested weeks of time and thousands of dollars into their Shopify or Wix stores

Technical Barriers

Most brands had hired developers or agencies to build their primary sites and lacked the technical skills to do it themselves

Time Constraints

Brands were already stretched thin managing their core business and couldn't dedicate weeks to creating another storefront

TRADITIONAL STOREFRONT DESIGNERS

"Our page just looks a bit basic compared to our main site…our team is already stretched thin - we can't spend weeks if we have to design something similar at THE LNK".

Kasish Gemini
Founder, TOFFLE

PROBLEM DEFINITION

Double Challenge

This research revealed we weren't just facing one problem but two interconnected challenges:

Aesthetic Problem

Our basic product listings were too plain to represent brands effectively

Creation Barrier

Any solution needed to be dramatically faster and easier than what brands experienced creating their primary sites

Problem Statement:

We needed to create storefronts that looked as good as their primary sites but could be built in minutes, not weeks. This would give brands beautiful pages they'd proudly share while eliminating the adoption barrier of complex, time-consuming creation.

IDEATION & SOLUTION

Exploring Approaches

I sketched multiple concepts and evaluated them against our constraints:

The winning approach emerged from a key insight: simplicity creates better results. By limiting options and focusing on high-impact elements, we could produce superior with minimal effort.

I sketched out a simple idea: what if brands could build their storefront section by section, with each section following the same winning pattern from our research?

We created the Storefront Designer with a clear four-step process:

I sketched out a simple idea: what if brands could build their storefront section by section, with each section following the same winning pattern from our research?

We created the Storefront Designer with a clear four-step process:

Upload Image

Brands select a beautiful, high-impact image that showcases their products or brand story.

Add Content

They add simple text elements:

Section title
Short description
Button text

They add simple text elements:

Section title
Short description
Button text

Link Content

They connect the section to:

A specific product
A category
A collection

They connect the section to:

A specific product
A category
A collection

Publish

With one click, the section goes live on their storefront

Brands can create multiple sections this way, building a beautiful, image-driven storefront in minutes.

The magic was in the simplicity: By breaking down a complex storefront into manageable sections with a consistent structure, we made it possible to create something beautiful without needing design skills or technical knowledge.

DESIGN PROCESS

Wireframing

I sketched multiple concepts and evaluated them against our constraints:

The winning approach emerged from a key insight: simplicity creates better results. By limiting options and focusing on high-impact elements, we could produce superior with minimal effort.

View more work

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OVERVIEW

Challenge:

Solution:

CONTEXT

CONTEXT

What is THE LNK?

PROBLEM

Underwhelming Storefronts

THE RESEARCH

Competitive Analysis

Brand Primary Sites

High-Performing Retailers

Industry Benchmarking

What became clear was that successful e-commerce sites shared common elements: large, impactful imagery, clean section-based layouts, minimal but strategic text, and clear calls to action that guided the shopping journey.

What became clear was that successful e-commerce sites shared common elements: large, impactful imagery, clean section-based layouts, minimal but strategic text, and clear calls to action that guided the shopping journey.

User Interviews

"Our page just looks a bit basic compared to our main site…our team is already stretched thin - we can't spend weeks if we have to design something similar at THE LNK".

"Our page just looks a bit basic compared to our main site…our team is already stretched thin - we can't spend weeks if we have to design something similar at THE LNK".

Kasish Gemini Founder, TOFFLE

Kasish Gemini Founder, TOFFLE

PROBLEM DEFINITION

Double Challenge

Problem Statement: We needed to create storefronts that looked as good as their primary sites but could be built in minutes, not weeks. This would give brands beautiful pages they'd proudly share while eliminating the adoption barrier of complex, time-consuming creation.

Problem Statement: We needed to create storefronts that looked as good as their primary sites but could be built in minutes, not weeks. This would give brands beautiful pages they'd proudly share while eliminating the adoption barrier of complex, time-consuming creation.

IDEATION & SOLUTION

Exploring Approaches

The winning approach emerged from a key insight: simplicity creates better results. By limiting options and focusing on high-impact elements, we could produce superior with minimal effort.

I sketched out a simple idea: what if brands could build their storefront section by section, with each section following the same winning pattern from our research? We created the Storefront Designer with a clear four-step process:

Brands can create multiple sections this way, building a beautiful, image-driven storefront in minutes.

The magic was in the simplicity: By breaking down a complex storefront into manageable sections with a consistent structure, we made it possible to create something beautiful without needing design skills or technical knowledge.

The magic was in the simplicity: By breaking down a complex storefront into manageable sections with a consistent structure, we made it possible to create something beautiful without needing design skills or technical knowledge.

DESIGN PROCESS

Wireframing

The winning approach emerged from a key insight: simplicity creates better results. By limiting options and focusing on high-impact elements, we could produce superior with minimal effort.

THE LNK Wholesale

THE LNK Wholesale

THE LNK Wholesale

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Kasish Gemini
Founder, TOFFLE

Kasish Gemini
Founder, TOFFLE

Problem Statement:

We needed to create storefronts that looked as good as their primary sites but could be built in minutes, not weeks. This would give brands beautiful pages they'd proudly share while eliminating the adoption barrier of complex, time-consuming creation.

Problem Statement:

We needed to create storefronts that looked as good as their primary sites but could be built in minutes, not weeks. This would give brands beautiful pages they'd proudly share while eliminating the adoption barrier of complex, time-consuming creation.

I sketched out a simple idea: what if brands could build their storefront section by section, with each section following the same winning pattern from our research?

We created the Storefront Designer with a clear four-step process: