Safco Dental
Safco strives to provide our customers with the products, supplies and equipment you need to run your practice smoothly and efficiently. Our team is focused on growing our product assortment by partnering with top brands including 3M, Dentsply Sirona, Kerr, Premier, Hu-Friedy, Coltene, and hundreds of others - not to mention our 1,600 high-quality Safco Brand products.
The Challenge
Outdated interface and slow performance Complicated checkout flow Limited search and product discovery options Complex promotion handling for multiple customer groups Need for B2B-specific features like quick reorder and returns
Project Goals
Improve page speed and usability Simplify checkout for faster order completion Enhance product search and filtering Support advanced promotional campaigns Deliver B2B-friendly workflows
Research Insights:
Conducted UX audits and heuristic analysis of the existing store
Identified user frustrations: long checkout time, slow product search
Defined primary personas: dentists, clinic buyers, and bulk purchasers
Mapped their purchase journeys to remove friction points.
🧩 UX Research:
https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVGJ0K76Y=/?share_link_id=258210403191
🧩 Wireframes 👉 View Wireframe
Early concepts focused on:
Simplified navigation and intuitive product categorization
Streamlined checkout with fewer steps
Quick access to frequently purchased items
🎨 Design Prototype 👉 View Final Prototype
Key UI improvements:
Clean, clinical design aligned with the Safco brand
Consistent typography and spacing for readability
Fully responsive layouts for mobile users
🔧 Key UX Enhancements:
Hyvä Theme Migration: Upgraded to the Hyvä theme for flexible customization and 3× faster performance.
One-Step Checkout: Simplified the checkout experience with Hyvä Checkout, improving conversion and reducing cart abandonment.
Smart Search: Integrated Algolia for faster, more relevant results — grouping items by brand, price, and size.
Dynamic Promotions: Built a custom checkout flow to handle complex promotional rules without compromising performance.
B2B Features: Introduced Quick Order, Back Order, and Reorder functionalities, plus an automated returns workflow and detailed order history for repeat customers.
📈 Results
🚀 3× faster page load time
💳 Smoother, faster checkout flow
🔍 Better product discovery and search relevance
🎯 Improved conversions and customer satisfaction
💬 Reflection
This project strengthened my understanding of performance-driven UX — showing how design and technology can work together to create measurable business impact.
It was a perfect balance between usability, scalability, and conversion optimization.
