Redesigning the Partner Portal
A full redesign of Best Buy’s internal vendor platform to improve usability, reduce maintenance, and support scalable collaboration.
Launched: February 2025
Role: UX Designer, Systems & Content Strategy
Result: +42% in content findability | 30% faster vendor task completion
Overview
In early 2025, Best Buy launched a redesigned Partner Portal, the central hub for vendor-facing policies, guidelines, and operational tools. After five years without a major update, the original structure and design no longer supported our evolving business or user needs.
As the sole UX designer, I led the strategy, research, and execution behind the redesign, building a modular system that improved usability and dramatically reduced internal content maintenance.
Business Goals & Impact
Goal: Improve vendor onboarding and engagement by making key content easier to find
Impact: +42% increase in task completion (usability tested)
Goal: Support Best Buy’s updated 2024 brand system
Impact: 30% faster time-on-task for common workflows
Goal: Reduce internal content overhead via modular design
Impact: 75%+ of new content built using shared templates
Goal: Align teams through shared templates and UX standards
Impact: 100% alignment with updated design system
Discovery
Uncovering what vendors and stakeholders really needed
I interviewed vendors across different categories to understand what they relied on most and where they struggled. I also spoke with department leads and content managers to uncover operational pain points like duplicated content, redundant site layouts, and unclear ownership.
Key Findings
❌ Fragmented structure: Every team built pages differently, leading to confusing navigation and duplicated info
❌ Outdated design: The interface hadn’t been updated in over five years, making key content hard to scan and trust
Strategy
Building for structure, scalability, and flexibility
I started with mid-fidelity wireframes to align early with stakeholders and simplify the site's structure for better usability.
To address both user needs and internal workflows, I developed a template-based design system. These templates allow content admins to easily restructure pages based on vendor needs (like surfacing specific content) while maintaining design consistency across the portal.
Key Design Decisions
Reusable templates for content types like geographies, partners, departments
40+ modular components designed to stack in a responsive layout
Visual refresh aligned to Best Buy’s 2024 rebrand (color, type, iconography)
Landing page header
Content block
News block
Department header
Resources accordion
Apps block
Each component includes its own dedicated guidance page, which outlines:
The component’s name and intended use
A live, responsive preview to show how it renders in context
Best practices and common mistakes to avoid
Key accessibility notes and considerations
Most importantly, we built in a clear feedback loop allowing content teams to flag issues or request improvements, helping us identify pain points and continuously refine the system.
Cross-Functional Testing & Iteration
I ran collaborative reviews with stakeholders from Legal, Ops, Brand, and Engineering, ensuring every round moved us closer to a scalable, sustainable system.
Each round focused on:
Reducing content redundancy
Improving hierarchy for faster scanning
Stress-testing modular layouts with real data
The Outcome
The new Partner Portal launched in February 2025.
It now provides a modern, consistent, and easily maintainable hub for vendor partners, helping them find what they need faster while reducing internal maintenance overhead.
Home
Best Buy US
Best Buy Canada
Exclusive Brands
US Merchandising
Non-Merchandising
US Carriers
Department
Results & Impact
+42% increase in task completion (usability tested)
30% faster time-on-task for common workflows
75%+ of new content built using shared templates
100% alignment with updated design system
Reflection
This project deepened my experience in designing systems for scale, balancing cross-functional needs while staying user-focused. By anchoring the redesign in vendor workflows and building flexible, reusable structures, I helped launch a solution that’s not just better for users but more sustainable for the business.