Modular Purchase Flow
Product Design · Subscription System · Web + Mobile
+$150K/day from web purchases (39% above target) · +$315K/day overall (net new)
Led the redesign of Duolingo's purchase flow across web and mobile . Turning a margin-saving opportunity into a system-level rethink of how learners decide to subscribe.
Context
When the Epic vs. Apple ruling opened the door to alternative payment flows, the math got interesting fast. Moving learners from a 30% App Store fee to ~3% web processing was a >$100K/day margin opportunity. The catch? The purchase flow is the highest-risk surface in the entire product. Forking it meant designing for speed and trust at the same time, with very little room to get it wrong.
Timeframe
Sep 2025 launch
Ongoing · Iterative ownership
Structure
May 2025
Epic vs. Apple ruling drops
Within 72 hours
v1 web purchase flow live for US iOS learners
Following months
System-level redesign across web and app
25Q3 to 26Q1
Ongoing experimentation
Scrappy v1 — Speed Over Perfection
Web purchase became mission-critical overnight. Same day, I prototyped with PM, aligned with Legal and Engineering, and booked a senior leadership review for the next morning. The v1 experiment shipped to US iOS learners in under 72 hours. Not pretty, but live.
Outcomes
+$26K/day immediate lift
Conversion drop stayed within an acceptable threshold
Success Exposed a UX Gap
The v1 win was real, but it was a local maxima. The flow was transactional, leaning hard on persuasion instead of clarity, and stitched together screen by screen rather than designed as a system. To unlock the next jump in conversion, we had to rethink the flow itself, not just optimize the one we had.
How might we..
Improve conversion past the v1 ceiling
Build a system that works across every purchase surface on web and app
Raise the bar for design and delight
A Modular System, Built on Three Principles
I led the redesign around three ideas: reduce decision anxiety, let value clarity build trust, and raise the visual design bar. Instead of one-off screens, we built a modular system where every component (value props, plan selection, reminders, checkout) could compose across surfaces while still feeling unmistakably Duolingo.
Outcomes
Clearer value framing and a more expressive brand voice across the flow
Native-feeling parity between iOS and web cut down on context switching
The New Purchase Flow
The final flow brought it all together: modular components, clearer value framing, a more expressive brand, and a native-feeling experience whether learners landed on web or in-app. Every screen pulled its weight, and the whole thing felt like one system instead of a chain of one-off decisions.
Impact
+$150K/day from web purchases
+$315K/day overall (net new)
Unlocked new design vectors to keep playing with: animation, sound, haptics, and a bunch of new surfaces to optimize
