How a Data‑Driven Redesign Boosted 58 Rental’s Homepage Experience

Background

For rental products, two key metrics shape tenant experience: information quality and house‑search efficiency. Information quality is largely influenced by the publishing side and quality‑control algorithms, while search efficiency depends heavily on the rental homepage, offering a clear opportunity for improvement.

Value

The rental homepage sits at the top of traffic distribution, serving as the first touchpoint between product and user. It determines whether users can be effectively guided to target content, influencing retention and conversion. Because it welcomes the most users in the rental channel, even minor optimizations can significantly affect perception, feeling, and overall experience.

Finding‑house funnel

Important, cost‑effective segment – why not overhaul it?

Methodology

A simple yet practical What‑Why‑How (WWH) approach can be applied to various problems, helping designers look beyond surface presentation to grasp the essence of an issue.

Getting Started

Reviewing the old rental homepage reveals the key problem: the page feels cold and sparse, forcing users to follow a rigid product logic. The search method is single‑track and assumes users already know exactly what they want, which is unfriendly to vague “tourist” users.

Why does this happen? 58 Rental has accumulated rich content and diverse functions over a year, but users must discover them on their own, leading to high cost and low efficiency, causing many vague‑goal users to churn.

How to retain users who hit a wall? Give them exactly what they need so that upon landing on the homepage they instantly know what to do and what’s available—like Doraemon’s “Anywhere Door” that instantly connects users to fresh content.

“Anywhere Door” Principles

The door must be clear and fast. “Clear” means users instantly understand where the door leads and why they should go there. “Fast” means one‑click access, free movement.

Key “Doors” Implemented

Urgent‑Task Door : Since 58 Rental moved beyond a pure “information platform,” it added functions such as deposit payment, online appointment, and live‑viewing, which require both landlord and tenant confirmation. Because 58 is not a high‑frequency app, conversion loss in remote scenarios is high. Placing urgent, low‑frequency tasks prominently on the homepage keeps users aware and able to act.

Discover‑Good‑Content Door : Quality content should shine, but waiting wastes time. The homepage must expose varied content strategically to attract interest, rather than using isolated entry points.

Fast‑Search Door : Whether the user’s need is clear or vague, simplifying access to the listing page and allowing users to express requirements freely improves experience. The new recommendation list adds precise suggestions and filters, shifting some complexity to the user for greater control.

Operation‑Activity Door : Although rental is a basic need, product operations can energize the atmosphere and promote the brand. Defining template rules and reserving entry points for different scales of activities helps capture user attention.

No Rules, No Structure

Just as parents’ renovations still follow basic principles, the “anywhere doors” must avoid excessive variety that dilutes focus. Effective planning requires ranking module importance, establishing layout and display rules, while preserving flexibility for adjustments.

Conclusion

After launching the new homepage, data showed strong performance and the design goals were met. Thanks to the UI team for revealing more possibilities for 58 Rental.

The “rental experience upgrade” will remain a long‑term focus. Although the current user base is mainly blue‑collar workers, we must not neglect user experience in favor of feature richness; a good reputation is the true driver of growth and retention.