TaxRise · Fintech / Tax resolution

Rebranding a high-intent website and simplifying the path to conversion

A website and lead-form redesign that translated a new brand identity into a more consistent experience and a clearer path to conversion.

Visit Website

Three TaxRise screens on a blue field — a customer stories feature, the executive team page, and a featured blog post on tax relief programs

Role: Lead Product & UX Designer
Team: 1 lead + 2 junior designers
Timeline: 6–12 months
Scope: Website · Lead form · Design system
Read: 3 min

The challenge

TaxRise had recently refreshed its brand, but the website had become inconsistent across pages. At the same time, the journey from the website into the lead form wasn't converting users as effectively as the business needed.

We had to bring the new brand to life while making the path to conversion simpler and easier to follow. I led the design direction alongside two junior designers.

0120+ pages
021 design system
03Lead-form redesign

From brand refresh to scalable system

We started with stakeholder requirements, visual research and mood boards, then went wide on direction.

Once one was agreed, I built the design system and used the finalised homepage as the foundation for the rest of the site.

Four TaxRise landing page directions side by side, labelled v1 to v4 — a light compact layout, a dark blue hero, a green gradient hero and a light gradient hero — Four full landing directions. The same sections in each — what moved was the arrangement, and the weight given to proof.

Designed as a system, not a collection of pages

After finalising the homepage direction, we extended the system across 20+ pages. Reusable templates handled the common structures, while pages whose content or user journey needed something different got their own layout.

TaxRise design system typography sheet — headings H1 to H6 from 64 down to 24, and paragraph sizes XXL to S, each in bold, medium and regular — One scale for headings, one for paragraphs, with the weights fixed per size.

TaxRise design system colour sheet — primary, gray, red, green and white, each in three steps with hex values — Every swatch carries its hex, so nothing has to be eyedropped later.

TaxRise design system button sheet — filled, white, ghost and outline buttons in default, hover and disabled states

TaxRise design system accordion sheet — collapsed and expanded question rows, and a two-column FAQ variant

TaxRise design system card sheet — cards with and without icons, in resting and raised states

Every state drawn once, so a page is composed rather than redrawn.

Angled view of TaxRise mobile screens — a customer story, tax relief services, the blog listing and the about page

TaxRise team page on mobile showing the executive team, beside enrolled agent profiles with case counts

Designed once, reused across 20+ pages.

Turning intent into action

The lead form was a critical part of the customer journey. I mapped the flow before designing the interface, to understand how people move through it and where unnecessary complexity could come out.

Two answers change the path. Someone who isn't sure which tax years are unfiled skips that question instead of guessing at it. Someone in bankruptcy can't be helped yet, so the form tells them and gives them a way back, rather than collecting details it cannot act on.

01Clearer progression
02Simpler interactions
03Less cognitive load

Before and after of the TaxRise free consultation page — the dense original beside the redesigned version — The free consultation page, before and after — the front door to the form.

User flow diagram for the TaxRise lead form — start, reasons for seeking relief, an unfiled-years decision with yes, no and not-sure paths, tax debt, federal or state, issue type, then a bankruptcy decision splitting into a wait-and-return ending and a qualified-and-schedule ending — The flow, mapped and reviewed with stakeholders before any of the interface existed. The bankruptcy question splits it into two endings.

TaxRise lead form entry screen — 'Interested in tax relief?' with a Get Started button, beside a panel showing a Trustpilot rating and BBB, NAEA and NATP accreditations — Proof sits beside the form and stays there for every step.

TaxRise lead form question — 'Which tax years are unfiled?' with year checkboxes in two columns and a 'Not sure' option, under a progress bar — One question per screen, a progress bar, and a way to say 'Not sure'.

TaxRise lead form question — 'When do you expect your bankruptcy to discharge?' with month ranges and a 'Not Sure' option — The branching question. The answer decides which ending someone gets.

TaxRise lead form completion screen — 'Thank you, David!' with a message that a call is coming and a Schedule Appointment button — The proof panel drops away. The screen's only job now is to say what happens next.

The final experience

TaxRise homepage — a 'Let's resolve your tax issues' hero, a client results section, the two-phase resolution process and the FAQ — The homepage the rest of the site was built from.

TaxRise customer stories page on mobile, beside a full story about a $206,000 IRS liability settled for $650 — Extending the system across content-heavy pages.

A more cohesive experience with a stronger path to conversion

After roughly 6–12 months of design, iteration and stakeholder review, the work was handed to development and launched. Post-launch, Google Analytics showed more people moving from the website into the lead form than before.

~55%
Lead-form conversion, before
Google Analytics after launch — approximate
~70%
Lead-form conversion, after
Google Analytics after launch — approximate

The project reinforced that effective redesign is about more than visual change. The biggest opportunity was connecting brand, UX and conversion into one scalable system.

More work.

All projects