Problem

When the platform was unavailable, users were shown

a system-generated maintenance page filled with technical language and no actionable guidance. This created confusion, increased support requests, and left users unsure of what to do next.

CLIENT

FORTIFY

A major exterior building products manufacturer that provides metal roofing, wall panels, and pre-engineered building products to contractors, builders, homeowners, and commercial clients nationwide.

Outcome

After implementation, support tickets related to outages decreased by 34%, and qualitative feedback showed users felt more informed and less frustrated during downtime.

INFO

Role

1 UX Designer

Timeline

4 Weeks

Team

1 UX Designer

1 Product Manager

1 Engineer

1 QA

UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM

Why are we doing this?

1 No Audience Connection

If a user is in the middle of pricing a project or racing to submit a bid before a deadline, having the site suddenly go down with no explanation can be stressful and disruptive.

Without any context or guidance, users are left unsure whether to wait, refresh, or start over, adding unnecessary frustration at a critical moment.

2 Perceptions of Unreliability

When a site goes down without any explanation, users don’t know whether the issue is temporary, how long it will last, or if their work has been lost.

This uncertainty weakens trust, especially for users working against deadlines, because the system appears unpredictable and unsupported at critical moments.

3 Unclear Next Steps

Users are left with questions like why is this happening, how long it will take to fix, or what they should do next— and are unsure whether to wait, refresh, or redo their work.

Users shared their experiences and feelings that the system is unreliable and stressful, especially if they’re on a tight deadline.

DATA & METRICS

Understanding the current experience

The current design is quick and simple, based on a legacy feature, to quickly unblock development and minimize scope.

During a periods of unplanned maintenance, customers were unable to access the system when they needed it most. This caused delays in preparing and submitting quotes.

Many teams paused work or relied on manual processes, which added pressure and frustration. Others facing strict deadlines turned to competitor software as a last resort.

40%

System down and access issues

“We can’t log in at all.”
“The page just keeps spinning.”
“Is the system actually down?”

25%

Lack of communication/status updates

“When will the system be back up?”
“Where do we check the system status?”
“There was no warning—what’s going on?”

15%

Deadline and Bid Urgency

“We planned our whole day around this.”

“We’re going to miss the bid deadline.”
“This is a six-figure job we could lose.”

HYPOTHESIS

We decided to create a user-centered maintenance page with simple language, expected downtime, and alternative actions users could take.

UX RESEARCH

Supporting customers with best practices

Most maintenance pages use

Personalized language to create an emotional connection by making users feel like the maintenance was designed with them in mind.

Strong branding to promote professionalism, providing users with instant confirmation that the website is actively managed, and the downtime is temporary, ensuring trust and reducing frustration.

Apple

Strong branding
Simple messaging explaining the outage

Facebook

Empathetic/user-centered message
Information explaining when service is expected
to be restored
Specific call to action to guide users

Slate

Clear messaging about why the downtime
is happening
Provides specific time period for when the
maintenance should be complete

DESIGN RECOMMENDATION

Supporting customers with best practices

Explanation for Downtime

To make it easier for customers to understand the lack of availability

Estimated Time of Return (ETA)

To help customers maximize their schedules

Call to Action for Support (CTA)

To help customers understand what to do next

Strong brand logo provides instant recognition reducing users fears that something is broken
Headline clearly explains the interruption and benefit to the user
Message includes the reason for the interruption while CTA’s guide users to next steps
Engaging image encourages confidence in the ongoing work and expected outcome

INTERATION 1

Immediately understand the outage

A light friendly visual is combined with the brand logo, a clear message and CTA.

INTERATION 2

Humanize the experience

After testing both designs it was clear that customers preferred a real image. It communicates the professionalism of the brand.
"A real system, managed by real peope, working for real results."

RETROSPECTIVE

Final Takeaways

The redesigned maintenance page received an immediate positive response and was adopted across other
e-commerce sites.

Communicating with customer support and customers was critical for understanding the direct impact that outages have on perceptions and for guiding improvements that protect trust and customer satisfaction.