From Desktop Download to
Web Trading Platform
How NAXEX replaced a legacy desktop trading application with a modern web platform, improving conversion by 68% and growing to tens of thousands of users.
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Platform Design & Launch
• Conversion Optimization
The Challenge
Before I joined, NAXEX customers had to download and install a Windows desktop application before they could begin trading. This created significant friction at the most critical point in the customer journey.
New users had to complete registration, download software, install it on their computer, and learn how to use a platform designed primarily for experienced traders. The path from visiting the website to becoming an active, depositing customer could take days.
The Core Problem:
The desktop architecture made it impossible to track customer behavior across the full conversion funnel. The company could not identify precisely where customers abandoned the process or which onboarding steps were preventing first deposits.
The company wanted a modern web platform that could eliminate the download requirement, reduce time from registration to first deposit, make trading accessible to less experienced customers while retaining advanced capabilities, and meet strict regulatory and compliance requirements. Management expected the first production version within four months.
My Role
I led the project end-to-end, from initial research through production launch and ongoing optimization. I was responsible for product vision, user research, MVP scoping, customer journey design, UX workflows, development leadership, compliance coordination, integration management, launch planning, and post-launch experimentation.
The cross-functional team included three frontend developers, three backend developers, a development manager, product managers, and QA specialists. I coordinated all of them.
The Strategy
The product strategy addressed three distinct challenges: removing the download barrier, serving two very different audiences, and turning compliance from a blocker into a streamlined experience.
Desktop to Web
Built the platform as a fully browser-based experience. No downloads, no installations. Register, complete onboarding, fund your account, and begin trading in one session.
Simple Mode & Expert Mode
Designed two distinct experiences. Simple Mode helped beginners take their first steps with guided elements and trend-following. Expert Mode retained advanced charts, signals, and full trading controls.
Personalized Compliance
Designed a risk-based onboarding process that adapted verification requirements to the customer profile. Most customers completed a shorter journey without weakening regulatory controls.
Disciplined Delivery
Created a dedicated Scrum team working in two-week sprints with continuous delivery. Product managers worked alongside developers in the same room, using short specs and real-time decisions.
The Impact
The web platform launched with real customers after four months. Within six to eight months it reached full production. Over time, approximately 70% of users migrated from the legacy desktop application.
Engagement Details
“As VP Product he identified creative ideas, developed sharp strategies and built the road map while focusing on customer experience and business needs.”
Why It Worked
The project succeeded because it combined product strategy, user research, regulatory design, and disciplined delivery under a single accountable leader.
Replacing the desktop download with a browser-based experience eliminated the single largest barrier in the customer journey.
Designing separate Simple and Expert modes matched the interface to each trader’s experience level instead of forcing both into a single compromise.
Risk-based compliance personalization reduced verification friction for low-risk customers while maintaining full regulatory controls.
A pre-mortem exercise before launch helped the team anticipate failure points before they hit production. The rollout was gradual, not a big-bang release.
Building granular funnel tracking into the platform created a continuous optimization loop that drove ongoing improvements in conversion and acquisition cost.
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