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jamesdarin
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WritingMar 2026 — ongoingDaimler1 min

Designing for trust

E-commerce isn't only about conversion. People have to believe what the page is telling them first.

scale
~15
roles, each seeing a different truth
constraint
1,700+
suppliers, none preferred

my part

the only designer: requirements, screens and the AI prototypescrit with the wider design team; shipped with product, engineering and the business

E-commerce isn’t only about conversion. People have to trust what the page tells them before they’ll buy, and at our size the design decisions that build or lose that trust have legal and reputational consequences.

Three of them come up all the time.

Price visibility

We have about 15 user roles. The same part page has to show a signed-out visitor, a fleet manager on contract and a dealer three different prices, and never show anyone the wrong one.

Live · Price visibility by role

Part no. A22-74185-000

Air disc brake caliper, front left

List price

$486.00

In stock · ships today

Fits
Cascadia · 2019–2024
Core charge
$85.00 refundable

WhyCore charge is stated up front, not at checkout.

Five of about 15 roles in production. Same part and same page. The design work is deciding what each person is allowed to see.

When it matters, I design each role separately. It’s slower, and it’s the only way I’ve found to be sure dealer net pricing never ends up on a printed quote.

Data transparency

Telling people how we use their data right where they’re entering it is worth more than a policy link in the footer. A line next to the field beats a page nobody opens.

Fairness

We have more than 1,700 parts suppliers, and all of them want to sell. We can’t play favourites. Listings sort by relevance, availability and price, never by what we make on them.