Launching "Hire a Pro" on Nextdoor

A look at the quote request experience: the type of jobs would be auto populated based on what that specific pro offered.

Overview

Nextdoor users frequently asked their neighbors in the newsfeed to recommend reliable home service providers—whether to install, fix, or clean something. A staggering 50% of our search queries were related to home services as well. We saw a great opportunity to connect neighbors with local businesses in a more seamless and trustworthy way.

We launched Hire A Pro, a new tool that enabled local home service providers to send quotes, manage bookings, and get paid directly on the platform. On the neighbors’ side, this new tool allowed them to search for recommended pros, read reviews, and get quotes within the app.

My Role

• Sole UX Content Designer for the entire 0-1 product experience

• Collaborated with 3 product designers, 2 product managers, 1 researcher, and multiple engineers

• Led end-to-end content strategy, UX writing, email + text strategy, and legal/comms alignment

• Worked across two user types to build transactional screens:

  • Neighbors

    • Quote requests and booking flows

    • Day of job alerts, safety code messaging, and payment flows

    • Triggers for neighbors to leave a review on the pro’s business page

    • All email and push notifications for each step of the job

  • Pros

    • Onboarding to Hire A Pro inclusive of listing services offered, fees, and connection to Stripe for payments

    • Quote request flows depending on 3 different outcomes: the pro accepts right away, the pro declines, or the pro needs to ask more info or suggest new times.

    • Day of job alerts and invoicing customers through the app

    • All email and push notifications for each step of the job

The Challenge

Build a robust two-sided marketplace experience from 0 to 1—inside an inbox tool that was never designed for transactions.

Key content and UX challenges:

• Clarify needs, costs, and expectations for both neighbors and pros

• Facilitate quoting, booking, and payment inside a limited messaging interface

• Explain fees, payment terms, and legal disclaimers with clarity and transparency

• Build trust between strangers engaging in real-world services via a digital platform

• Work within technical limitations—no timestamps, read receipts, or video uploads

Using our research about what neighbors and pros needed each step of the way, I ensured my information architecture, transaction flows, and UX copy strategy focused on their requirements.

Mapping of each necessary MVP asset that must be considered and included in our app, web, and/or email communication each step of the way. The grey assets were to be built in our next iterations.

How it Worked

• Pros activated “Hire a Pro” to get onboarded to the program and show they were open for bookings, send quotes, accept jobs, and collect payments

• Neighbors could browse pros, get quotes, book services, and pay trusted service providers without leaving the app

• Reputation and trust were built in through neighbor reviews, direct messaging, verification codes, and successful bookings

.

Content Strategy Highlights

• Designed content flows for quotes, bookings, and disputes

• Partnered with legal and compliance teams to write clear disclaimers and payment copy

• Developed tone guidelines for both sides to encourage respectful, clear communication

• Created tooltips, error messages, and microcopy to support user transactions

• Made ‘trust’ my north star when working on UX copy

Results

• Successful 0 to 1 launch of Nextdoor’s first end-to-end home services tool in just 6 months

• Streamlined the user experience within existing technical constraints

• Product delivered on time and exceeded our customer usage goals

Nailed it literally and figuratively.