Meet DeepL: how we built a better Pro experience

At DeepL, every pixel and line of code is designed to make communication clearer, faster, and more intuitive. Our teams collaborate closely across design, engineering, and content to create experiences that help people connect and stay focused on what really matters.

For professionals and businesses with more advanced translation needs, DeepL Pro is our premium subscription, offering enhanced features like document translation, custom glossaries, and enterprise-level security. Bringing this to life takes a team of people dedicated to making every detail count.

Meet Marvin Becker, Engineering Manager, and Hyeonji Kim, Product Designer, two of the minds behind our newly redesigned Pro experience. From early concepts to launch, they played a key role in shaping an experience that reflects DeepL’s growth, while staying true to our users’ needs.

We sat down with them to talk about their process, the challenges they faced, and how collaboration brought the new Pro homepage to life.

Marvin and Hyeonji, tell us a little about yourselves and what you do at DeepL

Marvin: I’m an Engineering Manager at DeepL. I have led several teams across the company, and my goal is to help people do their best work. That means supporting their growth, removing blockers, and staying close to the work when needed — but always with the aim of enabling others to thrive.

Hyeonji: I’m a Product Designer focused on improving the DeepL Pro user experience. My role is to uncover user needs and pain points through feedback, and translate those insights into thoughtful, cohesive design solutions. I work closely with my team’s product and engineering managers to prioritize the right initiatives — ones that truly move the needle for our users. Because the Pro experience overlaps with other areas of the product, I often collaborate with designers across different teams. It’s a great opportunity to share ideas and build more unified experiences.

Please give us a brief overview of the new Pro homepage and how it benefits DeepL users

Marvin: DeepL’s website used to focus mostly on the translator, and even when logged in, the interface stayed almost the same. We saw an opportunity, especially for teams and enterprise customers, to enhance the user experience to better meet their needs. We asked ourselves: What tasks do these users accomplish with our products, and how can we make it easier for them? The new Pro experience is all about making it easier for users to find and access the tools they need. We introduced familiar navigation patterns that align with what people are used to, which helps improve discoverability across the platform. It’s also designed with scalability in mind—not just for what DeepL offers today, but for all the features and products to come. It brings everything together in a more cohesive and seamless way.

Hyeonji: We wanted to create a more user-friendly and intuitive Pro experience that clearly distinguishes between logged-in and logged-out states, while minimizing disruptions to users' workflows. We enhanced the side navigation bar to improve user experience across DeepL's products and features, and introduced a homepage that lets users easily pick up where they left off. More key improvements include a streamlined layout that further enhances navigation and a clearer information architecture, making it easier for users to find the features they need. We also cleared up the workspace itself to create a more focused environment, so users can stay on task. And we’re working to personalize the homepage experience based on user segments. Stay tuned for more updates!

What feature on the new Pro homepage are you most proud of, and why?

Marvin: I’m proud of the redesign as a whole. The goal was to integrate all our products and features, helping users streamline their tasks. And having just launched the new experience, we have many ideas for future development. I believe this has great potential, and I'm looking forward to our team conducting more customer interviews to explore these concepts further.

Hyeonji: For me, it’s the side navigation bar. It really improves how users move between tools and pages, and the clearer information architecture makes it easier to find what they need. We also prioritized scalability in the design. For instance, enterprise customers with more than 50 seats can customize their logo on the navigation bar, allowing them to rebrand their DeepL experience to align with their own identity.

What inspired the redesign, and how did DeepL help you take ownership of a project you’re passionate about?

Marvin: The idea of creating a more professional translation experience first came up during a company hackathon. Redesigning the entire user experience is no small task—especially when you want to make a real impact without overwhelming users with too much change all at once. To strike that balance, we worked closely with teams across the company, including design, content, product, and engineering. Through this collaboration, we were able to release a first version that is valuable for our users and ready to evolve with future improvements.

Hyeonji: At DeepL, many of us use the product every day, so there’s a real sense of personal connection and care in the work we do. That shared passion is a big part of what drives us — and when combined with the supportive, collaborative dynamic of our cross-functional team, it becomes a powerful force in shaping the Pro experience. From the earliest stages of ideation, everyone brings genuine enthusiasm to the table. We operate as one team, with open channels for sharing feedback and ideas. It’s the kind of environment where I always feel comfortable putting forward early sketches or rough thoughts because I know they’ll be met with constructive input. That openness is what fuels our creativity and keeps the process both inspiring and productive.

What challenges did your team face and how did you incorporate customer feedback to maximize value for users?

Hyeonji: One of the main challenges we faced was in relation to DeepL's freemium approach. Some users use our translator as their default landing page, so our team needed to figure out how to enhance that experience without disrupting established workflows. At the start of the design process, we built an interactive prototype and began conducting interviews with existing customers — both admins and end users. These conversations helped us gather feedback on our concepts and better understand which ideas truly resonated with their needs. From there, we refined the design and launched it gradually, first to our Beta users, then to all Pro users. After going live, we followed up with a user survey to collect even more feedback, and we’re continuing to iterate and evolve the experience based on what we’ve learned.

How do you ensure smooth collaboration between DeepL’s development and design teams?

Hyeonji: Strong collaboration between design and development was key to making this project a success—and that started with clear communication and well-structured task management. Because of the project’s size and complexity, we divided it into smaller, more manageable chunks. This made it easier for team members to pick up tasks and stay focused. We stayed in close contact throughout the process, having regular check-ins and open discussions to make sure we’re aligned. On the design side, I also kept an eye on how our work might impact other teams, and made sure to communicate those touchpoints early on. That proactive approach helped us stay coordinated across the board.

How did feedback from other teams shape the final version?

Hyeonji: Before officially launching the new homepage to our Pro users, we conducted an internal rollout within the company. This approach allowed us to gather invaluable and constructive feedback from our colleagues. By closely monitoring their feedback, we could identify key pain points and areas for improvement before the official release. This collaborative feedback process significantly shaped the final version of the homepage, making it better suited to meet the needs of our users.

What did you personally learn or develop throughout this project?

Marvin: To keep the project on track and ensure a smooth delivery, we needed a plan that balanced structure with flexibility.  As Hyeonji already mentioned, we set clear milestones and divided the work up into independent, manageable deliverables. This made it easier for us to move forward while continuously integrating feedback. So I’d say that, as a result of this project, I gained more experience in building lean. Communication was also very important, especially with numerous stakeholders across various teams and departments. We proactively shared our reasoning and progress via broad channels, inviting feedback and fostering transparency. Keeping everyone informed and involved in meaningful discussions was important to us.  Since then, I’ve come to value clear, well-structured communication even more—it makes a real difference.

Check out the new homepage 

The new DeepL Pro experience is now up and running! Log in to your DeepL account to explore it for yourself. Not a DeepL Pro user? Sign up here!