AI-enabled Browser Security Management Portal

Browser-based Threat Detection and Response, Reimagined

Overview

SquareX is a pioneering Browser Detection and Response (BDR) platform that empowers enterprises to detect, prevent, and respond to web-based threats in real time. Combining advanced features like disposable browser isolation, granular data loss prevention (DLP), extension hijack detection, and GenAI misuse protection, SquareX delivers a unique layer of security directly at the browser level.

However, as with many technically sophisticated security tools, the challenge was not in capability but in ensuring those capabilities were easily accessible, understandable, and actionable for diverse enterprise roles, from Chief Security Officers to IT administrators.

The challenge

Despite strong technical differentiation, the UX audit revealed several barriers that slowed adoption and reduced day-to-day efficiency:

• Fragmented task flows: Critical workflows such as deployment, threat monitoring and policy management were spread across disconnected sections, making configuration and response slower.

• Steep learning curve: Admins often required hand-holding from customer success teams due to unclear navigation, inconsistent terminology and limited contextual guidance.

• Poor information hierarchy: Key dashboards lacked actionable insights and essential metrics were hidden deep within multiple clicks.

• Navigation overload: A broad primary navigation led to scrolling menus, buried features and difficulty in discovering integration and configuration options.

• Limited onboarding & in-product help: New users had no guided tour or task-based onboarding flow, forcing reliance on documentation or support calls.

For a security product where response speed and clarity can directly impact an organization’s protection, these usability issues represented a serious risk to adoption, trust and long-term customer satisfaction.

The solution

The redesign initiative, led by NesterLabs, combined UX strategy, information architecture overhaul and new visual design concepts . The approach was structured around three guiding policies:

New visual direction

SquareX goes beyond traditional cybersecurity by pioneering Browser Detection and Response, as the business scales to its next stage of growth, the product experience needs to match this evolution.

A visual design refresh is not merely cosmetic. For a company like SquareX, scaling rapidly and entering a new phase of growth, the user interface becomes a signal of progress and trust.

Key points we kept in mind while approaching the redesign:

• Incorporating legacy brand elements

• Clarity first design approach

• A refresh that meant to suggest calm modernism

framed in light - The new visual design direction for SquareX product experience

The design explores how data and information shape the product experience, expressed through elegant, frosted surfaces that feel rich with texture.

Depth and hierarchy are created by layering gradients, subtle textures, and light play, optimising brightness and softness for each element. This approach delivers a refined, modern aesthetic where clarity and elevation guide the user’s focus.

Key interventions

• Task-based Information Architecture: Replacing object-only navigation with task-oriented categories (e.g., Monitor, Policies, Data & Lists, Users, Exceptions) to match the mental models of admins.

• Step-by-step onboarding flows: Wizards for deployment, policy creation and BYOD extension installation, reducing the need for external support.

• Contextual guidance & tooltips: Integrated help directly within relevant screens, explaining technical terms and suggesting next steps after threat detection.

• Consolidated dashboards with actionable insights: Highlighting urgent security events, aggregated threat severity and recommended responses (“200 unauthorized extensions detected : create a block policy”).

• Modular navigation framework: Narrower primary navigation, consistent breadcrumb trails and tertiary navigation via in-page tabs to reduce menu scrolling.

Visual design refresh: Three concepts explored, from dark mode data-centric layouts to playful, brand-forward UIs, balancing enterprise seriousness with SquareX’s youthful identity.

The Design Impact

While the redesigned product is yet to be rolled out, the overhaul is expected to significantly improve how enterprise users experience and operate SquareX. Guided onboarding flows and self-service deployment reduce setup effort, while a task-based information architecture and clearer navigation make critical actions easier to discover without reliance on documentation. Actionable dashboards and contextual recommendations further shorten investigation-to-response cycles, improving day-to-day admin productivity.

These UX improvements are complimented by a clarity-first visual direction that explores how data and information shape the product experience. Frosted, light-framed surfaces introduce a calm, modern aesthetic, while layered gradients, subtle textures, and controlled use of light create depth and hierarchy. This balance of brightness and softness helps guide focus, reduce cognitive load and elevate important actions.

Together, the Redesign positions SquareX as a security platform that feels both powerful and approachable, one that speaks the language of its users and enables faster, more confident decision-making with fewer dependencies on external support.