ARTM2210 Intro to Web Design
Just another Intro to… siteArchive for Spring 2012 Section A
Bi-Weekly Review 2
Dunkin’ Doughnuts Layout is very colorful with large bold text. They use a lot of emphasis on the main topics from their types of coffee, doughnuts, food, and special drinks. The website is very balanced from the use of different sizes of the shapes that hold the information. Starbucks website is rather boring to me. The layout to the page is rather simple, not to much color or animation. They only had put emphasis on one part of the page, the short video in the center of the page. To me, I would have to say the Dunkin’ Doughnuts site is more effective to the viewer because it is short sweet to the point and very easy to go throughout the different links on the page. The Starbucks one you have to scroll half the page to even get close to what you are looking for. Also the use of color and different pictures to the page really makes it interesting due to the fact it gives you an example what you are really looking at.
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Starbucks vs. Caribou
Starbucks and Caribou both have similar qualities to both sites. The layouts are similar with link to their drinks and locations at the top of the page and having special deals in the center of the page. The emphasis for both of the chains is to try their new coffee and hopefully that will lead them to buy their coffee more.
The layout helps the users easily go throughout the site because what most people will look for is either location or drinks which they both have at the top of the page. The new flavors will draw more of an audience if a user likes one above the other.
I like Caribou’s site a little more than Starbucks because Caribou’s seems to me to be more colorful and their center shows more what is going on at the store. The one thing Starbucks has which is nice is a video in the center which shows a deal for Monday through Wednesday.
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Starbucks vs Tim Hortons
Starbucks vs Tim Hortons
Starbucks site is fairly well laid out, it is simple to navigate and fairly clean. Starbucks uses a large video to tell more about there products, which i think is a good idea to communicate a lot of info without the test. As u scroll down the layout does seem to become a little boring and static, especially with the white plain background. The navigation at the top of the site is very clean and neatly laid out, also has good spacing between the options, which I think helps with the ease of use.
Tim Hortons site is defiantly a lot more interesting to look at. It has reds and light browns in the background that really fit well with the Tim Hortons branding. The site is also fairly organized with the layout, and uses more of a grid like structure with many boxes for different information. I think this works well but also does come off as a little to much to look at as well.
I think overall the Tim Hortons site looks better and is easier to use then Starbucks. Tim Hortons does a good job matching the brand identity and seem consist with there other graphic elements. Starbucks site is clean and well organized, however I feel like it doesn’t even look like Starbucks made the site, something about it just looks off.
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Cummings Coffee vs. Starbucks
Cummings Coffee is a small company with two locations in Butler, PA while Starbucks is one of the largest and most recognized coffee companies in the world. Obviously you would expect their websites to show the disparity between their market sizes. Surprisingly, however, Cummings manages to hold its own with a simple but charming website.
The Cummings Coffee website is very simple. There is a photo in the center, a logo in the top left corner and a list of five navigation options in order on the left. The site isn’t meant to be big and flashy much as the company itself. Cummings has a mission of producing old school coffee and ice cream as well as an assortment of in-house-made chocolate confections. Their website reflects the size of the company but still provides all the information you need. The homepage also features links to maps and directions as to how to get to the two locations available. Having directions on the homepage allows customers to find the address quickly without having to dig through layers of web pages to reach how to actually get to the physical locations.
Cummings Coffee also features a very well designed “about” section on their page. Within the section is simple information about the company today but a customer can also scroll through the history of the coffee shop and a gallery of photos both new and old. This section gives a good feel, yet again, as to what this company is all about. They are proud of their long history and are looking forward to a bright future.
Starbucks coffee is one of the largest coffee companies in the world. There are very few people, at least in the USA, who aren’t familiar with their mermaid logo, their concept of high class coffee and the feeling that they evoke. The site is quite busy and confusing despite their lack-luster color pallet and layout. At the top of the page there are six main navigation buttons with no less then 20 more options in drop down menus when the main options are scrolled over. The sites body contains a rather large video surrounded with at least 20 more navigation choices and yet another 20 at the bottom of the page.
When looking through the links it is easy to get distracted and in some way discouraged. While looking for a way to find a store location on the website I clicked on the main navigation labeled “Coffeehouse” thinking this would lead to store locations. I was disappointed to find that it didn’t. Instead the link to store locations is in a very small navigation link in the very bottom of the left side of the page. Obviously Starbucks cannot offer the same method as Cummings. Starbucks has thousands of locations but this information seems important enough to warrant a space that is easier to find.
Comparing Cummings Coffee to Starbucks seems like trying to compare a beat up old car to a brand new model but there are somethings that even that old car has that the new model only attempts to mimic. Cummings Coffee’s website is simple and easy to navigate but they have less information to impart as well. Still, it is difficult to look at a website with a simple elegance and not fall for it. Cummings Coffee holds a small town charm that is reflected in their clean and easy to navigate website while Starbucks overwhelms the sense and makes navigating and finding specific information incredibly difficult. In a battle like David vs. Goliath, the small guy wins again.
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Caribou Coffee | Crazy Mocha
Biweekly Review #2:
After comparing the two sites in detail, caribou coffee’s website is better than Crazy Mocha’s in terms of aesthetics, navigation, layout, emphasis, content, balance, and unity. Overall, I think Crazy Mocha’s website is a poor design and is cheaply put together. It feels like it is a template they used from a web builder site. To be somewhat fair to Crazy Mocha, there is limited content on the site to navigate through, and they claim there will be more soon. However, I am not so sure if there ever will be; I visited the site last October and it has not change at all. The site centers on a picture slide show with a small navigation bar at the bottom of the screen. The problem with the pictures is that the slide show doesn’t loop and when replay is clicked it remains white. As a result, the balance of the site is somewhat poor in the way it is laid out. The bottom navigation forces us to look at the bottom with nothing at the top except for a crazy mocha logo on the left. The unity of the site as a whole isn’t horrible; it is a flash website so you never really leave the home page. They do not put much emphasis on the navigation bar, but the logo of the company is very clear and draws the users eyes to it. The only aspect of the site I really liked was the cross fade transition between pages, which made the whole site feel strung together and the navigation smooth.
Conversely, Caribou Coffee’s website is a fantastic in all the ways Crazy Mocha is not. The layout has an excellent balance to it with a clear visual hierarchy. There is a clear sense of organization and excellent grid like layout featuring multiple columns and sections of information. With a very clear visual hierarchy, it is very clear what the emphasis is on. As a result, users can navigate through this website in seconds with no thought. The site is really nice in terms of aesthetics, the color palette is great featuring blues and browns and the typography is diverse featuring at least two different font types used in different sections. The overall unity of the site is fantastic as well; all the pages look the same in terms of color, layout, and navigation. In addition, the website features an excellent store navigator that shows all the stores on a map with a directions option. Crazy Mocha should really take some time and study Caribou Coffee’s page.
-John Marshall
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Barnes and Noble Review
I reviewed the site barnesandnobles.com. Once you enter the site it gives you a good overall view on what to expect when shopping on the site. The layout really makes the site work and its very easy to search what you are looking for. All the topics and categories are listed at the top of the page. This feature really helps customers out because on most shopping sites you have to navigate to find your way around. On this site, as soo as you enter it you are already ready to search for your product. They list all there top selling books and as you scroll down the page they give recommendations for customers on magazines and books they think will be a good read. They also list best selling books and books that are making the news headlines. Having the site set up in a way of simple navigation like Barnes ans Nobles really gives this site the edge. It gives a great overall perspective on what Barnes and Nobles is all about.
Having pictures and detailed information about there books have helped the site gain customers and has kept them strong. Once you navigate through all the topics and choices there are so many selections to choose from. The only thing that bothers me is that the text is very small once you click the topic you want. It is green and the font is very small and hard to read if you have bad vision or just have trouble reading. It makes for a lot of confusing and difficult navigation. The homepage is very well designed and really makes an impression when you first enter the site. Once you get past the homepage and onto the categories is where it become difficult to understand. In terms of color, background, style, and layout they have really hit the home run and make everything stand out to the viewer.
I think shopping on Barnes and Noble was a bad and a good thing for me. I think it was great to come across for me to look at all the new top selling books. I also think it was bad because I know I will be back to look at all the new books that are coming out and spend more money on the site. It has gained my attention and I will be back on the site for numerous reasons.
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Dunkin’ Donuts vs. Crazy Mocha
Companies like Dunkin’ Donuts and Crazy Mocha are know best for their in-and-out style of service. Because costumers are use to quick cups of coffee in the morning, they may not realize that these companies have websites. When looking at these companies’ websites, they are extremely different.
Dunkin Donut’s logo is immediately seen in the top left hand corner of the website. Crazy Mocha’s logo is oddly placed on the top right side of the page. This is an odd placement because it is not natural for our eyes to look right before left. Dunkin’ Donut’s website has a traditional layout with tabs across the top with options for the customers to click on. Crazy Mocha has placed these tab options on the bottom of the page which is also odd for a website.
Dunkin’ Donuts is a balanced website as the margin/white space is equal on both the left and the right side. On Crazy Mocha’s website, the white space is equal and balanced on the left and right side, but the white space is a large amount. The top of the website also has a larger amount of whitespace. All of this white space creates a separation of the website and there is no unity. It seems as if the pictures and logo are floating in the empty space, as they are not connected to anything else in the website. Dunkin’ Donuts website has a good sense of unity though as the website is balanced with pictures on the left and right. Words on the bottom balance the tabs on the top of the website.
Overall Dunkin’ Donuts has a more efficient website. The colors on their website of orange and brown helps gain branding and is easily recognizable from their customers. All of the pictures look appetizing on the website so customers will be tempted to try them. They also emphasis their newest product by places a large picture in the middle of the page. Descriptive words are used to make the picture and product eye catching.
Crazy Mocha’s website is not as effective as Dunkin’ Doughnuts and there are many reasons. Crazy Mocha is a local companies so they may not have the funds as Dunkin” Doughnuts to fund a better website. Simple techniques like a more traditional layouts and less whitespace will help improve the website. They can also add smaller pictures instead of a slide show of large pictures.
-Shelbey Surgent
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Tim Horton’s vs Bewley’s
By: Alexandria Antonacci
I picked Tim Horton’s and Bewley’s as the two coffee chains to review this week. Tim Horton’s is based in Canada and the US while Bewley’s is based in Ireland, Japan, Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Tim Horton’s
After the user chooses their native language and location on the simplistic first page they are quickly directed into the site. The site design holds a well thought out menu. The header and footer pop out of the page in a warm red color contrasting the middle section’s light tone. The use of red on the top and bottom menus is complimented by bits of the color in the center. That center has one large slideshow rectangle on the top left which is balanced by the evenly sized squares surrounding it. This site requires a minimal amount of scrolling, creating an easy to use, easy to find what one needs menu. The fact that it’s so simple makes the user feel less overwhelmed at first glance.
Bewley’s
When the user enters Bewley’s site the first element they will notice is the use of a number of visually appealing images on the slideshow at the very top of the page. The purple color scheme centers ones attention to the white page in the middle. The purple headings and purple text jump out of the white page but still blend with the overall layout. The center is organized with two horizontal rows of four square links. This placed in the center keeps the user’s attention with simple ways to show where the one should click next. At times the design seems too simple with the text above the squares in an unimpressive left alignment.
In conclusion I find that Tim Horton’s site was by far the most effective site to use out of the two. Although both sites hold a quite similar layout, Tim Horton’s was overall more impressive. The moving graphics, quick-paced slide show and centered menu can be exceedingly appealing to any user.
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Coffee Shops-Nick Evanko
The two coffee company webpages I viewed were Starbucks Coffee and Dunkin Donuts. Starbucks Coffee company designed a webpage with many elements that help guide the viewer through the site. The first aspect I was drawn to was the large image near the upper left hand of the page, taking up approximately 1/4 of the page. This large image is an ad for a food promotion that contains images of breakfast sandwiches and breakfast wraps, as well as the promotional price. The designer probably made this ad large in size so that it is the first thing viewers will see, showing use of emphasis. Navigating through the site was easy with the large header options such as coffee types, food choices, starbucks coffee cards, merchandize etc. If you were to place the mouse over each header another window opens up showing more content and options to choose from. The site also contained a search bar which allows the viewer to narrow their options. The balance of the site was well designed with the headers, promotional ads, and footers that inform you more about the site.
The second site I viewed was Dunkin Donuts. The Dunkin Donuts site was similar in design to the Starbucks webpage. Again we see the logo in top left corner, followed by numerous headers in bold typeface to portray emphasis. The headers included menus, coffee types, online shopping and gift ideas. The site also had a large promotional ad for lattes and iced coffees. The webpage also showed a certain sense of balance and unity, a bit more than Starbucks. Every aspect of the Dunkin Donut’s webpage seemed more grid-like.
The two webpages were so similar that neither one was better than the other in guiding the user. They were almost essentially the same site with a change of color scheme. If I had to choose which was a better navigational design I would choose Dunkin Donuts. The layout of the page was much easier to look at in the grid fashion. When I viewed the Starbuck’s page my eyes were moving too many places at once. This may have been done on purpose by the designer so that viewers look at everything on the page, but in my opinion it was a bit more distracting than helpful.
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Starbucks vs. Dunkin Doughnuts
After reviewing Dunkin Doughnuts and Starbucks’ websites, I have come to the conclusion that coffee web pages do everything they can to make you want to drink something frothy and high in calories.
Before entering the sites, I had anticipated pages full of artsy logos, bohemian color palettes, and sleek fonts. (Just due to the stereotypical target audience) I have to admit; I thought Starbucks would have all of these aspects. Instead, I found a rather bland color palette, without too many artsy attributes.
The Starbucks layout has to be the least pleasing to me. I personally do not like it when video clips are rather large and take over the page. It seems extremely overwhelming. I don’t mind large photos, but videos are no good to me.
As an avid coffee drinker, the site did not woo me. It appeared very wordy when it came the pull down tabs at the top. It seemed when I was browsing around, I never really got anywhere; it seemed as if I was going in a circle and their was no real direction.
As far as Dunkin Doughnuts, I like this website for a couple of reasons. The flow to me seems like it actually has a meaning and makes sense. The large photo on this page is aesthetically pleasing. (Not like the large video clip on Starbucks) I also personally like it when shapes play a big role in a web page. And they happen to use a bunch of squares and rectangles to solidify the information. I also really enjoy the color palette. Dunkin Doughnut’s orange, brown, and fuchsia colors compliment one another perfectly.
This site also guided me the way the consumer wanted. I went through the menu, viewed a bunch of different items, and then headed right to the online shop to see what they had for sale. Dunkin Doughnuts is business that wants to make money, a profit, and that’s exactly what I was about to do.
All in all, I believe that something as specific as coffee should have the right balance. There should be photos to get the attention of the audience, with enticing colors, and most importantly the information should be descriptive, yet concise.
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Bi-Weekly Review Starbucks Vs. Dunkin Doughnuts
Elliott Burns
Bi-weekly review 2
January 29, 2012
For this review I compared Starbucks and Dunkin Doughnuts’ websites. I first went to Starbucks’ site and it wasn’t as hip as I expected. It seemed rather plain for how large and hip the company is. The main focus seemed to be telling their mission in the coffee world with a large YouTube video. Also most of the highlights for clicking are for new items and ideas at Starbucks stores. It was fairly easy to navigate; the tabs have drop downs when you put the mouse over them for an easy preview. I think it is a good website and does it’s job but it is not as hip as I thought it would be.
Dunkin Doughnuts’ website is laid out almost exactly the same only with more vibrant colors like their store. There is a huge YouTube video in the middle of the page with tabs for navigating to other areas of the webpage. The tabs, like Starbucks, have a drop down preview when you hover over them with the mouse. There is however a higher concentration on social websites on the Dunkin doughnuts website than with Starbucks.
I think that both of these products are pretty similar because they offer cheap very often bought products and don’t require to have a complex website like a car manufacture might need. I would say though that I like Starbucks’ website better because it felt less aggressive than Dunkin Doughnuts.
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Bi-weekly Review 1 Amazon.com
As a student, Amazon.com is one of the most useful resources available on the internet. Amazon always has low prices on books and other essential supplies and has been adding in an impressive collection of instant streaming movies. The website itself is quite easy to navigate. You are able to easily select specific departments or do general word searches to find the items you are looking for. Amazon also makes purchasing the exact item you want easy as well. Once the item has been found you can scroll through customer reviews, sizing options if it is clothing, colors and a list of extra items you can purchase as well. Also on the screen once you find the correct item is a link to a long list of possible providers. You are able to choose between new and used and select a price that works for you or a company that you know you can trust from previous purchases or a simple to understand approval rating system. Once you have customized your items options you can either submit it to the shopping cart and continue straight to check out or continue to shop and return to the cart with one click on a link in the upper right corner. Returning customers who do a lot of shopping on the online retailer are also able to activate “one-click shopping”. All you have to do is tell the one-click option which address and which credit card to use and simply click to purchase with no extra work involved. Returning customers can also enjoy the benefits of customer suggestions on their amazon homepage. As soon as you return to the site and enter your username and password you are given a list customized for you based on what you’ve previously purchased as well as a list of items that are currently very popular. Over all Amazon sets the standards for an online shopping outlet. Items are well categorized and easy to find on a user-friendly setup that is simple to get used to after just one use. With a well designed website and customer specific shopping options, it’s no wonder people shop at Amazon over and over again.
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1st Bi-weekly Review- Amazon
Over the years Amazon.com has essentially set the standard in online shopping and still dominates much of the market. There are a few ways to find items on Amazon, one can search, browse categories and departments, check out the sales, or use a combination of searching and stipulating which categories to search. Everything is fairly easy to find and understand; the search bar is in the top center of the screen, categories and departments along the left side, check out is top right, and the results fill the majority of the rest of the screen. I decided that I wanted a 30 gallon fish tank, don’t ask why. I started by searching for a fish tank, then since some results came up that weren’t aquariums so I narrowed my search by activating the category aquariums. Then from there I saw nothing but aquariums. However there were still 541 results and nothing matching the criteria I had in mind on the first page of results, so I typed in 30 gallon fish tank to the search bar. An interesting thing about the search bar is that as long as it turns up some results it will keep searching the same departments and categories that you had previously selected. This was a good thing in this situation, but had I decided that I wanted to change the item I was searching for I could have been baffled for a second with nothing but aquarium decorations or fish food. Typing 30 gallon fish tank still yielded 44 results all of which were not relevant but what I wanted was on the first page. You’d think that Amazon would have an option to sort by product size in categories where size matters. I selected my the fish tank that I wanted and proceeded to check out. Since it was my first Amazon purchase it asked me for shipping and billing information but was still very straightforward visually and navigated in a simple linear fashion. Overall Amazon is fairly easy to use and not incredibly confusing at any point, with the huge amount of stock it offers to choose from it is no wonder that it is a leader in online shopping.
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Online Shopping – ShoeDazzle.com
Online shopping is not only convenient and simple, but personally for me, it’s a sport. I love to get the best of the best merchandise for the best possible price. Coupons are always the best technique, and free shipping is most definitely a must.
So, the other day I was watching TV and came across a commercial advertising $39.95 shoes, every style, no exclusions. “ShoeDazzle.com,” seemed too good to be true. So, I typed in the web address and found a new addiction. The website was not only extremely navigate-able, but also very visually pleasing.
The welcome page directed me to a group of clickable shoe questions. It was a quiz to “discover your shoe profile.” As I clicked on the big, artsy buttons, I finalized my answers and was directed to my “personalized collection.” The website automatically put together shoes in my size and in my style from my quiz answers. I thought the quiz was spot on. The shoes the website chose for me were to die for. I ended up purchasing two pairs.
As far as the aesthetics to the website, I loved the chic feminine look. A basic white background with main photo links a unique pink font made me realize the company really knows their target audience. I loved the girly atmosphere, and the easy to use navigation. Their information is put right out there to the public, almost as if they have nothing to hide. Their contact number is posted in the right hand corner of the page so if there’s any questions, you can direct them to their customer service.
I think finding Shoe Dazzle was a bad and good thing for me. I think it was great to come across for me to peruse around on and look at all the new fashions. And, I also think it was bad because I know I will be back to spend even more money that I don’t even have.
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Apple Review
Since the release of the first iPod in October of 2001, I have been intrigued by Apple’s mobile devices. Recently, I purchased an iPad and am in love with the product. The streamlined user interface and large App Store are really what make me decide to buy an Apple product over an Android-based or other big name device. I have previously owned 5 different iPods, including an iPod touch (similar to the iPhone).
When you first take a glance at the Apple.com website, you will see the same sleek, innovative format that Apple is famous for throughout their products. The clean white background is complemented by the reflections of the iPhone 4S, and the navigation bar is put together with their simplistic look in mind.
After clicking the “Store” link in the top navigation bar, I am taken to a page where I can choose from a variety of apple products, as well as categories of these products. In the top left corner there is a convenient search bar to search for the product of my choice, as well as the phone number to the Apple Store above it. In the middle of the page are Apple’s main products. I chose a MacBook Pro since I am interested in purchasing a new laptop. From the next page, I then selected which MacBook Pro I was most interested in (15-inch). I was then able to select the specifications of the laptop, and press the “Add to Cart” button which was colored green, most likely so it could be better distinguished from other buttons on the site. I was then taken to my cart where I could either continue shopping or check out. By going through only 4 pages, all of which crucial to the buying process, I was able to find the product I wanted, choose my specifications, and purchase the item, without any hassle whatsoever.
I found the Apple site to be very easy to use, with minimal effort needed to purchase what I would like. This is almost expected with Apple. They are known for their easy-to-use computers and mobile devices. It has always been their goal to deliver products that do not require the consumer to have to think to access things of their choice.
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Bi-weekly review, week 1
One of the most popular websites makes it simple for customers to purchase merchandise. I logged on to Amazon.com to purchase a textbook. Amazon has the key features, such as navigation, search bar, deals, etc., in the appropriate places. The navigation is located on the left hand side; the search bar is centered and at the top of the page; deals are the largest in size. All elements are used to draw in the consumer to make a purchase.
Since I have been a frequent customer the process of finding a product was made easier by scrolling down the page and there are suggested related items. Therefore I just had to click on item, choose a size and click the ‘add to cart’ button. I have to confirm the order and confirm my user information. The process is hassle free since they have saved the information, even down to the shipping address. Because the process is effortless, it is much easier to continue shopping. The cheap prices bring in the customer, but the simplistic checkout keeps the customer coming back.
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bi-weekly
Amazon.com is a fairly simple layout website when it comes to shopping and locating things on the site. When you first access the site the hot items are on the middle of the screen fairly bigger than the other normal items. Also they have a golden box that catches your eye for the deals of the day. When adding items to the shopping cart it is just a click of the button and its there in the order you placed the items in the cart. A few complaints to the site are, when you first search movies they are all instant streams or downloads, not the actual DVDs so you have to go click the button that says DVD. Also when searching the full department the categories are all scattered around not even alphabetical order and if you are in a hurry you wont be able to get there in time unless you are familiar with the page. This site it rather easily navigated through with little troubles along the way.
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Apple.com Review ~ John Marshall
| The apple website is fairly intuitive for shopping. You can find the store at the top of the apple.com homepage. The main products apple promotes are listed in the center, and everything else is categorized on the left side of the page. Also, the various discount stores such as educational and military can be found there as well. I found that finding a product and putting in the shopping cart required little to no thought. Also, checking out was equally simplistic.My only complaint would be the order the products were laid out under each category page. The order of the products seemed too random and took too much time to find the one I was looking for. Yes, apple offers a search bar, a narrow option on the side bar, and also a ‘sort by’ bar, but I think that it could be simpler to find the product by automatically organizing them based on either price, popularity, or type. For example, I was looking for a car charger for a Macbook, and I had to access the accessories page, which was mixed with all different types of accessories for various Mac items.
As a result, it took me much longer to find my items than it needed to be. Instead, by automatically categorizing the search, it would make it much easier for the average web user to find what they were looking for, even if they do not know exactly what they want. Other than that however, it is a very simple to navigate online store that requires little to no thought, and I would recommend it for web designers to look at in terms of layout and navigation. -Written By John Marshall http://mediaweb.rmu.edu/~jdmst33/ |
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Amazon Shopping Review by Elliott Burns
Elliott Burns
Large Commerce Site
1/16/12
For my large commerce site I picked Amazon.com because I have never tried shopping online and that is one of few shopping websites that I know of. It was very easy to get to because it is so well known I just put in amazon.com and it took me directly to the site. I checked and it is the third option that comes up on google.com if you type in “shopping”.
Once I was on the website I decided that I wanted an Omega watch because I thought that it would be a brand that is to expensive for a watch and not have an online market. I was wrong though amazon gave me thirty choices for Omega watches. I didn’t have to make any clicks either it took me straight to the results.
Deciding on which watch to put in my cart was also made easier by the comparative pricing that showed the cost of the watch from different sites, manufacturer, as well as an actual jewelry store. There was even an option to buy used something that I thought only Tourneau did on a large scale.
When I finally made a decision all I had to do was click add to cart. Once it was in my cart I clicked proceed to checkout. It asked for a me to sign up as a member which I didn’t because I wasn’t actually going to buy it but I don’t believe it would have been complicated.
Overall the only thinking I actually had to do while using amazon was deciding which watch was the one I wanted. Everything else was mindlessly easy.
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1st blog post bill paterson
BH Photo
Bh Photo video is a very unique site because they offer just about every thing you can imagine for the given electronic device. There main specialty is cameras and video equipment, here they offer anything from top of the line camera lens costing thousands of dollars, to off brand lens caps for a couple bucks. BH has so many products it makes searching for a given product a little tricky. For example, you need to search by the type of product it is and the company that you would like to buy. Then you can organize the products by price and even technical specs as well. For a site like BH photo that covers thousands of products makes it easy to find what you need, if you know what you are looking for. knowing the name of the item of category that it would fall into would be a big help in looking for anything on BH photo
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Amazon: Shopping for Movies
I recently visited the large commercial website Amazon.com. On this website, an individual can find almost any product they want. From books to electronics, movies, cds, the website can safisfy hundreds of commercial consumer needs. In my opinion, the site is very useful for online shopping. Amazon is easy to navigate, narrow down your products, and eventually make the purchase. Today I was shopping for rare, hard to find movies and DVDs. First, I typed in the search bar the title of the film I was in search of, titled Martyrs. Even without narrowing the search to “Movies” the first on the list was the DVD I was looking for. The website even goes as far as to recommend other products that may interest the buyer, further provoking the consumer demand. Shopping online is an interesting process. The website contains a giant database of products to buy and makes the shopping experience virtually painless for the consumer. Simply type in the name of the product you want, and the product appears. If it does not, you can narrow your search with a number of helpful toolbars. The search bar is so sophisticated, you can copy and paste a serial number, or barcode number of your product, and the product will appear in the search. Creators of websites such as Amazon are even smart enough to write a program that recommends similar products to online consumers, increasing sales and time spent on the website. When adding the item to the cart, you are offered different options such as, add to wish list, or add to cart with free two day shipping, and other such offers that persuade a sale. Online shopping is becoming so sophisticated, yet so easy, that in years to come, strip malls will be a thing of the past.
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Amazon by Alexandria Antonacci
Amazon is a very visually appealing website to use. It doesn’t take you longer than a few seconds to find what you are looking for. On Amazon I searched for a Nikon 18-105mm lens for my camera. From the start I know automatically how to find what I am looking for. The search bar is centered at the top of the page in blue. Its the first thing you look at when you open the page, the color alone draws you in from the stark white rest of the layout. I don’t even need to pick which department I want to search in the drop down box if I don’t want to. If I search without picking it automatically looks through each department to find the best answers.
When I searched without picking a department the exact lens that I wanted came up first. On the left hand side it still gives me the option if I wanted to refine my search. If I go back to the homepage I can also look for the lens on the vertical list to the left. I know that my lens would probably be under electronics and camera equipment from there. Since Amazon uses key words instead of unfamiliar names it keeps the users interest and creates minimal frustration.
The usability of this website is easily for users with average to even below average experience with websites. Everything you could possibly want to look for is in its obvious place on the left with the right terminology used. At no point did I dwell on “Why did they call it that” or “Where should I begin”. I simply did not have to think at those points I instinctively knew where to click. When scanning the page I can focus on my task at hand due to Amazons clever use of trigger words.
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Amazon Review
I reviewed the process on how to create an order on amazon.com. I typed an an item I was looking for and it gave me a variety to choose from. I then narrowed my search to something more specific and found what I was looking for. The overall process on the site was quick and easy. The site is really user friendly and is easy to navigate. The homepage really gives you a good look a what the site is about and how to browse to certain products. It is very easy to find what you are looking for. The site has alot going on, but once you play around with it, the site is very easy to understand. All of the information is simple and to the point. I like that once you purchase a product it gives you suggestions on what else may interest you. Most websites do not carry this feature and it just makes the site all the better. Also, before you buy a product they have reviews of the products. These reviews are completed by other people. It is not your ordinary review. These reviews are detailed and really give you great insight on the product you are about to purchase.
Amazon.com is very user friendly and its a great site to find something you are looking of you cant find it anywhere else. All the categories are listed on the left hand side and are really specific. This feature really helps people navigate the site much better. All they have to do is click what categorie they are looking for and it takes them right to that section. Overal, amazon is very simple and easy to navigate. This particular site requires little thought at all, and I would recommend it for web designers who are looking for a good layout and setup. Amazon has an easy way to navigate the information the customer needs.
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Barnes and Noble Review
Barnes and Noble’s site is pretty use to use. If you are looking for a book, music, movie or just browsing, the search will find what you are looking for. The process for this site would have the code extremely difficult to understand to the reader, but very necessary for the user to move along the site. While browsing on the site,the reader might find a book or item that they are interested in so they will click on the item. The connection of the item would have to link the reader to the next page that shows the reader what the item is about, reviews and other information like price the reader would need to know before ordering. If the reader would like the purchase the item, the next step for the code would have to link the reader to a log in page for the website. If the reader does not have a user for the site, there would be a link for the reader to by pass so they could still purchase the item. Next after the reader has either logged in or by passed the log in, the reader would have to type in information for billing or the purchase cannot be complete. The whole process has to work perfectly for the reader to get to purchase the item. One mistake in the code, errors would have the reader confused and frustrated. All connections web designs have will have to work perfectly so readers can easily glide step to step.
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