For my review of an e-commerce site, I decided to choose a website that I was not particularly familiar with. Thus, I chose Overstock.com (also called “The O”) to review.

Upon first visiting the site, all visual elements were very pleasing to the eye. The homepage of Overstock consists of mainly neutral colors with pops of color (mainly red) on the Overstock logo, the “search” button (adjacent to the logo), and in two locations mentioning free shipping on orders over $50. Yellow is also thrown into the mix, designating that a sale was in progress (placed over neutral colored photos).

I was easily able to find what I was looking for – the search bar, right next to the Overstock logo. I proceeded to type in my product (a Canon 70-200 f/2.8 L lens) and pressed the bright red “search” button. The site indicated that there were 121 results for my search and laid them all out for me on a single page. The particular lens I was looking for was the first item on the list, followed by a 70-200 f/4 L. By scrolling over the picture of each item, I was able to find a blue “quick view” button that allowed me to see more details about the product, informing me about the price, quantity, and details of the product. There was also a green “add to cart” button. Obvious enough. However, I noticed there was another button that popped up when my mouse hovered over the picture of the lens… a plus sign. This was my first “don’t make me think” moment since being on the site. Unsure of what it was, I clicked it, and to my surprise the item I had my mouse hovered over was added to a “saved items” list… but not to my cart. A useful tool, but it definitely made me think. The button is not very obvious or informative to first time users.

After using the search bar, I decided to try out the navigation bar – which is fairly large. There are nine overarching categories for products, from “women” to “bedding and bath” to “worldstock,” all of which had extensive subcategories within them. It felt a little overwhelming at first, but because the labeling was so detailed I was able to easily navigate and find what I was looking for in a few short clicks (the search bar was still faster).

Overall, Overstock.com’s layout is very self-explanatory. Almost everything is clearly labeled (no odd names for the search/career button or for different options in the navigation bar). My only problem was the mysterious plus sign – helpful if you know what it’s supposed to do, but somewhat confusing if you don’t. This website definitely achieved the goal described in Steve Krug’s “Don’t Make me Think” of being effortless and easy to navigate for the average to unfamiliar web user.