For my third monthly review, I chose to describe and compare two websites on their usability and layout. For reference, I used Steve Krug’s book on website usability called “Don’t Make Me Think.” Krug recommends trying the trunk test to see if a website has good navigation. The site will pass if the viewer can easily find the site ID, search button, sections, page name, and the local navigation. The websites I chose to analyze were www.thefryecompany.com and www.allenedmonds.com.

I examined The Frye Company’s website first. When opening the site, I found myself automatically attracted to the aesthetic quality. The simple color palette of earthy browns and greens matched the overall feel for their vintage shoes. I especially liked the large image carousal that took most of the main page because it added emphasis to the products themselves. For the majority of the pages, the designer used a well-balanced, symmetrical layout. There is little clutter and the simplicity makes it easier for the viewers to find what they need. Their choice of colors, type, imagery and overall layout unifies very well together and gets the theme across to the consumers. As for Krug’s trunk test, the site did not completely pass. I easily found the site ID, search button, and sections. However, when it came to the page titles and local navigation, I feel they could have done better. The page titles were hard to find, but I did eventually noticed that the designer slightly bolded the section title. The local navigation is under a dropdown menu. It works, but I prefer to have a column navigation option for when I am scrolling through the gallery products. In addition, there is no usage of breadcrumbs. Overall, this site has a pleasing design, but needs a little work on the usability.

My first impression of Allen Edmonds’ website is that there is too much going on. I am a huge fan of simplicity, especially in color choice and layout. I feel they could narrow down their usage of neutral tones, and work on emphasizing what is most important on their site. There use of asymmetrical balance works, but if they kept a similar layout throughout all the pages it would unify them better. When it comes to Krug’s trunk test, this site passed easily. I was able to find everything right where they should be. The designer even used breadcrumbs as a back up in case the viewer got confused. This site’s usability was great; now all they need to do is make it more pleasing to the viewer’s eye.

After analyzing both websites, I found that each one was lacking in what the other site had. The Frye Company’s site had the pleasing look, but poor navigation. The Allen Edmonds’ site was the opposite. I found myself still more attracted to the look of the first site, and probably more willing as a customer to muddle through the navigation.