Bi-weekly review 1: Zappos

September 3, 2012 at 11:32 pm · Filed under Bi-Weekly Review, Fall 2012 and tagged: Bi-Weekly Review, Sean Whitfield

I chose Zappos for my bi-weekly review. Zappos is mainly a clothing site but they also sell shoes bags accessories beuty supplies  glasses and outdoor supplies. But they leave jewelry and sporting goods off their main navigation bar for appearance. They are listed in a drop-down menu when you click the last button on the main nav-bar.

The color scheme of off-white with blue text and search bars is pleasing. They also give the option to alphabetically search by brand name which seems pretty original. The layout is simple. There are a few big important buttons that offer sales, different categories at the top and category by gender on the left. Just at the botton third of the screen they have reccommendations from your personal history. I looked for hockey hats and they guessed I was a man and gave me 6 choices besides what I wanted and there are orange “sale” tags that hang near the items if there’s a sale.

In the top right corner they show FREE shipping and their vague 1 year return policy which if you click on offers some fine print and a handy little youtube video to show you how to return items if you’re unable to read.

The more important buttons; sale, shopping cart, and search, are all a big bright orange and you can’t miss them. I dislike that the search font is italic because it seems like I am just writing the title of books like “Quebec Nordiques Hat” which I would read.

Once you find the item you need, the page has a picture of it modeled by a mannequein and dominates the page. The font color of important buttons like “add to cart” is changed from the can’t miss orange to a subdued green. I guess they think they already have you hooked and they dont need to shout anymore. To the left of the item are interesting options for item information, similar items, and also a page of info about the brand. customer reviews are very prominent below along with a column at the bottom right for recommended items.

After you select add to cart you’re directed to a page that shows your entire cart, more reccommended items and the important buttons return to the bright orange color. You’re given the option to change the quantity of your items and also to remove or add them to your favorites. The price is shown in large font.

Overall I like the layout of Zappos more than many of the other shopping sites. It’s minimalist with only few colors. The option to search by brand with a few recommended items prominently displayed makes it easy to navigate and is never jarring to look at.

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