JEWbacca Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 First off, let me be the first to say that I know there is still alot of work to be done --- not all my products are in and the text and images for about half of them need to be looked over. I will get that done soon. In the mean time, I was wondering if anyone had feedback on the layout -- due to the fact that i'm still using the infoboxes I think it looks a little stock osC but I have changed them enough to make it not look too bad (I think). The general shape of the store was inspired by apple, if you go to their store page (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore/) you will see the 'iPod Store' with rounded and the bright sillioutte style header about half way down the page. The store: (in progress) http://blackwidowsecurity.com/ipodstore/ It will soon be located at: http://www.iPodCarParts.com I welcome any and all feedback... right now I would just like to see what people have to say about the layout but if you would like to look deeper into the site I welcome you.... EVERYTHING HELPS!!! Thanks, Nate Levy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubcat Posted August 7, 2005 Share Posted August 7, 2005 Personal pet peeve - there is absolutely nothing worse than large blocks of text that are not justified. Make a new class in your stylesheet to justify the text on the homepage. I found the "buy now" buttons a bit confusing. I know there are different schools of thought on this, but I would expect to be taken to the cart when I hit "buy now" and then have a "back" button option to take me back to where I came from. I like the changing color header graphic. How did you get the text on the different catagories pages? Was that a contribution? I wanted to do that but didn't find a way before I went live. Not too late to roll it in, though. Adrienne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEWbacca Posted August 7, 2005 Author Share Posted August 7, 2005 Adrienne/ Jeff... thanks for your reply. Personal pet peeve - there is absolutely nothing worse than large blocks of text that are not justified. Make a new class in your stylesheet to justify the text on the homepage. This is justified, left justified. What do you suggest 'full' justification? Chances are by the time the site goes live I will add some type of picture to break up all that text on the main page kind of like how I did it here http://www.blackwidowsecurity.com/store/ -- What do you think? I found the "buy now" buttons a bit confusing. I know there are different schools of thought on this, but I would expect to be taken to the cart when I hit "buy now" and then have a "back" button option to take me back to where I came from. If you use either the "buy now" or "add to cart" button the cart will show up above the search box. I could always turn the function for it to take you to the cart page after somthing is added but it seems like from what I read alot of people don't like this... I like the changing color header graphic. Thanks :D How did you get the text on the different catagories pages? Was that a contribution? I wanted to do that but didn't find a way before I went live. Not too late to roll it in, though. Yes. It is is a contribution, and I must say it is a good one. Easy to install and easy to use. Here is a link: http://www.oscommerce.com/community/contributions,1373 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer Monster Posted August 7, 2005 Share Posted August 7, 2005 I for one heartily approve of copying the apple store design, it's one of best looking eshops! I agree with hubcat about the unjustified text thing. If you are not going to take the customer to the shopping cart (which is pointless anyway) I do think you should display a big obvoius message on the page that a product has been added. A personal preference is to display an Add to Cart button rather than a buy now button that way the customer is less likely to expect to be taken to another page. Although your site uses infoboxes, I think it is one of the less 'stock' osc stores so I wouldn't worry too much about that. Besides it's orders that count, not originality!!!! One small thing which I think separates the BIG companies from the rest of us is providing customers with information other than just products. I'm thinking, company information, technical support, user manuals, how to's, faq's, knowledgebase etc, etc. Excellent work! Light, in the absence of eyes, illuminates nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEWbacca Posted August 7, 2005 Author Share Posted August 7, 2005 Thanks Brain. If you are not going to take the customer to the shopping cart (which is pointless anyway) I do think you should display a big obvoius message on the page that a product has been added. Did you add a product to the cart? If the cart is empty the cart does not show up... once you add somthing it does -- this is clear to me, is it not to you? Let me know. A personal preference is to display an Add to Cart button rather than a buy now button that way the customer is less likely to expect to be taken to another page.. Good idea. One small thing which I think separates the BIG companies from the rest of us is providing customers with information other than just products. I'm thinking, company information, technical support, user manuals, how to's, faq's, knowledgebase etc, etc. I agree. This is very much in the works. I have put such info on the last site and the results have been good. http://www.blackwidowsecurity.com/store/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumping Rabbit Posted August 7, 2005 Share Posted August 7, 2005 Adrienne/ Jeff... thanks for your reply. This is justified, left justified. What do you suggest 'full' justification? Chances are by the time the site goes live I will add some type of picture to break up all that text on the main page kind of like how I did it here http://www.blackwidowsecurity.com/store/ -- What do you think? If you use either the "buy now" or "add to cart" button the cart will show up above the search box. I could always turn the function for it to take you to the cart page after somthing is added but it seems like from what I read alot of people don't like this... Thanks :D Yes. It is is a contribution, and I must say it is a good one. Easy to install and easy to use. Here is a link: http://www.oscommerce.com/community/contributions,1373 <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Both your sites would benefit by changing to a 2 column design instead of todays 3 column layout..... Faster Checkout - osCommerce Knowledge Base - Anyone meet offline?, Has anyone of you cyberkids meet offline? For newbees do atleast read this 4 points: Basic info - Search tips and help - Posting tips and help - Basics for Design Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEWbacca Posted August 7, 2005 Author Share Posted August 7, 2005 Both your sites would benefit by changing to a 2 column design instead of todays 3 column layout..... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> As in removing the right column? I don't exactly understand.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer Monster Posted August 7, 2005 Share Posted August 7, 2005 Did you add a product to the cart? If the cart is empty the cart does not show up... once you add somthing it does -- this is clear to me, is it not to you? Let me know. I merely ment something MORE obvious. The cart appearing on the right column may be too subtle for some customers! Light, in the absence of eyes, illuminates nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEWbacca Posted August 7, 2005 Author Share Posted August 7, 2005 True. I will look into it, maybe there is a contribution out there for me... The clearest way I think would be to turn the "Display Cart After Adding Product" to "True" but like you said it is in a way pointless. Thanks for the feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubcat Posted August 7, 2005 Share Posted August 7, 2005 Nate, The text does look better with the graphic added to break it up a bit. Even so, I still think you should full justify the text - both right and left side. It's a cleaner, more professional look. I also like the 2 column design - get rid of the right column by integrating it into the left. The shopping cart will be clear to your customers the SECOND time they come. The first time, they're checking out the products and aren't familiar with your set up. Maybe just a text message after the Add to Cart click that says "successfully added". Hope this helps, Adrienne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEWbacca Posted August 7, 2005 Author Share Posted August 7, 2005 The text does look better with the graphic added to break it up a bit. Even so, I still think you should full justify the text - both right and left side. It's a cleaner, more professional look. I'm going to play with this text during the week, making it have a full justification will not be hard, just a quick change in the CSS. Even adding a picture to the text will not be hard, but creating/finding the correct picture is a bit more of a challenge. I was thinking just a picture of an iPod but because 1/2 of the headers have iPods in them (the other 1/2 have mini) I thought this would be overkill. If anyone has an idea for what type of picture to put there i'm open to ideas.... I also like the 2 column design - get rid of the right column by integrating it into the left. When I first started working on the site I wanted a 2 column design also, but after looking around at some of the HUGE e-commerce sites such as amazon.com and buy.com I found that they also had a 3 column setup -- its more or less a standard I think :-" While I think 2 column might look good I run into a problem... where to put everything -- I could move the search to the left side, I could remove the featured products box (I kind of like it..), but where would I put the shopping cart? If I put it on the left, say above the catagories box, I think it would just be too much. Unless I somehow integrated into the header I don't think a 3 column layout would work out for me... The shopping cart will be clear to your customers the SECOND time they come. The first time, they're checking out the products and aren't familiar with your set up. Maybe just a text message after the Add to Cart click that says "successfully added". Thats what I had in mind also actually, I just would want it to echo such a line as you suggested in the main (center) column --- this is in the works, i'm just trying to figure out how to do it best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumping Rabbit Posted August 7, 2005 Share Posted August 7, 2005 As in removing the right column? I don't exactly understand.... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Generalized points...... 1. If you use a 3 column layout, a dynamic with is prefereable... 2. If you use a fixed (800px) width a 2 column layout is preferable. Spesific for your site...... 1. The right column looks empty while the center part looks crowdeed..... By integrating the shopping cart in your header and removing the right column you would get a much more cleaner look. or alternatively... Keep the 3 column design but change to a dynamic width for your site...which is the prefered layout for many of the large shops..like Amazon Faster Checkout - osCommerce Knowledge Base - Anyone meet offline?, Has anyone of you cyberkids meet offline? For newbees do atleast read this 4 points: Basic info - Search tips and help - Posting tips and help - Basics for Design Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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