Constructive Criticism Request - Ecommerce Site

[tcraw1010]

Hello:

I thought I'd seek some thoughts and constructive criticism on my site design for an ecommerce Music Retail related site I've been developing.

This is just a mock-up of the Home Page - non functional.

Just want to know what you think of the layout, colors, structure overall (thus far). Constructive comments/suggestions are welcome.

http://www.musicians-marketplace.com/index3.html (http://www.musicians-marketplace.com/index3.html)

Thanks,


TOM

[Utech22]

It's cool ... but little too crowded!

[JoshuaJonah]

yeah it kinda looks like tiger direct

[drumsnroses]

I think with a storefront like this, it's not so much about design and style and it is about an effecient layout. I think it is pretty good. Just a little overwhelming at first.

[Phenex]

Little too sharp on the edges, little too busy, little too bright and plain with the colors.

As far as the usability is concerned, it's pretty direct, so that's good.

I can give you magical tips and tricks on the design if you gift me a retro silver box from the instruments line up. :P

[Pasquale]

Too much clutter, and too much wasted space at the sides (which you could use to reduce clutter)

[hybrid101]

not sure as a music/instrument reseller, but that just had me confused. very crowded;)

[Pasquale]

Restructure the cluttered content onto other pages too

[tcraw1010]

Thanks for the input thus far.

As for the feeling that things are cluttered, I'm wondering how you think my site compares to some of the existing music retailers out there . . .

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/
http://www.midwestpercussion.com/
http://www.guitarcenter.com/
http://www.interstatemusic.com/


Also, do you think the page would appear less cluttered with a different left navigation, such as http://www.musicians-marketplace.com/index2.html ??


TOM

[JoshuaJonah]

I think the featured vendors will be anightmare to pull of with css unless they are all on different z-index levels. It looks ok, but i think it will be a technical nightmare once you have to slice it.

[shane-c]

It does look good. But as some others are saying, a little crowded... Then again, that's exactly how any music catalog is, so I'm sure your target audience will be plenty comfortable with it...

[haam]

holy crap! that's a TON of content, are you building this whole thing by yourself? I'm on musiciansfriend.com and guitarcenter.com all the time supporting my habits, but i never in a million years would consider actually building one of these, dang!

anyway, i think the biggest waste of space is your navigation.

there's no need for graphic representation of the nav buttons. people know what they are going to get if they click on KEYBOARDS! so there is one way you can streamline it.

also, don't know if it's just this screen shot but a lot of your images are being made ugly by "Save for web" artifacting. make sure you export images so that they are clear and nice to look at AS WELL as light for download.

logo in header could be smaller / less overwhelming.

i don't think there is anything on this page that shouldn't be here like some others said. there's no reason to spread this content out on other pages... as i imagine your client wants those specials and features right on the homepage like most other instrument vendors.

also, small call-outs like marketplace Reviews and marketplace Music really don't need to be that big. The photos are just representation and can be smaller. You can use much less space in those blue areas that are mostly blank real estate. I can see that you were trying to fill out the right side of that console but you can make that whole thing smaller and it won't hurt

my biggest complaint is that most of your font work is ugly, could just be the artifacting happening with this screen shot but words like "Member Login" and "Register" shouldn't be blurring like that.

all in all, good work, but i think you could definitely tighten some sections up to make it not so overwhelming.

[tcraw1010]

holy crap! that's a TON of content, are you building this whole thing by yourself? I'm on musiciansfriend.com and guitarcenter.com all the time supporting my habits, but i never in a million years would consider actually building one of these, dang!

I designed the Home Page, but I am working with some professional web designers/programmers in developing the Content Management System, php programming and design of some of the supplemental pages.



anyway, i think the biggest waste of space is your navigation.

there's no need for graphic representation of the nav buttons. people know what they are going to get if they click on KEYBOARDS! so there is one way you can streamline it.

In doing the graphic representations (and I went back and forth with this for some time), I am trying to stand out a bit from the pack. All of the "regulars" employ a "tab-only" navigation. One of the elements I am trying to use to differentiate is employing some eye-catching graphics without over-doing it. I could have tried using some flash techniques and such, but that would definitely be over the top.

It's a competitive market out there .... and while the business focus on a market a bit different than that of the "regulars," I still want to stand-apart and not follow a general layout mantra (does that make sense?).



also, don't know if it's just this screen shot but a lot of your images are being made ugly by "Save for web" artifacting. make sure you export images so that they are clear and nice to look at AS WELL as light for download.

What's the difference between saving for web and "exporting images" as you mentioned?



also, small call-outs like marketplace Reviews and marketplace Music really don't need to be that big. The photos are just representation and can be smaller. You can use much less space in those blue areas that are mostly blank real estate. I can see that you were trying to fill out the right side of that console but you can make that whole thing smaller and it won't hurt

I will play around with this as you suggest ... good suggestion.

I also will play around with shrinking the main logo a bit as well.



my biggest complaint is that most of your font work is ugly, could just be the artifacting happening with this screen shot but words like "Member Login" and "Register" shouldn't be blurring like that.

I will bring this up with my site-optimization pros ... I'm confident they will be able to sharpen things up. (at least I hope so).



all in all, good work, but i think you could definitely tighten some sections up to make it not so overwhelming.

Thanks ... and I agree. That first section where it says "Your Music ... Your Style" is the one I struggle with the most. I want something eye-catching/grabbign there ... but like you said, I do not want to overwhelm.


TOM


P.S. (I just took a look at your website . . . . DAMN !!! (in a very good way)) !! :sen:

[j_polo9]

ahh my eyes!!

[j_polo9]

logo is too large, and not very powerful.

way too many pictures, why do the links have pictures.. If anything make them into icons. Nah just ditch em.

you have like 75+ links on the home page. That is rediculous. And why do you have some links listed twice...

wow you really have no negative space...

look at a site like bofa.com and see how they incorperate a lot of links very cleanly.

[hybrid101]

this reminds me of a harder to navigate newegg:P

[tcraw1010]

this reminds me of a harder to navigate newegg:P

Is it really that difficult to navigate?

I mean, there is no cryptic language or hidden fields . . . it's all laid out right there for you. I guess I'm not quite sure what about the navigation scheme is difficult.

[tcraw1010]

bump :D

[doctor_funk]

Three words, less is more.

Your goal is to guide to user smoothly through the purchasing process, from selecting what they want to buying it. As it currently stands, there are a million items featured on the top page and no clear starting point. If you've got a hotshot programmer on your team, maybe consider categorizing everything first, and on the landing page, let the user choose to enter the site organized by either brand, instrument, type of music, etc. Maybe set up the user to start with a nice design and basic menu of about 5-6 items. Clicking on one of those streamlines the entire thing and shows an organized page based on the users initial choice. For example, when I'm shopping CDW or Frys for computer memory, I quickly sort things out by searching for something specific like "memory", then filter it by sorting by brand, then size, etc. Finally, I've only gone through a few quick steps before all of the items I want to browse are available. I didn't need an incredibly cluttered top page to get there, it could have been resolved by using search and categories.