Design Contest Forums - View Single Post - Online Store Website Design

Brat · 09-10-2004, 10:56 AM

Thank you, Will, for your entry.

Hits

Nice use of white space - very clean design
Easy navigation - this is crucial for shoppers
Implementation consideration - you remembered that you are designing for a shopping cart program, and were thoughtful in terms of trying to make a design that was fairly easy to implement; this shows that you are indeed thinking, and that is a very good sign.

That said...

Misses

Too "Out of the Box" - the problem with most shopping cart programs (Zen Cart, OSCommerce, etc.), is exactly what this design shows. They are OBVIOUSLY shopping cart programs. Their default layouts just scream "look, I'm a shopping cart!" Though we know that is what they are (and so does the shopper), nonetheless the design can/should reflect some originality.

For your review, I've included links to sites using Zen Cart for their ecommerce that look NOTHING like the original designs. These examples are provided to illustrate the design flexibility you can have.

Example 1 - Grocery Store
Example 2 - Pet Supply Shop
Example 3 - Costume Shop
Example 4 - Paint Ball Supplies
Examle 4 - Body Jewelry Shop

Unlike with OSCommerce, Zen Cart has done a pretty darned good job of separating code from design. To implement a Zen Cart design, you basically just need to know HTML and some very minor PHP (only because the template files contain calls to cart function). You only need to know enough about PHP to keep the parentheses together and watch the semi-colons.
Color Combination - I cannot quite put my finger on it, but this combination really won't work for this particular shop. Blue, yellow, orange... just doesn't do it for me.
Lack of Imagination - Though I do appreciate the effort in keeping the design simple to implement, boxes can be done by anyone. Again, the main problem with most shopping carts is that the design consists of boxes. Show me something different.
Too Technical - Overall, the design seems more appropriate for a computer shop than for a store selling apparel and such.

Again, thank you for your initial contribution. I hope the comments I've provided in this post give you and other participating designers helpful information.

09-10-2004, 10:56 AM	#16 (permalink)
Brat Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 69	Thank you, Will, for your entry. Hits Nice use of white space - very clean design Easy navigation - this is crucial for shoppers Implementation consideration - you remembered that you are designing for a shopping cart program, and were thoughtful in terms of trying to make a design that was fairly easy to implement; this shows that you are indeed thinking, and that is a very good sign. That said... Misses Too "Out of the Box" - the problem with most shopping cart programs (Zen Cart, OSCommerce, etc.), is exactly what this design shows. They are OBVIOUSLY shopping cart programs. Their default layouts just scream "look, I'm a shopping cart!" Though we know that is what they are (and so does the shopper), nonetheless the design can/should reflect some originality. For your review, I've included links to sites using Zen Cart for their ecommerce that look NOTHING like the original designs. These examples are provided to illustrate the design flexibility you can have. Example 1 - Grocery Store Example 2 - Pet Supply Shop Example 3 - Costume Shop Example 4 - Paint Ball Supplies Examle 4 - Body Jewelry Shop Unlike with OSCommerce, Zen Cart has done a pretty darned good job of separating code from design. To implement a Zen Cart design, you basically just need to know HTML and some very minor PHP (only because the template files contain calls to cart function). You only need to know enough about PHP to keep the parentheses together and watch the semi-colons. Color Combination - I cannot quite put my finger on it, but this combination really won't work for this particular shop. Blue, yellow, orange... just doesn't do it for me. Lack of Imagination - Though I do appreciate the effort in keeping the design simple to implement, boxes can be done by anyone. Again, the main problem with most shopping carts is that the design consists of boxes. Show me something different. Too Technical - Overall, the design seems more appropriate for a computer shop than for a store selling apparel and such. Again, thank you for your initial contribution. I hope the comments I've provided in this post give you and other participating designers helpful information.