Constructive Criticism Requested - Ecommerce Home Page

[tcraw1010]

Hello:

I don't know if my site design would qualify for a "wow" factor, but 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

Thanks,


TOM

[sergey79]

I thought that the layout, although a bit busy for my liking, is still clear and managable. The almost monochromatic (or dual tone) color scheme works, because it uses a clean (white) background. Overall, I like it and it would seem that the site will be successefull in terms of navigation and ease of use.

v/r
Serge

[tcraw1010]

Thanks for the input.

I have been trying to keep the colors complimentary - as opposed to too many colors and/or conflicting color schemes (as I see on some sites) - yet still maintain a eye-catching visual appeal.

I actually have another version with a slightly different (white background) left navigation menu, but I thought it gave an overall "too white" appearance to the site --> http://www.musicians-marketplace.com/index2.html


Agree/Disagree ??



TOM

[VirtualAlias]

Not many criticisms here, really. I can say that you were right about the all-white version of the site. It completely drops your left nav bar into the abyss.

You have a tremendous amount of information to convey on the website and, as far as I'm concerned, you've done that very effectively. The website is busy, but I don't see any way around it that still gives various vendors "equal time."

"Brass/Winds" looks like it's just a nudge off center with the lines that separate its thumbnail.

In "Shop the Market Place" there are individual sections of text that seem to smash together a little. Example: "Browse sale/clearance items for amazing savings." It looks like you have room to bump the tracking up a little on that text and make it more readable.

^-- This is true on the headers of "Featured Offers". The text is too scrunched.

If you're looking to trim fat, under "Featured Vendors", I'm assuming that the thumbnail images will direct the user to the same place that "find out more" does when clicked. If this is the case, and those will be thumbnails, may I make 2 suggestions? 1) Remove "find out more" entirely. 2) Try to keep the thumbnails from overlapping if possible.

"Join Now!" is looking a little rough at the bottom.

You might experiment with ff6600 as your highlight color on the left nav bar if you're going for something a little more complimentary, but the red does a great job too.

That's all I've got for now. I hope this was constructive and at least the slightest bit helpful. The site looks great, bro.

[Bennie]

Disagree with the fellows about this site's usability. Maybe it is
a gender or generation thing. To me this is a most intimidating
site. I checked out a couple of other sites that sell musical
instruments online, and it appears many are attempting to
outdo each other in putting the most items possible on one
page. But when every item strives to be the most enticing,
none stand out.

Once all such sites begin to look alike, I think it is time to
try for a more refined look - emphasize quality rather than
quantity. In other words, I think you need to consider what might
make your site stand out from all those other ones.

There are at least a dozen embellishments on the start
page which could be dropped or made smaller to allow more
white space and to give the viewer a chance to find a
definitive starting point. Because of its location and size,
I am guessing you expect me to check out the 20% off link
first. But if I do that will I remember to return home to sign
up for all those wonderful offers? All this signing up is
something which annoys me no end.

No matter what the trend in such sites may be, this page
could be simplified without losing its "youth appeal" or
whatever it is you all hope to accomplish with dozens of
images that keep the eye hopping from one corner to the other.

And finally, I wonder whether a real musician would buy an
instrument online. Wouldn't he or she want to hold it, try it
out, and hear its sound before paying out a lot of money?

[OXmedia]

I felt this site was a little to busy for my preference, but it did offer a lot of information.
What do you think of my site of note cards

http://www.oxmediacards.com/index.html