|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Low Fat Sites - The Latest Trend
|
|
David Mortenson
Editor, EZ-NetAdvantage
|
|
|
Simple, elegant, clean, fast, up-to-date - these are words which describe those web sites which follow the latest design trends out there. Loading in just seconds, many of today's big name sites, such as Gap.com, IBM.com, Kinkos.com, etc., have taken drastic steps toward assuring that their users have a positive experience. These sites forego flashy animations, up-tempo multimedia and high overhead graphics in favor of fast load times. Also, they are doing everything they can to insure that visitors can easily find what they are looking for on their sites. Examining these high-dollar web sites, you will be able to apply the same design principles in your own sites to make them equally successful.
|
|
Big Blue
IBM.com has long been a trendsetter. We love this site and refer to it often. At well under 50k (50 kilobytes), the site loads very quickly even on slower machines. The sidebar on the left allows users to instantly access the products they're searching for while the large "splash" graphic in the
|
|
|
|
|
|
middle alerts visitors to special offers and creates interest. For an excellent example of how to organize a large number of products, click the "Products & Services" link in the header. You may have missed one fun touch that they added in their logo. Click the "Home" link in the header and watch the IBM logo in the upper left-hand corner. It just goes to show that there can be a place for animated GIFs in professional looking sites. However, if you want yours to work as well as theirs, follow their lead. First, the animated GIF is 1.2k. An animated GIF should NEVER be greater than 10k. Second, it animates once and then stops. Continual animations distract and annoy driving potential customers away.
Retail Clothiers
These sites look so similar, you might think they were all the same company. All of these large retail clothing manufacturers have reputations for classic styling, forward thinking, and trend setting. The design of their sites reflects those attributes. Just as with IBM.com, these sites make the general product categories very prominent on their home pages (men, women, kids, gifts, etc.). This allows users immediate access to the products they're seeking. With the exception of Old Navy, the colors are soft and earthy. And, just as in their retail stores, "Would you like socks with that?", none of these savvy e-tailers miss the opportunity for an add-on sale. When looking at one item, they are always hinting at you with another suggestion for a similar or complementary product. And talk about quick-loading - check out the Gap's 28k home page! There are virtually limitless concepts and techniques that these companies implement to make their sites successful.
|
|
|
|
|
|
FedEx
We know that design at FedEx doesn't happen by accident (did you see the arrow between the "E" and the "x" in their logo?), and their site certainly shows that. At just 640 pixels wide, their site is sure to be visible to all of their customers. Loading up at 45k, even the slowest
|
|
|
|
|
|
modem will bring this site up immediately. And as we have seen in almost all of these sites, while the rest of the page contains mostly text links, there is a very compelling splash graphic right at eye level drawing the user in. Could some of these concepts apply to your site?
Conclusion
All of these sites have several features in common:
- Extremely fast loading - well under 60k
- A single, larger "splash" graphic
- Very easy and consistent navigation - side or top bar
- Soft, consistent coloration
- Thoughtful design with the user in mind
As you all know, these sites are copyrighted and their designs cannot be used directly. However, the principles and techniques used are universal. They can be thoughtfully applied to any e-commerce web site (including yours!) to enhance the user experience and increase sales.
In an upcoming article, we will take you through an example of how to apply these principles to an EZ-NetTools site. For now, here's a simple example.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EZ-NetAdvantage!™, EZ-Calendar™, EZ-MailingList™, EZ-FormBuilder™, EZ-FileManager™, EZ-LinkTrader™, EZ-Audio™, EZ-ColorPicker™, and EZ-PhotoAlbum™ are Trademarks (™) of ICServ® Inc. EZ-NetTools® is a Registered Trademark (®) of ICServ® Inc.
|
|
|
