I thought it might be fun to compare two car sites,
See what they do differently…
The first
problem is my first impression – boring.
I think it needs some background.
Not just the strip of scenery with the vehicle, but a bordering
background of stunning outdoor places the vehicle can get you to.
Next is minor
but could be and actually is annoying to me, the location is incorrect, the zip
code at the top. I know they can trace
your location, why is it wrong? I want
them to cater to me…
Next, the “What’s
Happening at Toyota” line is not very visible, it looks out of place. If it were me I would spice up that text and
make it a link and delete everything below. Why? The columns and the media
below it looks like long dangling tentacles = not very appealing. Breaks the rule of too long…
It is also very white. Really needs some color! It’s
blinding! Must turn away, it hurts us!
N |
ext site was the
ford site http://www.ford.com/
Much better, but not enough...
Again, there is a lot of white bordering, but there is a larger graphic
in the center. And, the only scrolling
is to the fine print.
Next, there is something on this site that I see/don’t see on
others. “Contact Us” The ford site has
it the bottom in fine print. Some sites
you have to really search for it! I
think it should be big and bold and on the first page easily identifiable. That says, ‘Hey! We really want to talk to
you!’
The only other thing I see is that the Ford logo is really not very
big. Translate to shyness for me. Get it up there large and strong!
Okay, after viewing all of them, looks like apple is the winner. I like
it. The logo is big and the first thing
you see. That says pride to me. It is simple, yet you can find much
information in a few clicks.
They have a bar along the top and they have their main item just below
and larger…
I really like that they have a
bar on the far right or the bottom that has little circles that tell you where
you are on the page and you can click a circle and go right to the spot you
want. I would probably make the screen
tip permanent text.
Some pages are vertical in scrolling some horizontal. I like that too, make it interesting.
Still, the “contact us”' issue…
But overall, love the site.
Branding. Doesn’t do much for me. I have had brand name products fail just as
often as generic ones. Okay, well, maybe
the really cheap generic are not in the same category but many “name” brands
are the ones that make the generics and sell them to the stores as such… It’s true!
So, nope, I prefer to check out everything and get the best deal as I see it…
Gotta say in closing that the first three sites were way too busy, way too much stuff on
them, overwhelming! Yikes!
The chicken site was looooooong…
Whew! However, if I were going to
use it for instructions on doing something, as it looks like they attempted, it
might work. A bit of text mods,
increasing size and format, move some graphics around, provide links to things
that don’t pertain directly to the immediate content… Might work…
Hi Karl, Ok, I looked at both Toyota and Ford's site and starting with Toyota I wasn't bored with them as you were but I do see your point on the background. But I think Toyota wanted to have their vehicles "pop" out with bold colors on a subdued background with no thick borders on their splash page.
ReplyDeleteI checked Chevy, Honda, BMW and Volkswagen and they're all similar with the border design. And all have lots of white outside the center background scenery with the exception of GM which I did not like very much. They also have their logos all pretty much the same in size. Maybe it's collusion between their web designers who think the logos are secondary to the cars. Not a graphic designer so I just don't know for sure.
As for the contact page I agree it should be easily identifiable. Perhaps on the top but they all (ones that have them) have them at the bottom. You have to scroll down to find them except for GM and BMW. They're both at the bottom but always visible. No scrolling.
So in summary, as you said, Toyota can be tweaked more. Ford is a little better. Apple is a winner. And the "chicken site" is indeed looooooong.