When cool becomes cumbersome...
I like flashy web features as much as the next Internet-surfing junkie. I'm virtually married to the Web - it's where I rent my movies, play my games and order my natural teas. I'm often in shock, though, about how many online stores incorporate "cool" features that don't cater to their target audience.
Feature-rich content can awe and inspire, but the question remains: When is using Flash, auto-loading video and dynamic menu displays too much?
To determine the feasibility of using neat-o features and components we have to look back to our goals and our target audiences. In no way am I saying that online stores should never use such features, but that their implementation should only be made after the analysis of who's going to be shopping the store, and what they expect. Sites that cater to high-end computer users or techies can usually assume that the primary audience is using later technology and DSL, while stores selling, say, independent living aids cannot.
SEO aside, there are reasons online stores catering to general populations should rely on simplified layouts, text-link navigation and standard imaging techniques. Several niche-market stores need also to consider just who they're trying to attract.
My mother is an avid quilter. I have three quilts adorning my furniture (they're all simply beautiful) and she does shop online for specialty fabrics and supplies. Memo: She's only had DSL just over a year, and a decent number of her quilting buddies are still on dial-up. That fact alone would lead me to advise craft-oriented stores to consider their audience and implement features accordingly. Just as online stores catering to the elderly should consider the possibility that there would be several newer online shoppers, thus implementing the K-I-S-S method (that's Keep It Simple, Stupid - and no offense is intended).
This is why I've always had problems with stores that use Amazon.com as an example of what to do. There's confusion that causes misinterpretation. The online book store is one of the largest and most recognizable names on the Internet, but that doesn't translate to most user-friendly. In fact, most newer online shoppers have great difficulty finding product on the site, and even I, a store browse-aholic, often find myself using a search engine to locate product at Amazon's site, rather than their tedious methods of locating exactly what I want. There are actually very few "big dog" sites that do it right, and more than half are perfect examples of what not to do.
There are but a handful of must-have features for every online store. By taking time to understand just whose shopping our stores (and who is not) we can determine which the "extras" we can afford to implement - and by afford, I mean not by a development budget aspect, but by sales that could be gained versus lost.
This post is filed under Developers' Corner and has the following keyword tags: graphics, video, usability.
