Website Critique....
Discussion
Ok, so my current website is a bit old hat and starting to cause issues. So I have employed a firm to build me a Bigcommerce store (Im not here to discuss the merits of Bigcommerce and be told I should have gone Magento or whatever - I just want advice design wise)
My designer wants to keep it fairly plain and simple as is the way things are going at the moment. i.e: Small compact header with emphasis on search, then a clear basic design with my major categories having small campaigns etc.
So I have had a couple very basic homepage only mocks through and whilst its clear and simple, I cant help but think its too plain and boring.
Mock hosted here - http://mocks.weblegs.co.uk/jadlam/sample10.png
Ignore the Logo for now, we were experimenting with shortening the logo and I dont particularly like the example on this mock. Also ignore the text and images as its just all random content for the mock up.
So, Is it too plain? If yes what could be added to spice it up a bit?
My designer wants to keep it fairly plain and simple as is the way things are going at the moment. i.e: Small compact header with emphasis on search, then a clear basic design with my major categories having small campaigns etc.
So I have had a couple very basic homepage only mocks through and whilst its clear and simple, I cant help but think its too plain and boring.
Mock hosted here - http://mocks.weblegs.co.uk/jadlam/sample10.png
Ignore the Logo for now, we were experimenting with shortening the logo and I dont particularly like the example on this mock. Also ignore the text and images as its just all random content for the mock up.
So, Is it too plain? If yes what could be added to spice it up a bit?
Edited by russy01 on Wednesday 2nd September 10:18
The design will be responsive and is being built with mobile in mind, the platform works well for this.
Phone Number? It will be in our Contact page - phonecalls are often a nuisance. If people want to call they will need to click a page or two to get the number. (I know you will say that people like you want to see a number blah blah blah....but when anaylsing our calls the vast majority could be avoided if they read our FAQ etc. So I will sort out a proper contact us/support area on the site)
Age browsing - we are a cross between Toys & Models, with the majority of our website traffic (and inventory) still being Model related (much different demographic to the typical LEGO/Sylvanians customer). So I am trying to avoid the whole Toy shop (Blue & Pink, 3-4yrs etc) categorisation for now. However I will build this data into each SKU so it can be used in faceted search - so the options will be there, just not plastered over the homepage.
Phone Number? It will be in our Contact page - phonecalls are often a nuisance. If people want to call they will need to click a page or two to get the number. (I know you will say that people like you want to see a number blah blah blah....but when anaylsing our calls the vast majority could be avoided if they read our FAQ etc. So I will sort out a proper contact us/support area on the site)
Age browsing - we are a cross between Toys & Models, with the majority of our website traffic (and inventory) still being Model related (much different demographic to the typical LEGO/Sylvanians customer). So I am trying to avoid the whole Toy shop (Blue & Pink, 3-4yrs etc) categorisation for now. However I will build this data into each SKU so it can be used in faceted search - so the options will be there, just not plastered over the homepage.
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