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Hi everybody!
May I review of my eCommerce site www.luxchroma.com.
A few of my main concerns I would really like to hear about:
- The level of trust, does the site look trust worthy?
- Is it easy to figure out how to add products to the cart?
- Does the visitor, you, intuitively understand the product and how it works?
- If you wanted to purchase a product is there any information that you need but was unable to find?
Thanks!
Off Topic:
I've read your reviews and I really love them. Explicit, clear and to the point. Good job. In return, I will do the same for you
I have to say that I love your idea. I think it is original and different, I love the color always changing and the clean design. It would be better if the color of the lines changed in synchronization with the showcase, not only at the same time but with the same color.
Yet, I find something missing. Don't know exactly what but it may be because it doesn't look "empty" enough to have a minimalistic style and the look is not complex enough to call it sophisticated.
This is possibly because everything is so dark, and everything is a bit tight. Maybe smaller pictures for the products, leaving a bit of room between one product and the next will make it feel a bit more spacious.
Definitely,for a design as square as this, everything should be perfectly aligned, and that's not the case. The second line of products is wider than the first which is as wide as the showcase. That makes the design look unbalanced.
The top menu is also too close to the line that separates the menu from the content. That's even obvious because the menu items themselves do have space between them.
On the other hand, there is a panel on the left where I can only see gray bars that are highlighted when I move my mouse over them. I would expect some links there, else that area has no use whatsoever.
1. The level of trust, does the site look trust worthy?
I would say that it doesn't look untrustworthy which is slightly different. As it is now, you site might work just fine. It relatively easy to use and it is clean. Usability can be improved, of course, but it is better than the media. Yet, while the basic idea behind the web is fantastic, it just need that little push to make this site to be really outstanding. Then, I would think that you would win a lot of trust for such a clever, inspiring idea.
2. Is it easy to figure out how to add products to the cart?
It is easy to browse them but not to add them. The select box is empty (at least to me), and the select box just under the options has no tag to know what it is for (the values are just +$5 and things like that). The fact is that I don't have a clue what options I'm choosing. The only thing that's clear is the how many items of the same product I'll be buying.
It is too easy to miss the "add to cart" button. It would be better if you make it a bit more obvious by placing it under the units box, making it slightly bigger and using a more vibrant background, such as orange, which will make it easy to see.
3. Does the visitor, you, intuitively understand the product and how it works?
I think that it is obvious what you sell and where you need to put it once it arrives at your house. So I would say yes to this question.
Now, if you mean if I understand how the website works, that's a bit trickier, as I already run into a problem or two. One of them being that the buttons in the shopping cart seem to have a white background and the text can't be read (I guess it is white too) so half of the time you don't know what you're doing. You're forced to go over each button to know what each of them does. Also, for some reason, the select boxes are empty. I don't know if it is because the site is not complete yet.
4. If you wanted to purchase a product is there any information that you need but was unable to find?
Shippėng costs, returns, contact form, policies... the site seems very complete. I can't think of anything right now.
Overall, it doesn't look professional but there is a lot of potential right there. You've done a fantastic job so keep it up.
Before asking, do a search... if you don't find the answer, then ask
The purpose of this forum is to help others in the community, that's why it's called Sitepoint and not Linkpoint.
SP Guidelines - No fluff.
Thinking Web: Voices of the Community - The Community Book
Thank you very much for taking the time and providing honest detailed feedback.
The issue of the missing buttons, left hand menu text, and product option wording was caused by the site's automatic language switcher as I only have the English text filled in. I found the switch code and removed it so if you don't mind bringing up the site for a quick second to let me know if you see all those missing items. I am assuming you live outside the states.
The idea of having the color scheme match the showcased product's color is great. I will test it out to see how it looks.
I agree with the second line of products, the row of random products in the footer, looking awkward. There are some ideas I can try out to make this area connect more fluid.
Adjusting the Add to Cart button will be done by making it slightly larger and tweaking it's color.
Thanks again!
I was able to navigate easily. I saw the buttons and added to my cart with ease and moved as if I was going to checkout np.
I love the changing colors and believe that I would trust a transation and make a purchase.
Original and well thought out design. Your site fits your product perfectly.
Well, seeing the things that I couldn't see before is, certainly, an improvement, and the design does look more balanced. Still, I stand with what I say before... the idea is original and deserves to be outstanding and it is some improvement to get there, although it is usable.
The cart, now that I can read the options and see the buttons, it is easy to use. But I would still put the "add to cart" button under the number of items and would make it more appealing and outstanding changing the color.
I suggested orange because it is a good color when you want someone to take action: it is a positive color, full of energy but not as energetic like yellow or red, those colors may be too much and drive the buyer away if you overdo their use.
Before asking, do a search... if you don't find the answer, then ask
The purpose of this forum is to help others in the community, that's why it's called Sitepoint and not Linkpoint.
SP Guidelines - No fluff.
Thinking Web: Voices of the Community - The Community Book
Thanks for reloading the site and checking that everything shows up. Yeah, orange is a great color for action. I will A/B test the colors for the add to cart button. tyty
Overall I like the site, and I also like the product ... I might buy one!
My only criticism is the PayPal logo, Positive SSL certificate logo and PayPal Verified seals look cheaply done. Find some better transparent PNG versions of these graphics, or at least take them into Photoshop and touch up the edges a bit. That's the only thing that jumped out as unprofessional to me, and because they are all next to eachother it makes that footer section into somewhat of an eye-sore for me.
Overall, pretty cool though. I like how the neon glow fades between color. Good stuff.
-P
Yep, I agree with you, the footer is kindof bulky and ugly. I will take your advice and manually clean up the logo's. It's rare to find good looking graphics for dark backgrounds even directly from PayPal or Comodo themselves.
Thanks for the feedback!
OK, sorry for not answering your direct questions, but since others have done so, let me just throw out a general question.
What do these things look like lit up with the room lights on? Are they ONLY meant to be turned on when the room lights are off?
Neon signs, say a beer sign from a bar, are used for room decor with the lights on, but I didn't see any of you product shots displaying this.
GREAT idea. Good luck.
1) IMHO, I would recommend some lighter colors, just a little (even I know that the dark colors which you are using now are closer to your business idea).
2) Correct your top tab, as now is hard to know from the tab bar which is the selected one.
Good idea on the indicating which tab is selected. The subtitle of the page and the breadcrumbs indicate which tab is selected but this indication indirect. I think you may intend suggest to add a graphic indicator to the tabs, I will work in it. =) I agree with the overall colors being too dark and I will try to lighten the color theme up a bit and see it how it looks.
sofaman, great question! I do agree completely there is a critical piece of the puzzle missing: contextual photographs. The designs are still bright even during the daylight hours and the only thing that would wash the light out completely is direct sunlight.
Here is a contextual photograph example a customer provided for a future customer gallery:
A goal is to have images like this for each design in a related setting but with a more professional photographer's touch.
Thanks for the feedback!
Hm yes the is unique I like it.
But i don't like the cart icon and changing colors for the left block.
I personally would add some silver lines and elements in this design. Overall Good work.
nice colors, nice cart flow, however the bottom is a bit messed up with the images of paypal and others. I personally am Paypal terrified so I wouldn't advertise that in big images, also your registration button is missing at the top of the cart, people have to click on "My account" to sign up for an account. I would locate this link at the top in big fonts. Site also looks to be secure.
I thought the site was well put together and very easy to use. The only thing I think that was in excess was the photos of each piece. In my opinion you only need one illuminated photo and one non-illuminated photo.
Good Luck - Sarah
memario, your comment about silver elements is intriguing and I am contemplating where/how they would fit into the current layout. I tried making the shopping cart icon a solid white; removing the color changing does look better however the icon as white or grey is unappealing. Also, I removed the glow around the left menu bar and that has enhanced the overall effect of body portion of the site, it removes some awkwardness.
995sunglasses, good point about the registration button. Currently if the visitor clicks checkout they are brought to a register or login page. There is an optional checkout without account feature at the checkout page. This is there because research indicates some shoppers dislike and avoid checkouts that they have to register at.
mliglesias, thanks for your opinion. I am currently running under the assumption the more photographs the better.
Thanks again for your time in posting your opinions and thoughts.
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