The good, the bad, and the ugly

The rise of mobile devices and improvements in web technology enabled people to have access to almost everything — news, commerce, business, entertainment — right at their fingertips. This increasing popularity has led web designers to, not only improve a website’s interface, but to bring the best browsing experience to the users.

I have browsed through some of the websites I know to identify which one is ‘the good, the bad, and the ugly’ in terms of my understanding of user experience. I then listed down my observations as to why I considered them as best or worst.

The Good

Mailchimp is a marketing platform for small businesses. The company provides advertising tools and management support for start-up businesses. It has a subscription service available online through mailchimp.com.

I particularly like the website as I feel that it’s attractive enough, simple, and easy to use. The homepage provides a simple and clean aesthetic, using minimal colours and typeface. The illustrations are monochromatic but very appealing. In terms of content, the homepage gives clear information as to what kind of company they are and what service they provide.

The subscription process is easy. A button in the homepage links to the subscription page, with the pricing information and the services offered. All the information you need to know is in one page. Instructions are clear all throughout and there are no unnecessary pages or advertisements that will distract the users.

The mobile version is well-optimized for hand held devices. The buttons are large enough to be tapped and the text are clear enough to be read. Like the desktop version, all information is in one page.

The Bad and Ugly

Powercity is an electronic and gadget shop with branches all across Ireland. They provide an online shop and device servicing through powercity.com. While they provide excellent service in the shops (being one of their customers myself), the website says otherwise.

The website’s homepage is not visually enticing at all, considering that it is built for online shopping. The photos and texts are all disorganized. At one glance, users can be confused with the buttons and images as there are no indications as to which icons can be clicked. Colours are not visually appealing. It is clear that the layout was not thought about.

I’ve coursed through the ordering process and found out that it is as worse as it looks. Again, the buttons can be confusing. Information about the product are stacked on top of the other with small advertisements in between which can be annoying. Once item is placed in the basket, a small pop-up appears confirming the action but it is barely visible as the page is very busy visually.

The mobile version is as worse as the desktop version. The buttons are small and buttons are not properly labeled.

The website can be more improved visually by increasing the type size and modifying the buttons so that it can easily be recognized.

Process wise, simplicity is key. Ordering process can be split into pages so that users won’t be confused. Although the steps are simple (3 simple steps to order), the layout can be improved to highlight its simplicity.