Evaluation of Retail Website: Domestic Appliance Services - Case Study Example

Evaluation of retail website Domestic Appliance Services is in the business of marketing appliances and spares, and one of the best marketing tools it has at its disposal is the use of the Internet through its existing website. This powerful tool is however, being under-utilized because of factors such as poor design, inadequate interactivity and similar drawbacks which hinder the effectiveness of the website as a resource for economic gains from sales. It appears likely that customers may be accessing the website and want to express their interest in a purchase or seek further clarifications about a product, but the lack of adequate interactivity of the site would result in the loss of such potential clients. Our consultancy services include an exhaustive evaluation of the existing website of Domestic Appliance Services to identify any limitations which exist. Additionally, recommendations would also be made on improvements and steps would be taken to restructure the website in such a manner that it would be able to attract more custom. The consultancy services involve charges of $650 per day. The process of assessment of the website and preparing a written report, followed by implementation of restructuring plans for the website would involve a period of about five days, which amounts to a total investment expense of £3250. This would be a one time expense rather than a recurring one and when offset against the losses that are happening on a daily basis through lost business, it could prove to be an investment that would be recovered within a day or so. The cost of an individual appliance is itself in about that range. For every sale that is lost, there is a potential loss of several thousands of dollars. Therefore, when the website is restructured in such a manner that it is able to harvest as many sales as possible through effective promotion and interactive links that pick up and follow through on customer enquiries and interest, it would result in improvements in revenue for Domestic Appliance Services that would surpass the investment of £3250 that the Company would need to make. On this basis, Domestic Appliance Services might like to consider hiring the services of the Consultancy to undertake a detailed examination of the existing website in order to identify any existing limitations and restructure the website. Evaluation of existing website: An initial assessment is offered on the basis of the following aspects (a) navigation (b) attractiveness of design (c) ease of use (d) attractiveness of interface. In terms of navigation, the site has some problems. For instance, many of the links that are present on the pages appear to be broken, such as the links for “repairs”, “spares”, as well as the links to specific brands appear to be broken. When a customer clicks on these links, s/he would not be able to access any of the information contained under these links. This would create a very bad impression in a customer. In terms of attractiveness of design, it may be noted that the site looks dull and unappealing. The background colour chosen is a bright yellow, which overpowers the writing and the links. While the background stands out and hits the viewer in the eye, the blue of the links is indistinct and barely visible. Other information that is provided on the page is in a very small type that is indistinct and not easily readable; it definitely does not stand out in any way or attract the attention of the viewer. Moreover, the design of the website is glaringly lacking in that there are large areas of empty space that have not been filled up and do not provide a very appealing or enjoyable experience for the use of the site. There is only one photograph of an appliance provided on the site, although an advertisement for appliances would be aided along much more through the presence of visual material which actually lets the visitors see the materials being sold. The visual medium is more eye catching and likely to register in the viewer’s mind than textual material. Hence, the site is sorely lacking in its balance of pictorial and textual materials. The site does appear to be fairly easy to use because it does not have many links, neither does it contain a confused jumble of information. It does not appear that it would take much time for a viewer to make his or her way through the site, however it is the duality of information that the viewer would be able to collect which is the issue in this instance. The attractiveness of the interface also ranks at a low level, because it is only the cover page that opens up easily, while the supporting web pages are missing or inadequate. Usability specifications: The following are the usability specifications that may be relevant in determining how effective the website is: (a) Informative (b) ease of use (c) attractiveness (d) navigability (e) design of site content (f) site layout (g) colour schemes (h) interactivity (i) availability of search facility (j) functionality The best means to test usability for each of the above mentioned specifications would be through a user based system where several users are asked to perform different operations on the website and they are later questioned on their user experience. Hence, for each of the criteria specified above, the measuring attribute would be the survey questionnaire. A survey questionnaire would question viewer attitudes to their experience of using the site. It would contain questions such as: (a) How easy is it to use the site? (b) How informative is the site? (c) How attractive is the site? (d) How easy is it for you to navigate the links and find the information you need? (e) Is there an interactive link, where you can chat with a customer service representative or submit queries about the company’s products and services? (f) Would you rate yourself as a skilled or a novice user of computers? For each of the questions above, it could be possible to rank responses on a scale of 1 to 5 ranging from a categorical negative response to a positive response. This would provide a general idea of the usability levels for the website. Additionally, each of the criteria could be tested as follows, using 5 separate users to take the survey and carry out the tasks that will be set. Other conditions that would need to be taken into account include (a) the computer proficiency of the user (b) whether the user has a mental or physical disability which would affect their ability to use the site and (c) whether the user is aware of how to use the internet and operate links. The tests for managing the various parameters are set out as below: 1. How informative is the site? In order to test this aspect, the critical user task which will be set is for the user to list on a clean sheet all the information available from the site about Hoover Candy. The level existing now for each of the usability criteria identified above and detailed further below will be assessed through the following parameters, which will be set out in a survey: (a) the percentage of tasks completed by the users (b) the ratio of successes to failures (c) the time taken to complete the task and (d) levels of user satisfaction with the available functions and features on the site. The minimum levels of acceptance set for this criterion is that the website should provide at least three salient pieces of information. The planned levels of acceptance would include gathering at least ten important pieces of information. Results obtained: The results obtained against this criterion were that two users listed three pieces of information, while the other three listed five, seven and one respectively. The conclusion is that the site may be lacking in terms of its informative content. The ease of use of the site: In order to test this criterion, the critical user task that will be set is for the user to move the mouse from the links at the top of the webpage and then down to the bottom, clicking on a few links along the way. Each of the five users will then be required to rate the scale of ease of use on a scale of 1 to 5. The minimum levels of acceptance set for this criterion a zero, while the planned levels of acceptance would be achieving a rating of 5 on the scale. Results obtained: Four of the users rated the ease of use at 3, while one rated it at 4. Therefore, it appears that the ease of use of the site is good. Attractiveness of the site: The critical task in this instance would require the users to look carefully at the site and then to answer the following question: “How attractive do you find the site?” The users would again be required to rank the level of attractiveness on a scale of 1 to 5. The minimum levels of acceptance set for this criterion a zero, while the planned levels of acceptance would be achieving a rating of 5 on the scale. Results obtained: All five of the users have provided this website with a rating of 2, thus providing a clear indication that the site is not very attractive at all. Navigability of the site: The critical task set out to test the navigability of the site is for each of the five users to move along the webpage, clicking on every one of the links that appear on the page to examine how easily the pages open up. The minimum levels of acceptance set for each criterion is that at least half of all the available links on the page should open up easily without too much trouble. The planned levels of acceptance would require that all of the links open up easily. Results obtained: This criterion appears to need work as well, because all of the users have stated that most of the links on the page do not open up easily. Design of the site content: The critical task set out against this criterion is for the users to answer a survey questionnaire that lists the following questions: (a) Do you like the design of the site? (b) Do you think the typeface of the links is large enough to see clearly? (c) Does the site appear well balanced and is not too cluttered or too bare? (d) Are the links outlined in blue? (e) Is there enough visual material on the site? (f) Do you think that the site is quite good as it is? The minimum levels of acceptance set for this task are that at least each user should be able to answer at least two of the questions in the affirmative. The planned levels of acceptance set for this task are that all of the users should answer all of the questions in the affirmative. Results obtained: Two users have answered in the affirmative to four of the questions. One user has answered in the affirmative to two questions, another to three of the questions and the last to one of the questions. Hence, on an overall basis, it appears that the design of the site needs improvement. Site Layout: The critical task set out against this criterion is for the user to spend three minutes taking a good look at the opening webpage and navigating some of the links and then answering the survey question by rating it on a scale of 1 to 5, the question being: How good do you think the layout of the site is? The minimum levels of acceptance set for this task is that most of the users should be able to give it a rating of at least 1. The planned levels of acceptance set for this task are that the rating should be a 5. Results obtained: The results are dismal, because four of the users have rated the site layout at 1, while only one user has rated it at 3. Colour schemes: The users will be required to answer a survey questionnaire containing the following questions: (a) How good do you think the colour scheme of this webpage is? And rate it on a scale of 1 to 5. The minimum levels of acceptance set for this task is that most of the users should be able to give it a rating of at least 1. The planned levels of acceptance set for this task are that the rating should be a 5. Results obtained: Two users rate the colour schemes at 2, one rates it as 1 and the last two rate it at 3. Testing the interactivity of the site: In order to test the interactivity of the site, the users will be asked to click on all of the links on the site and then answer the following question: “Is there a link available on the site where questions or queries about a product can be posed in order to receive a response?” The minimum levels of acceptance set for this task is that most of the users should be able to answer the question with a “yes”. The planned levels of acceptance set for this task are that all of the users should respond with a “yes”. Results obtained: This task does not even meet the minimum levels of acceptance, because all the users have answered with a “No” to the question; therefore no link is available where consumers can get queries and questions responded to. Availability of search facility: The users will be asked the following question: (a) Is there a search facility on the webpage? The minimum levels of acceptance set for this task is that most of the users should be able to answer with a “yes”. The planned levels of acceptance set for this task are that all the users should respond with a “yes”. Results obtained: This criterion also meets with a dismal response because all the users have answered with a “No”; thus no search facility is available on this site at all. Functionality of the site: In order to test the functionality of the site, the users will be required to test all the links by clicking in them in order to examine whether or not all the links open and then they will be required to assess how good it is on a scale of 1 to 5 by answering the following question: How would you rate the ease of opening up of all the links on the website?” The minimum levels of acceptance set for this task is that most of the users should be able to give it a rating of at least 1. The planned levels of acceptance set for this task are that the rating should be a 5. Results obtained: Most users have rated this question with a rating of 2, only one user has given it a 3 rating, therefore the functionality needs improvement. Areas lacking in the site: Apart from the features that have been identified above as lacking on the website, one significant feature that is lacking is an interactive link that allows a user to communicate with customer service representatives to order products, seek answers to queries about products or complain. Additionally, the lack of such a link also means that the company may not have access to orders from international customers, who might be interested in purchasing the company’s products, since there is no facility for placing online orders. Another aspect missing is a search link to enable customers to gain access to information they may need on a specific appliance. This is a serious lack on the website, because it means that an essential human resource element is missing, and those consumers who may use the site will be denied contact with a representative of the company with whom they may be able to clarify their concerns or ask questions about the products. It also means that the company will not be able to capitalize on consumer interest and be able to follow it up with sales of the products, because consumers are likely to be put off by the unappealing and unattractive layout, design, functionality and interactivity of the site.. Critical evaluation of site: On the basis of the above, it may be concluded that at the present time, the site is not functioning to its optimal level. It is not effective in terms of attracting customers and many of the links on the site are broken, thus they are not an adequate source of information. The colour schemes used for the website are also not attractive and do not achieve the desired objective. The size of the text on the site is also not properly balanced and does not attract the viewer’s attention where it is due. Some restructuring of the site may be necessary in order to achieve optimal effectiveness. Modification of the design: It is proposed to improve the design of the website through a process of restructuring and the major improvements to be carried out are listed below: 1. At the outset, the colour schemes of the website need to be changed. It needs to be a colour where the links will stand out, hence a mild yellow could be used but white would be the best option, with the links provided in a dark blue colour. 2. Improving the pictorial logo that is provided on the site, so that rather than being like a cartoon hand drawn figure, it shows a sleek, polished appliance. 3. The pictorial logo and the name of the Company could be done in a different typeset which is in capital letters and stands out from the rest of the website. 4. The Company’s contact details would be prominently set up in a darker typeface on the top right hand corner of the web page. An interactive link would also be provided to open up a form where the customer can fill in personal details and submit a query or get information about how to place an order. If the customer wishes to place an order, the link would also direct him or her to a secure, encrypted webpage to provide the necessary financial details. 5. Any special offers would be highlighted with a flashing link, which would grab the customer’s attention. 6. A greater distribution of pictures of appliances would be provided, placed strategically at different locations on the webpage, so that there is sufficient colour and advertisement of the product. 7. Care would be taken to ensure that more links are provided and that the webpages which these links open up do provide the necessary information. Read More