Caravan Fun, Quirky, Creative and artful. The site is easy to access and easy to navigate. The overall look of the site is beautifully laid out. The front page top right states Address, tel no and email address along with opening times. With tabs at the top splitting the site into categories, they have created 2 gateways into some parts of the site, making it easy access to the online store, directions and blog on the front page ( by clicking on an image it takes you directly to the page also illustrated at the top). The online store is easy to browse with all products laid out on a page with short description & price, further details are found when clicking on more.. eg, size, colour, style, care instructions. From here you can click to basket, view basket Click to previous item or following page. Click to Delivery rates and terms and conditions. (On other sites this page is not accessed directly from the item page and is found by a tab). They mention Paypal as form of method on actual item page.
A tab soley for directions has an illustrated Map Another tab titled Look Around gives an introduction and over view of the owner and the shop plus lots of creative compositions giving a flavour and feel of the type of products and things you would find at Caravan.
Tab for Blog has a variety of info including press articles, and a Tab at the top for Press Tab looks like it has been newly created but not yet activated. On this Blog page is a subcribers box. To clickon and then upload your email address for News updates. The entire website and all photos can be viewd on an i phone and purchases can be made from here too.
Beyond the Valley Slick, simple, easy to navigate the initial home page has name address, opening hours, tel no, email contact but most interestingly has a sign up box top right with facebook and twitter icons to sign up for updates. Making it look current and new, a continually running stream runs along the top with updates of current exhibitions etc... Tabs :- are easily identifiable to what they are. With the brand name producing their own collection of clothes. Home
Collection
Store
Online shop
Gallery
About
Press
Contact
Photos of the shop are on the Store Tab page and again the Address with a link to a map is noted at the bottom. The mix of photos giving a flavour of what this shop offers.
The online store tab pops up in a new page of its self, complete contrast in colour it stands out from the initial site. Predominantly selling fashion, the page is very editorial looking set out like the pages of Vogue , Asos http://www.asos.com/ and the like..the central main box has several images rotating one after the other to give an idea of collections on offer... With an overview of others lined up at the bottom. Although it is mainly fashion and only some homewears/ interiors the lay out makes it very easy to read and see whats on offer. Consistency in the layout makes it easy to navigate.
There is a keyword search box for easy use and along side this you can select currency, $, ÂŁ or Euro, along with Country selection. All prices are updated according to currency.
click to one of the Categories, to lifestyle(for example) there are sub categories , Life style, Homewares, Toys & Gadgets.
Descriptions are not lengthy and more detail is provided when you click on to the item itself. Size, colour etc.. On each page of this site there is option to add to face book and sign up for twitter updates and the gate way to terms and conditions, FAQS Privacy etc.. are all accessed from here unlike other sites where they are on a tab of the
main website.
As with Caravan selection for purchasing then becomes the same. All items added to basket can be viewed on each page as shown to the left along with each category and designer listed. This is shown on both the full product listing page and page with the one item slection. Same layout and format used for both.
. To navigate back to the original site you have to close the page down. For Contacts there are three seperate people to email for press & events, wholesale & fashion and wholesale and product. Address details etc found here.
I feel Smug
Initial home page lay out is different with categories shown to the left hand side of the page as oppossed to tabs at the top. Less involved than the previous 2 wesbites there is no online store ( ecommerce site), simply photos of products on sale in the store. Smug News one of the selections is the most efficient way seen of laying out press articles, posted one after the other on the page it looks, neat and easy to glance at. The size of them prevents you from reading the full article on some. The type is blurred, however there is a summary to the right.
The layout of the Product page is really fun and playful looking, laid out with Categories to the side and photos of each catgeory. There are two options of accessing each product category. From here there are then sub categories found at the top of a picture.
All photographed in situ, with simple description and price. Contact page is again really fun, mixing typography and blocks of colour seperating each piece of information out. Its clear and easy to read. The consistency with the layout again make it easy to look at.
Final page about lizzie also provides for a blog.
The Peanut Vendor
They sell on the website via Pay pal & specified credit cards, saying you can also make payments via a bank transfer or by sending a cheque. On line store Intial page just has pictures of all items once you click on the pic, the furniture comes up and then price and description with photos from all different angles.
They states prices, payment & delivery. Returns policy and Privacy & Security.
On the Contact page they have a terms and conditions stating what the shop sells and outlining sold as seen in a very friendly way as if they talking directly to you.
They send a fortnightly update to all their subscribers.
On the Friends Page there are links
Circus Antiques Becomes same or similar format to the rest of the websites looked at.
The Home page of this website for me is more about the use of typography and keeping everything else very simple. As you click on items for sale the format follows through:-
Categories and sub Categories that may be relevant to DP for items of Sale noted above.
Then a list of photos come up of that category.
Pedlars You get to know what Pedlars is about straight away and the sort of thing you’ll be getting.
With a products, interviews, photos sprawled out across the whole page its really hectic and busy. There is repeition with categories listed at the top with drop down menus and the same running down the right hand side it is a lot for the eye to handle.
Yet saying all that you can quite easily navigate your way around theres loads of products to choose from and a great place to shop with the variety on offer. Easy to use when adding to basket it then does the same as what the first to websites mentioned above do.
One thing they do have which no other website had were small short videos on the owners, their shop, where they work which was really nice. Somewhere you would like to go.