The site that will be reviewed is Sony’s E-Commerce store. The link to the store can be found at: http://www.sony.com/all-electronics
Intuitive:
Are the terms/menus used on the site meaningful and representative to the user?
The site has very engaging menu titles that are obvious to the user who many not even be a technology expert. Examples of the menus that are intuitive to even the user who does not know about technology are: Electronics, PlayStation, Entertainment, and Support, (“Sony Electronics,” 2016). Within the Electronics tab, there is a drop down menu that even has pictures of the different electronics in case that the user did not know the name of what they were looking for, (“Sony Electronics,” 2016).
Does the site behave consistently throughout?
The site really does behave consistently throughout and overall, is very well done. Sony has presented a polished look of professional content for their prospective customers to browse, which is no surprise given that they are one of the largest electronics companies in the world.
Design Consistency:
Is it obvious from one page to another that the user is on the same site?
Sony has designed a website that is truly consistent throughout. The user has no doubt that they are shopping products. This is an essential objective of the web design team because the consumer has to know from the design that they are shopping on the same site. Thus, Sony does a remarkable job with this on their website.
Are the colors, screen format, and terminology consistent throughout the site?
What the user immediately notices on the site is the black and white theme from Sony’s logo being showcased on the site, (“Sony Electronics,” 2016). This is inmportant because it makes the user aware of the fact that they are shopping Sony and also creates a professional, sleek, and polished look, which is consistent with what their target consumer in the electronics market is looking for.
Site Efficiency:
Is the site easy to read?
The site is quite easy for the end user to read. What stood out to me was the variety of fonts in different shapes and sizes that were used to differentiate the content, (“Sony Electronics,” 2016). For example, the Sony logo is in its distinct font for branding, but the other menus are mixed between black and white fonts that are in different sizes to highlight importance of the content, (“Sony Electronics,” 2016). This makes the content jump off the page for the user, which is sensational, (“Sony Electronics,” 2016).
Does the site download fast enough?
On a company that is as tech savvy as Sony, I would not expect any less, but yes, the site is impeccable in terms of downloading. Also, the menus appear on the Electronics options with only moving the mouse over them, (“Sony Electronics,” 2016). This allows another dimension to truly engage the consumer effectively.
Supportability:
Does it provide guidance, advice, tools, reference materials, access to help or quick reference for users?
Sony has positioned their support tab on the primary menu bar of the site, which is great because many times the user has to search for this, (“Sony Electronics,” 2016). Once the user clicks on the support tab, they are taken to a page that divides up the prospective questions that the user may have, (“Sony Electronics,” 2016). This is done with color buttons and graphics that engage the user to be able to formulate the technology question that they may have, (“Sony Electronics,” 2016).
Does the site avoid red and green colors for the color blind?
Sony does have two buttons on this site that are red and green near each other, which they should change, (“Sony Electronics,” 2016). Other than that, the site is primarily in black and white, (“Sony Electronics,” 2016).
Engaging:
Do users enjoy their site experience?
As a user, I really did enjoy my experience. I greatly enjoyed the sleek, yet sophisticated black and white design of the site that also used engaging photographs. I think that many users respond to images and I think that Sony did a great job using images in their website design.
Do users feel in control when they are using the site?
The user absolutely feels in control on this site because it is so well organized. The menu tabs are there for the user to decide what they want to do in a clear and concise manner.
Accuracy:
Do the links work properly?
All of the links on the site work perfectly and download quickly. This is important because it makes the consumer comfortable browsing and ultimately, will make them want to come back to the site again.
Is the content on the site accurate and periodically updated?
References
“Sony Electronics.” Sony All Electronics. 2016. Web. 3 May 2016.
