Amazon.com Redid Their Site

November 6, 2007

I owe a lot to Amazon.com; back in the mid-90s, when I had just entered college in the middle of nowhere, Amazon fueled my entrepreneurial spirit by providing me with all the content I needed to learn my craft. (These were the days before the entire documentation for languages like PHP and CSS could be found online.) In fact, I bought so many books that Amazon sent me Christmas gifts each year with a letter from Jeff Bezos himself.

Since then, Amazon has grown considerably and still remains my favorite shopping destination online. Why? Because they do something right. From their package tracking and speedy delivery, to their excellent customer service, they just "get it right". This is why I was so pleased to discover that Amazon has redone their site in order to help their users navigate more efficiently through the massive amount of products that Amazon now carries.

Now, most people would just look at the front page and think "oh", not realizing how it is different in many fundamental ways. To illustrate this, you can view today’s Amazon in one window, and compare it with 1998’s Amazon or early 2007’s Amazon in another window. To demonstrate what has been changed and why this is important, I give you this list:

Graphical Header.
From the top, you’ll notice that they condensed their header into something more visually pleasing using illustrations. This gives the site a feeling of warmth instead of the sterile feeling of the solid header they had before. More comfort equates to more trust and more buyers.
The "ME ME ME" Factor.
All of the Amazon personalization features are now located right at the top, which gives you one-click access to everything that makes this store your own. This gives shoppers the feeling that the store is personally catering to them, even though it is all automated programming. Additionally, having easy-access wishlists creates additional purchases by reminding customers of important dates and making purchasing for others fast and convenient. (No guessing what your best friend or Uncle Harry wants for their birthdays!)
Condensed Department List.
As I always say, if you give someone 100 choices, they will choose none. If you give them a few, they will pick one. By condensing the department listing menu, Amazon has reduced their previous clutter and made navigation less overwhelming for the users. The ability to browse is an important one: A searcher who is looking for something specific will usually only purchase that item. Someone browsing a store will be more likely to purchase more. It is the same principle that a brick and mortar store uses in creating end-cap displays and by placing candy and magazines by the register.

What do you think about the new design?

Filed Under Technology and Websites
Tagged: amazon, e-commerce, jeff bezos, online shopping, small business, technology, user interface, web design