Introduction
I am currently evaluating the Vodafone website. By looking at the structure and layout of the site it seems that the intended users range from 18+. The website has increasingly become more popular due to the high demand of mobile phones and other electronic devices. One of the purposes of the website is to advertise new products and limited offers. Users can check their account online, purchase the latest phones and handsets along with other applications such as facebook, twitter, eBay and BBC news.
http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/?WT.srch=1
Strengths of the website
1. Help tools – One of the strengths of the site includes the help tool. This is very helpful for the users as it can solve problems with Vodafone products. The users can also choose from a number of other options such as price plans, software upgrades, account queries etc. Vodafone aim to help their customers. This helps the company to build on their customer loyalty as well as their customers.
http://help.vodafone.co.uk/system/selfservice.controller?CONFIGURATION=1000&PARTITION_ID=1&CMD=STARTPAGEFRAMELESS&USERTYPE=1&LANGUAGE=en&COUNTRY=us&TIMEZONE_OFFSET=-3600000
2. Search Engine – The search engine helps users to find specific web pages or products within the site. This is more efficient for the users than having to continuously navigate from page to page. A search engine saves time and allows users to spend more time purchasing products than actually having to navigate.
http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/?WT.srch=1
Weaknesses of the website
3. Design and presentation – Although the designer has used appropriate themes and made the website unique from others, it is very bland and unattractive. This is a disadvantage as the design of the site determines what audience the site appeals to, in this case it is has narrowed down the site users. The text used is incredibly small and users may not be able to find what they are looking for because of the unclear text.
http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/?WT.srch=1
4. Layout and Structure – Looking at the layout and structure of the website, it is quite professional but lacks when it comes to spacing. The page has been crammed with far too many animations and text which could slow down the user whilst trying to navigate around the site. This could be improved by adding a drop down menu for each option on the navigation bar. This would take up less space and give the web designer more space to position more important features.
http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/?WT.srch=1
I have also took it upon myself to analyse how effective the site is when:
Purchasing a product
Creating a current account online
When purchasing the mobile phone I realised that the web designer had purposely made it easy for all users to buy a product within the site. The positioning of the links made it easy to find what I was looking for and I was immediately navigated to all phones. Within minutes I could navigate to the specific phone I was looking for and add it to my basket. The problem I had was adding the product to my basket because the options did not show an “add” or a “buy” button. The issue was soon resolved when the appropriate option was found.
When creating my online account I found it easy to enter the appropriate information needed. It didn’t take long before my account was set up and ready to use. The only problem I came across was that the user must already have a Vodafone phone and sim before being able to create a new account. So for those who would like to purchase goods and receive special offers they would have to already be a holder of their merchandise. This could prevent the company from making as much money as they could.
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