Calling out Overclockers!

The biggest problem with using images over text is that it's not very search engine optimised or very good for the sites accessibility (legal requirement for businesses) - good luck having a screen-reader an image without alt text, a similar thing for the sites use of tables for non-tabular data.

It's also annoying if you try and do a ctrl+f on a page for something and it doesn't show up because it's buried in an image.
 
I have linked this thread in the Dons room and also to OcUK staff. :)

All feedback is great to hear, so keep them coming.
 
It's great to have so much feedback on the website and constructive comments are always welcomed!!

One of the hardest things to do with a website is to balance SEO with aesthetics and usability and of course, EVERYONE these days has an opinion on design ;)

With an established site like this which has changed very little in the past few years, it is impossible to introduce changes without people having strong reactions to them and one of our key concerns here is, do we introduce these changes gradually giving people time to adjust or do we risk alienating everyone with a radical total design overhaul?
 
Gradual changes won't work unless you have the following:

  • a strong-headed, experienced designer with a long-term strategy
  • a system that entrusts this designer with the responsibility and space to do their work effectively
  • an embargo on staff members forcing uninformed opinions as orders [seems EVERYONE these days has opinions on design ;)]

You won't alienate everyone with a total design overhaul.

You'll get moaners, but that's because people dislike change.

Stop worrying, start testing :)
 
Last edited:
I'd suggest going for the complete overhaul personally (I've nothing against the current site, just responding to the question). Yes, you risk alienating people but (a) it would appear you may already be doing this and (b) a decent redesign should attract more customers that you would potentially not attract with a gradual redesign.

I don't know how the split is between regular customers and one-off purchasers, but regular customers are unlikely to stop shopping with you just because of a redesign. They know what the company is about and as long as the products/prices are still up to scratch they will return.

With a gradual redesign, things will start to look messy and you'll possibly lose new customers as a result.
 
Personally, not a huge fan of some of the graphics they use - seem really out of place. Surprisingly, the new bundles graphics are 100% images - I wouldn't expect something that slap dash for a company as large as OCuK.

I also hate the lightbox they use - it's a very old and buggy version that has been replaced by many better incarnations since.

Saying all that, in general the site is pretty useable and I've always liked their checkout process - very easy to follow, quick and makes sense.

I'd also like to point out a couple of possible useability things that always bugged me personally :)

Say you go to http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=8 and sort the results by price - you'll be taken to http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=8&sortby=priceAsc - which pushes you back to the top of the results so you can't see the sorted results - could be solved using hash tags or using a silker AJAX solution. The former would work for me personally as it bugs the hell outta me :)

Secondly, say you're on http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=8 again. I hate how there is no option list the products in a grid view instead ofa list.

again, these are just minor things that annoy me, one the whole I like the site for it's simplicity and checkout process.
 
reefoid said:
I'd suggest going for the complete overhaul personally
Click to expand...

I'd agree. The problem with introducing changes gradually is that it's hard to keep a coherent design language in the transition period. You inevitably end up with a site that's half of one thing and half of another. Best to introduce a new site in one go. (Not that you have to go into it blind - if you wanted some real-world feedback on a new design prior to launching it, I'm sure the forum would be happy to oblige!)
 
Makhaira said:
Anyone else sense an OcUK compo around the corner?

"Create a conceptual mockup of a new OcUK homepage"...
Click to expand...
A leading online retail presence's primary point of sale is no place for Blue Peter-esque "let the kiddies have a go" experiments.

At least, you would hope that'd be the case.

Not that this level of sense has stopped them before, of course *looks top left*
 
Last edited:
Its got to be all at once I would think. Otherwise you will get the "too many cooks" issue. Everyone will be making remarks as each little piece goes in and doesn't gel with what is currently there.

It would be akin to showing people a design in photoshop at the 10% stage, 20% stage etc and asking if they like it. There wouldn't be enough there to form an opinion that was useful to what the site will ultimately emerge as.
 
simisker said:
A leading online retail presence's primary point of sale is no place for Blue Peter-esque "let the kiddies have a go" experiments.

At least, you would hope that'd be the case.

Not that this level of sense has stopped them before, of course *looks top left*
Click to expand...

I beg to differ - a real benefit for a design customer is to have a variety of options to downselect from - it doesn't have to be used in its existing form, it is the IDEA that is the key element.
 
Makhaira said:
I beg to differ - a real benefit for a design customer is to have a variety of options to downselect from - it doesn't have to be used in its existing form, it is the IDEA that is the key element.
Click to expand...
Who'd be doing the selecting? The customer? What qualifies the customer to make those decisions? Is choice really a benefit when it is uninformed?

Should the designer present every idea, every sketch, every brainstorm that pops up during the course of the investigation? Or should they use their experience, skill, knowledge of the field and constraints of the brief to filter out the ideas that they consider not worthy of further exploration?

Here's a sentence that doesn't end in a question mark, for balance. And here's another one: as a professional designer, I have a responsibility to provide my customers with the best possible solution; it is irresponsible to present under-explored ideas, or develop proposals from ideas that I know aren't good ones, just so the customer can feel artificially empowered with a choice.

Which, not coincidentally, is exactly what happens with 'design' competitions like the one you suggest.

But hey, let us not detract from the original topic. Let the OcUK site-bashing continue :D
 
Last edited:
Design is completely subjective and while I know that if I used 3 images in the same way someone has for the bundles/systems/portables CTA's I'd feel dirty, I don't think it detracts in any way from the useability of the site, which at the end of the day is the most important thing. Some of OCUK's competitor's sites are bloody awful to use, stacked full of unnecessary javascript libraries and bloated CSS, I ALWAYS end up buying from here as I know it's not going to be a ballache to find what I need and pay for it.
 
The rounded corners aren't smooth enough for my taste, I can see the pixellated, jagged edges.

Having said that, I only noticed it because the attention was drawn onto it from this thread.
 
Cuchulain said:
Design is completely subjective and while I know that if I used 3 images in the same way someone has for the bundles/systems/portables CTA's I'd feel dirty, I don't think it detracts in any way from the useability of the site, which at the end of the day is the most important thing. Some of OCUK's competitor's sites are bloody awful to use, stacked full of unnecessary javascript libraries and bloated CSS, I ALWAYS end up buying from here as I know it's not going to be a ballache to find what I need and pay for it.
Click to expand...

That is true but if we look at the history of the web it is the story of innovation and functionality driving customer use. Yahoo were not worried about google when they had a massive market share of the search engine use but you can't wait until a competitor betters you. Part of being one of the top retailers is to maintain and upgrade your site to keep up with technology and standards else one day you will find yourself left behind.
 
Looks like the facebook style headers have been replaced with a much more understated grey box with whote text - looks much better imo. Still think the bundles bit looks massively out of place though :)
 
5UB said:
We are reading. :)
Click to expand...

I noticed the homepage is looking a lot better, glad to see everything looking nice and in sync :D Now we've got your attention, keep your brand list up-to-date on the side, I used to like using that to search for something new on pay day :)

suarve said:
Looks like the facebook style headers have been replaced with a much more understated grey box with whote text - looks much better imo. Still think the bundles bit looks massively out of place though :)
Click to expand...

I agree but at the same time I understand that they want to force more attention on the bundles and what not, maybe you could add real buttons that have a small roll-over colour, would get more notice and better usability for customers. If you want help, give me a email, I'd happily give you some design ideas :)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom