Deliver Me This

[topcat]

Dear all,

Outside my full-time employment, I enjoy creating, buying, selling, ranking and tanking websites.

The latest site that I've pumped a bit of time into has been Deliver Me This. Just interested to see what you guys think of it in terms of design and appeal; I am specifically looking at feedback on post layout and the responsive design.

It's just a bit of fun at the moment to experiment with and improve my design skills. It's just an edited Wordpress theme.

Thanks a lot for looking.

P.S. I know that it'll never earn any money. It's just something to keep my preoccupied with. A hobby!

 

[murph]

Some cool products Responsive design good on iOS

 

[Retired_Member39]

Nice site i really enjoyed browsing it.

 

[Murray]

Not a fan, I prefer a more conventional design, there's a reason all the big online retailers have a similar layout.

Not sure how the name relates at all to the sites content either.

Something off the wall and wacky would seem for fitting.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Retired_Member38]

I don't like it, its nothing more than a novelty. Even if you go to a specific category like http://delivermethis.co.uk/gadgets/ there is still no real way to properly look through the site - I'm not going to look through nose shaped glasses holders & bourbon biscuit iPhone cases and other completely random things until I see something I want to buy.

I know you're just practicing and playing around with it... but imo it would make sense to do it in a manner that at least leaves you something you could develop into a client site / build something yourself. There is no way starting off with that theme which was rubbish from a user point of view, is going to lead anything of use.

 

[topcat]

Not a fan, I prefer a more conventional design, there's a reason all the big online retailers have a similar layout.

Not sure how the name relates at all to the sites content either.

Something off the wall and wacky would seem for fitting.

Just my thoughts.

Thanks Murray, appreciate the comments. Don't have the energy to change the name now though. Someone else I asked thought it sounded too close to 'Deliver Meth'. Not quite Expertsexchange though!

I don't like it, its nothing more than a novelty. Even if you go to a specific category like http://delivermethis.co.uk/gadgets/ there is still no real way to properly look through the site - I'm not going to look through nose shaped glasses holders & bourbon biscuit iPhone cases and other completely random things until I see something I want to buy.

I know you're just practicing and playing around with it... but imo it would make sense to do it in a manner that at least leaves you something you could develop into a client site / build something yourself. There is no way starting off with that theme which was rubbish from a user point of view, is going to lead anything of use.

Thanks. It is a novelty, that's all it is. I am hoping that people will look through them because they find the items unique and interesting enough even if they have no intention of purchasing.

I think you're right though. The categories need to display items in a more conventional way, along with prices. The homepage can then be a discovery page or gallery where people can discover new items they perhaps may not have thought of.

Thanks for the suggestions. Don't have much time at the moment but will try and continue to improve it when I do.

 

[bizzyboy]

Hi Topcat

This site is one of those 'marmite' ones. Clearly the first few reviewers don't like it but I must admit I do like it. But it could do with a few tweaks.

Every xmas I like to buy unusual gifts for a few of my nephews/nieces and always struggle to find something. One of the main reasons I like the site is because of the larger pictures as on lots of other sites you get a long list of products on a page and then have to click through to see bigger pictures etc. More clicks equals more time.....
And I never really know what I'm looking for anyway so strangely enough I found it quicker just quickly scanning through your pages of large pictures until something jumps out at me. Definitely a lot quicker than clicking through scores of pages on other gift sites.

One major change you should add is having a Price Band option. I have a max amount of money to spend per person and it's the first thing I look for on a website when I purchase gifts, or anything online.

It's true that other online stores have a known 'working' format but your design is certainly not the worst I've seen and as a first attempt it's pretty impressive.

 

[tifosi]

Looks like a modified genesis SixeteenNine theme?

One thing I'd do is to either make the hover over opaque, or only 1/3-1/2 div size so the product shows behind in some way, possible to slide up from the bottom on hover over. Bit disconcerting to see the product disappear behind an orange block.

UPD: If it is the 16:9 theme then I'd consider submitting to the studiopress showcase section. Every bit of free advertising helps! I like the social network icon layout, very metro, not seen that before. Going to nick it if you don't mind!

 

[max99x]

I like the look of it, interested a few big retailers are moving towards displaying products like this including http://www.firebox.com/

 

[stellar73]

Looks like a modified genesis SixeteenNine theme?

It's Origin from Elegant Themes http://www.elegantthemes.com/demo/?theme=Origin

Personally I like it (with the exception of the orange box on mouseover which pops out rather a little too dramatically and would likely give me a migraine)

Good luck with it!


PS: Your camera lens cup has the wrong description on it. You said it's from the 24-105 lens and the photo is 28-135.

 

[eddieb]

I like it. Yes, its different from most of the big brand retail outlets but I think it fits well with what you are selling, although I must admit the name could be better

 

[topcat]

Hi Topcat

This site is one of those 'marmite' ones. Clearly the first few reviewers don't like it but I must admit I do like it. But it could do with a few tweaks.

Every xmas I like to buy unusual gifts for a few of my nephews/nieces and always struggle to find something. One of the main reasons I like the site is because of the larger pictures as on lots of other sites you get a long list of products on a page and then have to click through to see bigger pictures etc. More clicks equals more time.....
And I never really know what I'm looking for anyway so strangely enough I found it quicker just quickly scanning through your pages of large pictures until something jumps out at me. Definitely a lot quicker than clicking through scores of pages on other gift sites.

One major change you should add is having a Price Band option. I have a max amount of money to spend per person and it's the first thing I look for on a website when I purchase gifts, or anything online.

It's true that other online stores have a known 'working' format but your design is certainly not the worst I've seen and as a first attempt it's pretty impressive.

Thank you for the comments. I have created price categories and then added in the right products, e.g. under £10 http://delivermethis.co.uk/under-10/ It's a work in progress and something that'll I have to learn how to do (displaying the actual price, rather than just a range)

Looks like a modified genesis SixeteenNine theme?

One thing I'd do is to either make the hover over opaque, or only 1/3-1/2 div size so the product shows behind in some way, possible to slide up from the bottom on hover over. Bit disconcerting to see the product disappear behind an orange block.

UPD: If it is the 16:9 theme then I'd consider submitting to the studiopress showcase section. Every bit of free advertising helps! I like the social network icon layout, very metro, not seen that before. Going to nick it if you don't mind!

It's an ElegantThemes.com theme. I've just edited it.

I like the look of it, interested a few big retailers are moving towards displaying products like this including http://www.firebox.com/

Absolutely, I've had this on for about a year; In that time Firebox have changed theirs to something very similar (although done much better).

It's Origin from Elegant Themes http://www.elegantthemes.com/demo/?theme=Origin

Personally I like it (with the exception of the orange box on mouseover which pops out rather a little too dramatically and would likely give me a migraine)

Good luck with it!


PS: Your camera lens cup has the wrong description on it. You said it's from the 24-105 lens and the photo is 28-135.

Thank you for your comments. You're spot on about the theme name. I want there to only be pictures on the homepage, so I do need the item and 'read more' links to pop up. I will experiment with the application though.

I like it. Yes, its different from most of the big brand retail outlets but I think it fits well with what you are selling, although I must admit the name could be better

Thank you. Not too bothered about the name as it's just to practice with.

One thing, in terms of SEO, the site uses infinite scroll. Google is therefore crawling the site and thinking that there are only the first few rows of products there. I need to apply some graceful degradation for those not using Javascript as well as Google Bot. Instead of the extra rows loading on scroll, they'll need to be paginated.

Thanks everyone for your comments. Any another advice I'd be happy to hear it. Funny as the only visitors the site has had have been those from Acorn

 

[ian]

Not a fan to be honest, quite hard to navigate in its simplicity (if that makes sense). Also, is this a working e-commerce website, i.e. buy physical product because you are in breach of law by not displaying the postal address, even if mail order only.

 

[Murray]

http://www.thisiswhyimbroke.com/ someone showed me this site the other day, an already successful version of the same idea

 

[topcat]

Not a fan to be honest, quite hard to navigate in its simplicity (if that makes sense). Also, is this a working e-commerce website, i.e. buy physical product because you are in breach of law by not displaying the postal address, even if mail order only.

Thanks for the feedback. Could you be more specific with your point about poor navigation? I intend to add breadcrumbs at some point.

This site just links so no address is needed, thanks for the heads up though.

http://www.thisiswhyimbroke.com/ someone showed me this site the other day, an already successful version of the same idea

Well they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

 

[Retired_Member38]

I think there is only so much room for 'novelty' sites though - one or two might succeed but they'll be the exception rather than the normal.

It would be like looking at lingscars.com and suggesting to a client looking at becoming a car broker to copy her approach. Its almost certainly going to lead to a horrible failure.

Without a big name or a massive marketing budget I think a site like the one posted here is not going to do well at all.

 

[tifosi]

I suppose you've got to define what 'is doing well'... instead of immediate cynicism about motive and endpoint.

 

[topcat]

I think there is only so much room for 'novelty' sites though - one or two might succeed but they'll be the exception rather than the normal.

It would be like looking at lingscars.com and suggesting to a client looking at becoming a car broker to copy her approach. Its almost certainly going to lead to a horrible failure.

Without a big name or a massive marketing budget I think a site like the one posted here is not going to do well at all.

Correct, although irrelevant. I am doing this for fun, not for monetary gain.