This is a guest post by Ted Hust, Project Manager at AarcMediaGroup, a Miva Merchant partner. The author’s views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of Miva Merchant.
For the past 10 years, my life has been mostly dedicated to developing ecommerce websites using Miva Merchant. In that time, I have come into contact with online retailers from all over the world, and from all walks of life. I’ve built websites for small town fabric shops, big city laptop accessory manufacturers as well as one of the largest sunglasses retailers in the US. I’ve provided SEO consulting services for a couple of Top-200 E-Tailers, a famous beauty product manufacturer all the way down to local gift shops and bakeries.
I mention none of this to boost my own ego (believe me when I say, it needs no assistance). I mention these facts because it illustrates the beauty of ecommerce and what it means for businesses all over the world. There are no longer geographic barriers when it comes to who you can sell to. But even more important is the fact you no longer need a $15,000 budget to have a professional and beautifully designed website that boosts your company’s professional image and improves consumer trust in your brand.
Below I’ve gone through and have outlined 11 websites that I feel provide their respective companies/organizations with unmeasured benefits. These sites have all been superbly executed in the areas of design and content layout. Are they all perfect? Certainly not. However each website gives their visitors a clear picture of the company they "could" be doing business with, and I feel that the time spent perfecting the features of their designs, user interface, artwork and so on has been well worth any expense incurred.
BUILT NY
BUILT did a great job of keeping things simple, yet colorful. Clean, but informative, and more importantly, without clutter. This website is warm, inviting, modern and is easily one of the best-executed Miva Merchant websites out there. As you navigate through the website, you’ll see that almost every feature is pixel perfect. I normally don’t like people telling me what to do, but in this case, I think they’re right. I really do want to "LOVE MY STUFF" as their front and center slogan states and I guess that means I have to "BUY THEIR STUFF" in order to do so.
Gemstone Giant
What strikes me most about this design is the use of only one primary color. Purple is really the only color used in the design, with a couple of lighter shades of the same color used for accents. But that simplicity mixed with stunning creative launch images and product shots brings it all home.
Just like a retail store, a website’s home page (or storefront) needs to welcome the visitor, while painting a visual picture of the products it’s about to try and sell them. When on their home page, I feel like I’m standing in the entrance of a store in a mall, and "liking" what I see.
UV3 Sunglasses
An example of how sometimes simple designs are a better fit for complex needs. UV3 has a very simplistic design scheme that allows for its high-quality product shots and home page creative launch images to stand tall.
I think that while the overall design for this store is very unique, the more notable feature is the HUGE product images. Their product images are 570 pixels in width. As soon as you hit a product page, you’re immediately struck by a very clear and well cropped shot of a monster pair of sunglasses. I also like their oversized Add To Cart button as well. They took no chances in making sure you (a) can see the product image and (b) if you like what you see, you’ll know exactly how to order it.
Snapware
I love the way this site is pieced together. (Although there is so much green on this website, I feel like I’m having a seizure as a giant frog and his muppet friends gang beat me while singing Rainbow Connection). It seems the entire design works to drill the brand/logo into your brain. Something about the white Snapware logo sitting in all that green that makes me want to buy their stuff.
BonitaJ
BonitaJ features a colorful design, and manages to fit A LOT of information on every page, without losing overall flow, and appeal. The color scheme is simple, and uses green to accent various elements throughout the website to make sure they stand out.
BonitaJ has a unique problem to solve when it comes to product layout, because every product has a fairly complex list of customizable features. This makes the spacing and layout of their product page very important. I think they do a good job of working a ton of configurable attributes (in some cases close to 8 or 10 customizable options) into the product page, while still making it clear to the shopper what they need to do to order said product. Just what every woman (especially a grumpy bride-to-be) needs….more tough decisions to make. At least this site makes it easy.
SkullsAndWings
I had never come across this site until the day I sat down to write this post. Like BUILT, they have done a great job in developing a design that 100% fits the theme of their product offering. Every company has an attitude, and it’s not very often they’re able to capture that in a website’s design, but SAW nails it. Honestly, there isn’t one thing on this website that stands out that I think they have done "better" than others. I really just like the overall feel of the site. Only downside is that if I wore one of the tank tops featured in the screenshot below, my back hair would scare women and children. Maybe I’ll stick with the sunglasses.
HatsInTheBelfry
HatsInTheBelfry is another example of a perfect blend of color and well spaced content that result in a website providing an excellent glimpse into the website’s product line and brand. Besides the fact this site is just plain "fun looking" I also like the drop down mega menu they employ for navigating the website. I’m normally not a huge fan of this type of nav, because I think sometimes it actually complicates navigation instead of helping, but I think they pull it off. Sometimes a cool name is all you need. In this case, they have both.
NoodlePillows
It’s safe to say that "noodle pillows" are a unique product serving a specific niche, which is exactly what their site does. I myself had never heard of noodle pillows, although the concept of what they could mean to me and my life is very interesting. This website does a great job of not being "normal", while still being successful in its goal to sell "Oodles and Noodles of Fun!".
GlideBikes
Glide Bikes is like being in a park with blue skies overhead, enjoying a bike ride with your kids.
Glide Bikes successfully redefines how kids learn to ride a bicycle with a Glide Bike balance bike. You can feel a connection to the inventor & brand through the videos and inventor’s workshop; so let’s go ride a bike.
Fitness Anywhere
Get ready to hit the gym wherever you are once you visit Fitness Anywhere’s ecommerce site. Everything on the site propels you to do some sort of healthy activity with plenty of pro athletes sporting their flagship product the TRX Suspension Training system. Going beyond traditional branding, Fitness Anywhere engages its customers with a vibrant community, training tips to get you started or break through a plateau, and education for a healthier workout.
Luli Fama
Luli Fama brings together fashion shows, sports fanatics and beach bums through stunning bikinis, models and design. At first glance you feel like a member of the paparazzi but when you enter the storefront shopping is easy & intuitive. Looking for the bikinis featured in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition? Several of Luli Fama’s works have been in the Swimsuit Edition and even featured on the cover.
Guest Contributor