Refinement of ideas from sketches (3/21/19) and competitive research/homework (3/28/19)
- Mega menu of some type,100% screen width. Note: Needs to scale gracefully for smaller viewports (can't assume everyone's browser is maximized - think of multitaskers); will also need to address responsive/mobile views in parallel with this effort.
- TBD - Just one mega - "Products" (ala Fastenal, Grainger, and...) or some sort of always-visible vertical/horizontal navigation for top level categories (TLCs), ala Etsy, Home Depot and...? The latter makes our breadth of offerings more discoverable.
- Tight visual coupling with search bar (ala Fastenal, Grainger, and ...) - is this really only possible if there's one "Products" mega menu v. having some always-visible TLCs?
- TBD - Just one mega - "Products" (ala Fastenal, Grainger, and...) or some sort of always-visible vertical/horizontal navigation for top level categories (TLCs), ala Etsy, Home Depot and...? The latter makes our breadth of offerings more discoverable.
- Dynamic segmented search suggestions with panel for content (copy and images as appropriate) ala Grainger and... Note: We currently segment our suggestions - can our segmentation be improved on or just presented better visually?
- "Quick Order Pad" or "Bulk Order Pad" ala MSC Direct, Grainger and...
- Hero image or carousel to help promote/educate on new offerings or deliver other marketing content (ala just about everyone)
- Three to four value proposition "nuggets" - icons and brief blurbs, typically below hero image, ala Etsy, Muscian's Friend, and ....
- SKETCHES: Get results immediately after selecting a category? Filter stock (when applicable) based on dimensions? When applicable, display dynamic "builder" for configuring MOD. Builder incorporates all level 3 options. Builder makes use of existing widget container concept.
| 4/4/19 - Ideation refinement meeting, whiteboard sketches | 3/21/19 - first ideation meeting, paper sketches |
|---|---|
|  |
Competitive research
| B2B | B2C | |
|---|---|---|
| Anthony | Drop down menus Hero carousel above fold Quick order pad | Horizontal top level categories that opens 2-layer mega menu for one (w/picture/catalog link on far right); differently styled for others - e.g. flyout/mini-mega for navigating by department Hero image above the fold Faceted search one click in Interesting that hardware store/lumber/gardening not prominent |
| Bill | (See Jeff - Grainger.) | Just two top level categories - combo mini-mega flyout menu for each 3 search boxes (all prompt for part or model #) - with one of them that racks up filter terms; a little bifurcated and confusing if you ask me... Ability to store model #s - helpful. |
| Derek | Flat mega menu Faceted search one click in Search suggestions in groupings. Designer for putting logo on things like hard hats "My Spend Tool - Fast 360" | Horizontal top level categories that open mega menu w/sub headings, representative image on far fight. Hero image above fold. Faceted search |
| Jay | Hero image combined with login (login link repeated in header) For products, dropdown menu that flys out to mini-mega with illustrations, subheads and view all link. Different menu styling for other top level categories. | Horizontal top level categories with hybrid flyout/mega menu; representative image on far right. Faceted search with filters based on search terms (if reached via search box) Hero image plus three pithy value proposition statements underneath, and visible above fold. |
| Jeff | Very prominent login; smaller than avg hero image with 3 value proposition statements Just 2 top level things, products and "bulk order pad" Interesting two-tier mini-mega menu that includes link for 'previously purchased' - As with some of the other sites (failed to note), the "products" TLC is tightly coupled visually w/search box. The search suggestions also come up as a type of mega menu, with suggestions on the left, and dynamic content on the right - it varies with the suggestions, some links go right to "add to cart"; others are explanatory copy with images. | https://www.musiciansfriend.com/ Hybrid dropdown/flyout mega menu, broken into 3 columns, with subheads below, and representative image/copy in bottom. Hero image with 4 value proposition icons/blurbs Search suggestions similar to Grainger. |
| Jim | FAIL | Hero carousel. Horizontal TLCs that open mega menus with consistent layout: top categories/additional categories/and representative graphic (using up half the space) and "Shop all" (in this category) link. Fairly basic search suggestions. Faceted search (I think they may have invented it!) |
| John | FAIL | Completely rebranded since we last discussed. |
Judy Judy wrote up some notes with screenshots - sweet! | https://www.globalsources.com/ FAIL | https://shop.nordstrom.com/ |
| Susan | https://www.applied.com/ | https://www.wayfair.com/ |
| Tina | Awful homepage navigation, but some interesting features as you drill in to specific categories and products. | FAIL |
Attachments:
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UX-HOMEWORK judy.docx (application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document)
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