RATING: 6/10
During our evaluation process, AusPC's 9-month-old site was being re-developed. Our diligent testers had access to both new and old sites to ensure a comprehensive review. The good news is, for all you loyal to AusPC, not much has changed.
The site still has a lot of information on their products, with pictures and links to both manufacturers and reviews. The main difference is an increase in the size of their header menu bar, and additional services such as order tracking, and greater personalisation by incorporating a database of previous orders.
Hits
- The content is presented extremely well with a good description of each product, containing a picture and associated links.
- There is an excellent help facility with actively phrased questions and detailed explanations. Our testers found this very useful.
- Specials, new items and products in stock are clearly indicated.
- Delivery is free.
Misses
- The site's navigation was limited. This is a result of not providing a left-hand navigation bar. A good solution would be to include trail navigation, as this would compliment the current design.
- Greater explanation of icons in the buying process is required. Testers found that the pop-up text boxes did not work on all platforms, in particular on Macs.
Purchasing process
- The shopping cart needs greater presence, as there is no window that displays a detailed list of current items selected. Also, there is insufficient feedback once an item has been selected.
- Two options for submitting details are available: Standard and SSL secured. A clear description of each is given to assist customers' understanding.
- E-mail confirmation is provided and same-day delivery is available in most cases.
Members Benefits
- There is no mention of membership available. Search facility
- The search function needs developing. Testers found it frustrating to receive so many "no-results". A good solution is to provide a list of possible results, and to explain how to broaden the search.
General Usability
- Unfortunately, the font used on the site was so small it rendered the text totally useless. One customer couldn't even read the main menu bar let alone select a field!
- The product information is displayed extremely well and the site is a stand-out in this technical-type Web site.
- The site does not comply with W3C accessibility guidelines, failing our accessibility testing procedure.
- There is no means to compare products.
- The font colours used also compromise readability on the site (for example, we saw a black grid background with multicoloured writing).
14%
7%
