PhIxDA Automagically

Shopping online should be easy and secure

This is a multi-part post. I have too many opinions and I am trying to keep the post short. The only thing I dislike more than a multi-part post is a long post. (sounds like a post waiting to happen)

1. easy for the shopper - design is important!
2. easy for the shop owner - content management needs to be user friendly. The administration of the online shop should be so easy enough so my mom could use it.
3. what is secure?

This is going to sound a little obvious. I believe a good User Interface is worth the money and effort. The UI includes the vocabulary, looks and how it works.

vocabulary: how creative should it get?

• Calling a shopping cart anything other than a shopping cart can cause confusion.
• Requiring users to click a “BUY” button to add an item to the shopping cart. call it “ADD” or if you have the space “ADD TO SHOPPING CART”

Process for shopping online without creating an account

start shopping

1. find Item
2. add Item to shopping cart
3. some indication that it has been added to shopping cart
4. keep shopping or check out

keep shopping

1. repeat shopping online

check out

1. review order
2. modify order || continue checking out
3. enter shipping address
4. choose shipping method
5. review total cost
6. choose payment method
7. enter name, email
8. enter payment info including billing address if necessary
9. review entire order and submit
10. receive email receipt

navigation

• Forcing the user to view the full Shopping Cart every time an item is placed there. This really makes me mad. What if I wasn’t finished shopping? Sometimes the “CONTINUE SHOPPING” button doesn’t take me back to where I was shopping. It takes me back to the beginning. I want a shopping cart with wheels that I can walk down the isles with. I don’t want to have to walk every item up to the check out counter.
  
• not having some little shopping cart widget on every page that can provide some indication that something is in the shopping cart.
• Requiring a user to REGISTER or even to enter billing, and all personal information before knowing the final costs including shipping and tax.