The first thing I noticed when I was directed to rue21’s website is a huge advertisement that filled almost the whole page besides the heading, categories, and search box. Valentines day is just around the corner. It is prime time for a retail company such as rue21 to come out with exclusive deals so their clients will buy more around this holiday. As I scrolled down the page to view their buttons, each one was a white outlined rectangle with white text inside. When I moved my mouse over the box, it became a solid white rectangle with black text overtop. This feature was simple and to the point. I did not have to question if my mouse was clicking on another item. When you moved your mouse over the items in the bar menu, they changed to an orange color and displayed an underline to show the subcategories underneath. This feature is also helpful because I know I am clicking on a certain button.
The color palette was black, white, and orange. When I clicked on the Blouses & Shirts button, the only parts that were orange were “Girls, Blouses & Shirts, and Featured.” This was indicating the process of how I got there. This was helpful to know the process of how to get there or how to go back if I would like to search for something different. The layout of their products were clean and simple. They bolded certain words to give emphasis towards what is important and spaced out the content so it is not too clustered. There was not a lot of words which helped me focus on the product. In the book, Don’t Make Me Think, it talked about how when people view a site, they do not read line by line but skim to achieve their desired goal. If I wanted more information about the product, I was able to click on the picture of the product to lead me to more information. On the picture, it had a rectangle that said, “Quick View” which meant a box would pop up instead of redirecting you to a new page. The color did not change when I hovered my mouse over the button so I was confused if I was going to be clicking it or not. The “Quick view” gave me the name, price, color, size, and quantity. If I needed more information, I could click on the button that said “View Full Product Information” which would lead me to a new page. The font was easy to read and every question I had about the product relating to myself was answered by the options listed (size, color, quantity, etc.).
After I added the item to my cart, a box appeared in the top right corner of the page telling me what I just added and leading my eye to an icon of a grocery bag with a number “1” on it. This indicated an item was added to my cart and notified me where to purchase my item when I am completed shopping. The box also had two buttons which said, “continue shopping” or “view bag. ” This directed me where I wanted to go.
Overall, the rue21 website does a great job in not make the buyer think of how to get to their product. Their layout is simple yet effective. I believe they were smart in limiting their color palette because it could make it more confusing if too many colors are represented. The slight change in color or shape with the buttons helped decipher what button I was clicking on. Lastly, they limited the amount of text on each page to make it easier to navigate.