The Comic Shop
Your Friendly Neighbourhood Comic Shop.
Summary
Brief
“We want to launch an e-commerce website which attracts customers to our friendly shop” The Comic Shop, March 2022
The Comic Shop is a local shop based in Liverpool, Sydney. They are well known for their friendly service and for going above and beyond to satisfy customers’ needs.
In recent pandemic times, they have been struggling to stay afloat due to the decreasing number of customers patronizing their shop. Hence, they want to launch an e-commerce website which allows customers to purchase products online. It is imperative that this website encapsulates the friendly feel of the physical shop.
In recent pandemic times, they have been struggling to stay afloat due to the decreasing number of customers patronizing their shop. Hence, they want to launch an e-commerce website which allows customers to purchase products online. It is imperative that this website encapsulates the friendly feel of the physical shop.
Meet Alex The Careful Critic
“I want to be able to purchase products and to be part of the Comic Shop Community online.” Alex Driver, March 2022
This is Alex, he’s a typical customer of the Comic Shop and he posseses the personality of a “Careful Critic”. A “Careful Critic” displays personality traits as described below:
- They are a comic aficionado who is knowledgable about comics
- The quality of comics (condition and delivery) are of utmost importance
- They are keen to socialise within the comic book community
- They like to stay updated with the comic scene
- They are a comic aficionado who is knowledgable about comics
- The quality of comics (condition and delivery) are of utmost importance
- They are keen to socialise within the comic book community
- They like to stay updated with the comic scene
Identifying Alex's pain points.
How does the public find the current website browsing experience?
In order to gauge the public's current browsing experience, I separated my research into 2 components- Information Architecture and Heuristic Analysis.
Information Architecture
The website’s Information Architecture only covers 7 categories within its Main Navigation. These categories include “For news & give aways”, “About”, “Shipping list”, “Products”, “Gallery”, “Services” and “Contact”. Within these main categories, there are 3 sub-categories titled “Standing order”,”Gift vouchers” and “Mail order service”.
The current website only focuses on Shipping List, About Us and a general Product page, it tells us that it has a friendly culture, but that is the extent of it. Users are not able to purchase products as the website does not have a check-out process, product descriptions and filtering systems. The website communicates that it is a friendly shop in its “About us” section, however Users are not able to be a part of the Comic Shop community unlike its real-life counterpart.
The current website only focuses on Shipping List, About Us and a general Product page, it tells us that it has a friendly culture, but that is the extent of it. Users are not able to purchase products as the website does not have a check-out process, product descriptions and filtering systems. The website communicates that it is a friendly shop in its “About us” section, however Users are not able to be a part of the Comic Shop community unlike its real-life counterpart.
Heuristic Analysis
From the heuristic analysis, I have deduced that the current website’s major issues are the lack of of a checkout system, filtering system, online assistance, ratings, reviews and product descriptions.
It is essential that these features be incorporated into the new website’s design.
It is essential that these features be incorporated into the new website’s design.
Click here for link to Comprehensive Heuristic Analysis
Identifying the public's pain points.
How might we...
Redesign the website to recreate the in-store friendly atmosphere to encourage Alex and the public to purchase products online?
Taking inspiration from whats out there..
Competitive Analysis
There are a few types of comic book websites in the market which caters for different demographics.
Websites such as Superworld Comics, Certified Comic Shop and Sparklecity Comics cater to comic book collectors. All three websites offer the selling and grading of comics.
On the other hand, Midtown Comics targets bargain hunters with its slashed prices, sales offers and free shipping. Finally, Things From Another World appeals to most comic book buyers with its visually appealing graphics, thorough descriptions and neat categories.
Most websites generally classify comics into Ages (Silver, Golden Age etc) and had social media sharing features. Some websites produced their own content through features like events, blogs and podcasts.
As the new website will cater to the Careful Critic and general public, it should take its cue from existing websites and incorporate features such as ratings, reviews, grading system, events and news.
Websites such as Superworld Comics, Certified Comic Shop and Sparklecity Comics cater to comic book collectors. All three websites offer the selling and grading of comics.
On the other hand, Midtown Comics targets bargain hunters with its slashed prices, sales offers and free shipping. Finally, Things From Another World appeals to most comic book buyers with its visually appealing graphics, thorough descriptions and neat categories.
Most websites generally classify comics into Ages (Silver, Golden Age etc) and had social media sharing features. Some websites produced their own content through features like events, blogs and podcasts.
As the new website will cater to the Careful Critic and general public, it should take its cue from existing websites and incorporate features such as ratings, reviews, grading system, events and news.
What functions does the website support?
I considered the website’s functions by creating a User Flow Diagram which shows all the potential actions Alex might take.
From this exercise, I propose that the website supports the browsing, purchasing and reviewing of Products, and the display of news and events.
From this exercise, I propose that the website supports the browsing, purchasing and reviewing of Products, and the display of news and events.
Summarizing the design approach.
How might these ideas be translated onto paper?
I produced low fidelity wireframes using pen and paper as my first go at designing the website. This was a prudent decision as it allowed me to test the design viability before I proceeded to produce higher fidelity wireframes on Figma.