Website Analysis - Part A

http://www.topshop.com/
How is your chosen website structured?

Topshop.com is structured to reflect and portray the real-life store so users can have a shopping experience closet to that IRL. The layout of the homepage allows for user to choose an interactive route around the website. Down the left hand side there are the different sections of fashion users can look in (all hypertexts) which is structured in a convenient way to suit the user and what they are specifically looking for. In the middle there is an image of a model, along with other images in relation to other links users can look into. Although that some would argue this approach is “non-linear” (Lister page 27) for this website it allows users to choose exactly what section they want to look at. On the right hand side there are other hypertext links to other fashion options i.e. ‘London Fashion Week.’ When the cursor if on the options, the image in the middle of the homepage changes to one that links in better with the hypertext link. This adds to the interactivity of the website and allows for users to do more than just shop online, which fits in with how the structure of the site is done so in a way that users get more out of their online shopping experience and are allowed more options then they would necessarily have in real life. “Potential customers take a different role with their ability to be more active in determining what information is viewed.” (Online Shopping: 2005)

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0OGT/is_3_5/ai_n16619676/pg_4?tag=content;col1
Online Shopping: What factors are important to shoppers? Journal of Academic Business and Economics. March 2005 Chuleeporn Changchit, Shawn J. Douthit, Benjamin Hoffmeyer