The Down-Low on Downtown Scottsdale

If you ever decide to surf the web there is one thing that will always remain true about the websites that you visit; some websites are simply superior in their design and function, which makes them clearly stand out from among the others. So regardless of a website’s content, a superior web site will incorporate several elements that are integrated in a way that provide its users with a very positive experience so that the users are more likely to visit it again in the future. A good, high quality website must be both functional and efficient.  Through the use of well-placed links a superior site helps to guide its users so they can quickly navigate the web and reach their desired destination. A web sites use of visuals will make the most important information clearly stand out, and keep the site pleasant to look at and visit. Even the content is relevant to the purpose of the site and helps its users locate the exact information they are looking for. The Downtown Scottsdale website embodies all of these elements, and along with its user-friendly interface, appealing and colorful use of visuals, and relevant content all work together to make it an excellent example of a high quality website.

The visual appearance and display on a webpage is critical to any webpage’s overall quality, and the Downtown Scottsdale website does an excellent job of creating an aesthetically appealing environment in which the user can search for information. The moment a user first views the home screen, it is immediately evident that the web page designers combined the correct balance of visual elements in order to create instant eye appeal. The blend of colors and their placement on the home page are purposefully combined in a way to reduce eye fatigue and create a pleasant viewer experience. Through the use of warm color tones along with a base of darker blue, the color balance makes the home page very appealing to the eye without overwhelming the viewer with bright and distracting colors. In addition to the satisfying color choices, images are presented in appropriate places for continued ease of viewing which adds to the positive visual appearance. If a website overloads its users with too many images, the page may cause the user to lose focus and can lead to eye fatigue and an overall negative viewer experience. If the user becomes distracted by a web sites images, then the content may become obscured among the images.  Too many visual images can make smooth navigation difficult and this can lead to eye fatigue and frustration. The Downtown Scottsdale website provides images that offer strong visuals for the user but without becoming disorganized and overwhelming. For example, on the “Theatre and Museums” page there are three pictures. These images are informative and offer a look at some of the locations as well as the content of the location. Each visual satisfies its role of first captivating and then informing the user. The final visual factor that makes the Downtown Scottsdale website effective and welcoming is the proper placement and spacing of the content located on the page. Through strategic placement of images and content and the use of sufficient open areas on the webpage, the user’s eyes are never strained. The correct use of all of these aesthetic factors ensure visitors to the Downtown Scottsdale website a positive viewing experience of a quality web page, which makes users much more likely to return to it in the future.

Not only do the visuals help create an effective website, but the content of the Downtown Scottsdale website is informative and also contributes to the effectiveness and quality of the site as a whole. The first major feature of the content is its relevance and helpfulness. The content spans from restaurant sites to family activities and to the small shops of the area. The quality of the content is seen when the user selects the restaurants tab. Under this tab the user has the ability to select from several eating options. Within each option is a description, pictures, and links to find further information. This site does an effective job of offering content that is necessary to making a decision on where to eat or to go. In addition, the website contains links to hundreds of sites that provide more information in the fields that are applicable. For instance, if the user were to type “Park” into the search bar, the user would be greeted by information pertaining to the area’s local parks. Not only that, but each link is marked by a colored bullet point, which corresponds to an area on the local map of Downtown Scottsdale. Along with the other quality content located within each subtopic, the website contains a map to the location of each shop, restaurant, or activity. The map provides turn by turn directions to the spot the user is searching. This is critical information to the satisfaction of the user. By ensuring there is no confusion in the location the Downtown Scottsdale website ensures the happiness and satisfaction of the users. These qualities of the content help to make the site as a whole more effective and helpful. The Downtown Scottsdale site uses relevant content and useful links to ensure the site is the best quality possible.

In order to locate the relevant content of a website, one must use the functional and maneuverable menus and searches. The Downtown Scottsdale website utilizes several easy-to-use methods in order to make the website experience as efficient and quick as possible. One key feature is the search bar located at the top right of the home page. This search bar will link the user to relevant information not only on website but also on Google. As described earlier, when typing in “Giligin” the search bar can effectively locate the most relevant information on the subject typed into the bar.  In addition to the simple search bar, several drop-down menus offer a quick transition from one page to the next on the website. In creating an environment with quick and simple transitions the user is able to speed up their experience on the website. From personal experience the faster one is able to find the information they need the better. By ensuring the site is quickly maneuverable, the designers helped to guarantee the user will want to return to the site for a second visit. The Downtown Scottsdale website contains several drop-down menus for each topic of discussion in the area. For example, along the top the user may find the menu on restaurants. Under this menu several options will give the user a chance to navigate to different pages with relevance to the restaurants of the area. This menu speeds-up the process of locating the information that is most important to the topic the user is searching. Along with the menus on the main page several menus will appear on each page navigated to. These several menus and search bar result in an efficient and easy-to-use website.

             While the Downtown Scottsdale website does have many positive qualities, the website is not perfect; there do exist a few negative aspects that users may find unappealing. The first of these negative qualities is the small text size. At first glance, the small text causes the page to seem overcrowded and clustered. The only way to fix this problem is to zoom in manually on the web page, and if a user does not know how or is unable to do so, then they will have a hard time reading. After zooming in the images become blurred and the overall visual quality of the site is diminished. Additionally, while the website has many great pictures that are relevant to the topics they appear for, the site could definitely use more. Compared to many other city website’s, Downtown Scottsdale’s website displays much less photos for users to view. Usually people who come to visit city websites are out of town users looking to gather information and look at photos. Not providing enough pictures on a site can be enough to not just turn some users off but also deter them from traveling to that destination. By simply displaying more photos of the city, parks, stadiums, buildings and other landmarks throughout the web site, you immediately enhance the visual appearance and give users more of an idea of what they can expect to see if they should come to visit.

Overall the Downtown Scottsdale site is a quality website with several positive features. From the welcoming and colorful display to the informative links and summaries the website contains the key qualities of a strong website.  The efficient maneuvering and ease of use are additional factors that make the site a strong destination to gather information on Downtown Scottsdale. In conclusion the functionality, appearance, and quality information work together to form a terrific website that meets all the needs of the user. The Scottsdale Downtown website is the one site to find all the information one could need on the area without feeling overwhelmed. So if you ever need to find out anything about Downtown Scottsdale, head over to www.scottsdaledowntown.com to find everything you could possibly want to know.

Arizona State Fair Exceeds Expectations- Tyler and Leah

Arizona State Fair Review

Finding information off of local websites can be very difficult at times.  Searching for this material over a long period of time may cause customers to become frustrated or even disinterested in a company or an event. However, when this data is made readily available and is easily understood by its customers, it can work in the opposite way. A quality site can answer questions people might have as well as bring in more revenue for the company by persuading possible customers to visit. This is true in the case of the Arizona State Fair website. Key content and clever organization make this site a great tool for customers to use before a fun trip to the fair itself. For this reason, the Arizona State Fair website is effective in drawing in potential customers with easy navigation, bright colors to grab customers’ attention, and unbeatable deals.

To begin, the Arizona State Fair site is organized in a way that makes it simple for its customers to interact with. This is vital to the site’s success because as many people look forward to attending the fair this year, they will explore the site in order to make their experience memorable. Straightforward navigation provides these potential customers with the opportunity to search the site freely and get any information they want with ease. For example, fair goers can look under the “Events” tab to find upcoming contests, shows, and concerts for they date they plan to make their visit.  Features such as clear and concise data also give quick answers instead of making people search all over for the simple information they seek. This aspect can be seen throughout the website with short titles and bullet points to highlight only the relevant and most important information. In addition, there are clear headings telling the user exactly what and where to find what they are looking for. Whether it’s the price of tickets or vendors at the fair, these headings can guide people to where ever they desire to go within the site. Even in the case that a customer cannot find what they are looking for, there is a search bar at the top of the page to answer additional questions a curious customer may have.

Another design used to grab the attention of customers is the different use of colors. When first logging on to the site, this is one of the first aspects that stands out. Bright and radiant colors light up the screen which portrays the fun and excitement that the fair exuberates. By using vivid colors such as hot pink and blue, customers understand that the fair has a lively and playful atmosphere. Not to mention, that blue and pink are both calming colors that bring about pleasantness and remind people of tasty childhood treats like cotton candy.

In addition, the different pigments and lettering also help the site appeal to all audiences. This is done by using light and dark colors to display different types of content.  The large text along with the polka dot background for instance helps to attract the younger audience because much like bees to honey, kids are enticed by scintillating things. The more important information, on the other hand regarding things such as pricing, is displayed in clear block letters to allow adults the chance to see the words with ease. So no matter the age of the individual visiting the page, the font and colors are laid out to assist them without distractions. This can be seen specifically in the change from sans serif to serifed typeface throughout the pages in order to grab the visitor’s attention on deals and other material they may be interested in. With many other websites, fun fonts and a variety of colors would take away from the information displayed to customers, but for Arizona State Fair, this layout is appropriate and displays the environment that will be expected at the fair.

Furthermore, the site has an open and spaced out format so that customers are not overwhelmed when opening pages. The tabs at the top of the page for instance, are visible and easily accessible, which provide more detailed information to customers who want to know more than the general pricing. These tabs lead to and from the homepage, giving the user the ability to maneuver throughout the site without getting lost or confused.

 By designing the website like this, the customer is able to make better sense of the data and make a more informed decision after weighing all options. Another great example of this on the fair’s site is under the attractions tab. Pictures and large fonts are used to keep these pages organized and appropriately spaced.  Because of this layout, people can actually see what the attractions look like while reading the descriptions parallel to the images. With the ability to see and read about attractions, customers are able to see what appeals to their desires and are even able to plan out what they will visit while at the Arizona State Fair.

	Concert Series On Sale Sat, September 15	Buy Tickets
	Arizona State Fair Concert Series goes on sale September 15 at 10am through Ticketmaster and the Coliseum Box Office.

  From these tabs come all kinds of valuable information about the unbeatable deals at the fair. These are yet another huge reason as to why the Arizona State Fair’s site is able to bring in customers. Everything from parking to senior discounts can be found here. Customers can even learn about new two-dollar games and unlimited ride wristbands by simply clicking on the discounts button. The prices are posted on the home page as well as under the discounts tab to let customers know exactly what they will have to pay for tickets, passes and the prices of rides. This is crucial because people who are on the fence about coming are not going to want to have to take time out of their busy lives to search for prices. By putting all this information in one place, the customer can simply calculate the costs.

The affordable prices are another reason as to why customers aren’t able to resist going to the fair. With tough economic times facing many people, cheap prices definitely make a difference in where people choose spend their money. The fair’s inexpensive ticket prices for food and rides along with free events make this decision an easy one. These attractions are reasonably priced so that most people are able to have a good time. This is important because it allows people of all incomes to enjoy the fun atmosphere without causing financial hardships. Other amusement parks cost much more than the fair, making this venue a great choice for anyone strapped for cash.

However, with the fair now come and gone, the site has made some changes. The slideshow on the homepage tells customers that the fair has now concluded and the prices are no longer listed. For those who continue to visit the site, most tabs are still accessible with the same information from before. The site does still contain valuable information about what happened over the duration of the fair and the successes the Arizona State Fair had. Even with some information not able to be accessed, the Arizona State Fair’s website remains to be a simple and effective tool to use to find information.

In conclusion, the Arizona State Fair’s website effectively brings in customers with its effortless navigation, brilliant use of colors, and incomparable deals. Everything that the fair offers is displayed on the website and every question that a fairgoer may ask is answered. The layout of the website, the consistency throughout each page, and content make this website truly unique. The Fair site does what a successful website should do; not just provide information to customers, but draw them in by making the site user-friendly and enjoyable to use. So next time you are looking for a memorable outing, make sure to check the Arizona State Fair website before embarking on your trip!

http://www.azstatefair.com/

 

 

DomainAtTempe.com

5 November 2012

DomainAtTempe.com

          While preparing for college, many students spend hours searching the web for an ideal college residence that provides all the necessities for a great experience. The best way to draw these students in is by creating a website that provides all they need to know. The Domain at Tempe has a very appealing website with great usability and even better functionality. This website has the ability to draw in many people with its modern and welcoming appearance. All these aspects provide for a very well-constructed webpage that provides all the necessary information.

          As you first enter the website, a home page full of bright and inspiring colors welcomes you. At the top of the page, “The Domain at Tempe” is written in big bold letters along with colors similar to Arizona State’s maroon and gold, giving this website a great college student appeal. The title sticks out extremely well due to the dark grey background, which also adds a very professional look to the page. All the tabs with important details are written in large font and are highlighted with bright colors. Along with the design and colors of the page, the illustrations are in black in white, but when you scroll the mouse over them, they light up with the original colors of the picture. Right above these photos and tabs is a video that shows the fair that the domain held for their residents. This video shows all the residents having a great time interacting with each other, playing games, and listening to great party music. It really just makes you want to be a part of it, which works really well with the appearance and appeal of the home page. All of these aspects work perfectly together to really catch the eye of possible future residents.

          One of the more important features of this website, that many pages lack now, is the fact that it is extremely user friendly. Most websites that are user friendly, usually lack in appearance and tend to be boring. The Domain’s webpage uses its appearance to highlight the most important things that people are looking for. The three most used tabs are the three largest ones and they are: APPLY, GET INFO, and RESIDENTS. They put the most important things front and center, and easy to find. Lower on the page are other tabs that are important, like Location, Amenities, and Floor Plans, which create   excellent organization. The information is easy to find and not cluttered or spread out all over the page. When all the information is organized into separate tabs, the webpage is easy to use and the user can find what they are looking for. Everybody loves a webpage where all you need to know is either right in front of you or one click away.

          This user friendly webpage also has very good functionality, which basically means that everything works well and fulfills its purpose. To start, when you first pull up the webpage, it loads extremely fast and everything is ready to click. All of the tabs pull up the information quickly and everything lights up as you drag the mouse over it. Most of the pages have media on them and all of the videos and beautiful slide shows work perfectly. The Location Tab includes a Map powered by Google, which is the most reliable and user friendly application for maps at this point. The Amenities Tab has a huge gallery of photos that pulls up each photo extremely fast and shows you all the great amenities at The Domain. Next, their blog page takes the role of informing residents and updating people on price changes and events. Considering people are on their computers all the time, this feature is extremely useful for updates. The Residents page works as an efficient way of allowing the residents to contact employees and pay rent. All you have to do for maintenance is type in a few things on a website, press submit, and they will be there soon. They also have another tab titled, Contact Us, which allows both residents and non-residents to contact the management. The only tab that did not function correctly was the Parents Tab. It just had “Coming Soon” written in big font, which means they must be working on it. But they should get that up soon, because most students have their parents look at the place they want to live online. With only a few slight faults, this website functions very well and fulfills its purpose.

          The content included is much more than the typical college student needs to know but it is still not excessive. It provides all the necessary information and a few more things to ensure you are satisfied with your experience. To start off with, they have their mission statement right in front and it says, “The Domain at Tempe is a lifestyle that you can call your own. A new beginning and an individual, yet social atmosphere like nothing you have experienced. The Domain life is all about living a life full of friendships and growth. This is college… your time to live in luxury!” This statement is just the perfect way to welcome residents and give them a feeling of warmth and class. The home page also provides all the links to apply and get information, as well a space for their address and contact information. Along with all this, the Domain also includes information to access their Facebook page, which allows future and current residents to connect with one another and get acquainted in a much easier way. Just the homepage alone provides plenty of content and features that allows for great connectivity between people at the Domain and possible residents.

          After the user has moved on from the home page, all other content is easily found in the different tabs on the page. The first tab at the top of the page is the Location tab. Aside from the map they have provided on the page, they also include that the Domain is directly in front of the light rail, a very popular way of transportation in Tempe. Looking at their amenities tab, they provide all the information about their two separate pools, gym and all othe r amenities that the Domain provides. Under the plans tab, it is easy to access all information about their floor plans as well as features on the interior of the apartments. All the other tabs include information about contacting the management and residential requests. The tabs on this webpage allow you to find specific information without having to go far. The Domain does a great job of keeping their website very informative without including too much text. This website provides all the content needed and ensures a quick and easy online experience.

          The Domain at Tempe’s webpage is a great example of how the internet is being used to do all kinds of things now. Fortunately, The Domain has used this to their advantage to create a simple website that provides all the content required, while still maintaining a good appearance. As you leave a web page, you should determine its quality by the information it provides to you. If you got everything you needed, they did a good job. If you leave and are still having questions, maybe the website needs more info. The Domain’s web page is reliable and makes you want to move in right away. Take a chance to look at this page, and in a couple clicks, you will know all there is to know.

We Encourage Engrained Cafe

All businesses use websites to create a sense of validation for themselves as well as their customers, making web design an extremely important factor to their success. Engrained Cafe is a local restaurant located on the Arizona State University Tempe campus, third level of the Memorial Union, and is becoming a popular feature on campus. A main contributor to this restaurant’s growing popularity would be its highly effective website. With a user friendly web design, enticing images of their dishes, and interactive and detailed features explaining their goals and morals, Engrained makes users crave their products just from the website alone.

Engrained Cafe’s website sucks users in almost instantly. The high quality, vivid images of the restaurants food products are mouth-watering and enticing; they keep the user begging for more. From the spicy shrimp pizza to the baked rigatoni, Engrained offers an abundance of delicious entrees made from all locally grown products. The website’s extremely effective visuals are complemented with stimulating colors as well as a simple layout. The main color present on the website is orange.  Color psychology describes orange to be associated with warmth and organic products. This is extremely fitting considering Engrained’s priorities revolve around natural ingredients. Also, there are light green accents on the website. Green represents a sense of calm, peace, nurturing and support. These colors complement each other and work together to create an inviting and friendly vibe, which appeals to all website users. All of the tabs located on Engrained’s homepage have labels that are direct and concise, while in a readable font and text color. There is no searching for information; everything is right in front of the users eyes with the most effective information--like the restaurants hours, menu, etc--in the middle of the front page. 

One of the main aspects Engrained Cafe is that it was created with the goal to be eco-friendly and to use localized ingredients in its products. The restaurant's use of  sustainability and conservation of resources is demonstrated on the website through an interactive diagram that shows where energy is being used efficiently and where materials are being reused and recycled. Also, the website includes six intentions of the Cafe summarizing it’s goals towards reducing the environmental footprint.  

Although the website is effective, there is still room to improve. When visiting the “Brand Story & 6 Intentions” portion of the website, there are six separate links present. When a link is clicked on, it branches out into a completely separate and inconvenient PDF file. By the time the user has read all six intentions, they will have six separate, unnecessary tabs to shuffle through. Within these files, there are simple spelling errors such as “wast” which is intended to be “waste”. Such small errors should not have been overlooked; it makes the company seem unprofessional as well as unintelligent. Engrained could fix this annoyance by creating a sole page completely dedicated to its six intentions that is complimented with orange and brown accents.

 Overall, Engrained Cafe’s website is effective to promoting its products as well as providing users with a smooth website experience. With the use of high resolution images of its mouth watering food, its no wonder that this business is becoming more successful by the year. Despite the few areas where improvement is needed, Engrained Cafe’s friendly and inviting website appeals to all who come across it.

ASU Gammage Website

ASU Gammage Website

 

According to the Broadway League, there were 12.3 million people that attended a Broadway showing within the past year. A few of those 12.3 million people watch Broadway at thee ASU Gammage building on the Tempe campus. Most of those people that go to watch Broadway  and other theatrical performances, at the Gammage building, will first look at what shows will be playing so that they can decided which shows they would like to buy tickets for so that they are able to go out and enjoy themselves watching a wonderful performance. All this is done through the ASU Gammage website. ASU Gammage is an excellent website because it provides a logical layout, strong visuals, and good content advertising.

The ASU Gammage website seems to tempt the user to want to explore and go through all the organized links on the page. The links to all other pages are displayed neatly at the top of the site page, so that right away, the user knows where they want to jump to next. They are categorized in an appropriate way, and for example, if the user clicks on the 'Shows & Tickets' link, it will take you to a page with a list of shows, and links to how to get tickets, promotions and offers, and box office information. There are many different links and pages to explore throughout the website, all leading to the correct and appropriate page. This offers the user easily accessible information to whatever they can think of when using the Gammage website.

Concurrently, the ASU Gammage website provides its browsers with a splendid visual experience . Part of what makes the websites visuals so splendid is its use of strategic use of colors like dark colors in the background and lighter colors in the front. This highlights the content of the web page making it pop out at the viewer, providing a sort of three dimensional viewing experience. The experience resembles the feelings one would get while sitting in a theater  with the lights dimmed, waiting for the show to begin. It is also this “ theater” feeling that makes the site feel like its about to come alive at any moment. The website also does not have a bunch of flashy, unneeded pictures and animations that may distract the viewer from the content of the web page. This both adds appeal to the website and makes it easier for the viewer to navigate through the website. In the end, the visuals of the ASU Gammage website both appeal to the viewer, while still being able to complement the content of the website.

Furthermore, whether it's a movie theater or live theater, the main way to attract viewers is by advertising. Every page on the ASU Gammage website provides a strong layout of any show the user is looking for. Right on the front page, a few upcoming shows are advertised in a slide show, with links leading to pages where you can find tickets and more information on the show. Most general information about what shows and when they're being performed, can be found directly on the main page. This includes a list of all shows that will be performed at ASU Gammage throughout the year. All of the shows have solid background information, including how long the shows have been running, who's acted in them previously, and even how well liked they are. Content on the web page is being constantly updated so that the user is always updated, especially for show times and days in case anything changes, or even if a new show is added. This makes the ASU Gammage website an especially easy site to access and use for people of all ages.

In the end, because ASU Gammage is the theatrical center of ASU it must have a website to match. Because people go to ASU Gammage to experience spectacular plays and performances. Therefore, it would only be normal for the ASU Gammage website to be just as spectacular through its strategic use of a easy to use layout, meaningful visuals, and eye-catching advertising of its content. Because people don’t want to simply watch a performance, they want to experience it. Likewise, people don’t want a website that will just inform them of performances, they want a website that will allow them to visualise them, so that they are able to make a decision and know without a doubt that they didn’t make a mistake when choosing which performance to watch; which is exactly the kind of website that ASU gammage is. Because not just any website can be an ASU Gammage website.

See it for yourself at www.asugammage.com



Written by Ben and Liz

Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport

Capturing the Essence of Air Travel

In 1952, when terminal one opened, a mere 296,056 passengers traveled the corridors of Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport. As of 2011 however, a whopping 40,591,948 passengers were recorded. With four terminals and over 400,000 takeoffs and landings since 2007, Sky Harbor Airport has certainly surpassed expectations. This airport has become a sense of pride for the Phoenix metropolitan area. With access to numerous Arizona hot spots, downtown Phoenix and Arizona State University to mention a few, the location of this air-travel behemoth is second to none. With such a public gem as this, it is always important to supply information to the millions of passengers who enable Sky Harbor to function day-to-day. To ensure customer satisfaction and passenger approval, the administration of Sky Harbor has worked hard to supply a superb website to the general public. Sky Harbor’s website adequately conveys information through the use of relevant content and superior functionality, despite its lack of visually appealing components.

Sky Harbor’s comprehensive website provides a plethora of relevant content to the user. Every piece of information that is relayed to the reader is completely focused and provides direction to certain topics at the user’s discretion. In addition to the necessary general information, the site is home to hundreds of admissible facts and statistics that directly apply to future air travel passengers and Sky Harbor customers. These facts and statistics are all neatly hidden behind helpful links that lead the user to where they choose to go, even if that may be the site of another air travel related organization. This plethora of content would be unusable however if the website was lacking in functionality, but this simply is not the case.

Sky Harbor International Airport has gone above and beyond with its functionality. Functionality and easy use are two factors that the creators of this website truly excelled at. With the multiple and well-organized category tabs, finding the information that you need should never be an issue. While the Sky Harbor website has its flaws, it truly shines in this aspect. The creators have made a detailed and user-friendly web page with a wide variety of relevant and easily accessible information. On the slight chance that you do have an issue finding what you’re looking for, you’re provided with a convenient search function at the top of the page. It not only searches the website for information but actually uses Google as a reference as well. So with accurate and detailed information, a well-organized and convenient system of categories guides the user to whatever they seek to find.

Despite all of the Sky Harbor websites positives, the one feature that it lacks, is visual appeal. When you first visit the website, one of the first things that you notice is the lack of components that stick out to the user. The dull background colors are easily ignored. One example of this is demonstrated at the bottom of the page where a small section of links resides. The color of the link’s font is actually just a few shades of brown darker than the background, so it’s actually even hard to find them let alone see them at all. “America’s Friendliest Airport”. This appears to be the slogan for the airport. However, it wasn’t until a few visits to the website that it stuck out. The small font size and its location make the slogan just barely noticeable and easily passed by. With a poor color scheme and horrible placement of important features, visual appeal is the one component that Sky Harbor’s website lacks.

Different aspects of this site come together rather eloquently to achieve a higher standard on the World Wide Web. While critiquing a site based on its aspects is slightly more micro level thinking, when websites in general are viewed on a more macro stage many different things come into view. The electronic world is such a vast one with so much potential and such a promising future. It allows organizations to target such a variety of individuals and has such a profound impact on their lives and how they obtain information. This site is only the start to an electronic age that all organizations will have complete access to mass amounts of media options and persuasion techniques. Marketing and advertising are huge categories in this digital era that is upon us. If this age has just begun, who knows what will happen in another five, or even ten, years.

Your Guide to Scottsdale Fashion Square

        In this day and age, technology is very prominent in society.  Many people use their smart phones and computers as resources when looking for information about virtually anything.  With the use of technology comes the expectation of access to information with just the click of a button.  Because technology is so prominent in our society, it’s very important for businesses to have a website that is organized, appealing, and to the point. If Internet users are turned off by a website, many times they will take their business elsewhere.

One of the most important aspects of a business website is its ability to draw potential customers and entice them to come shop with merchants. The Scottsdale Fashion Square website has a clear advantage over competing shopping centers’ websites in this respect. It is set up so it is user friendly and straightforward.  One of the most important aspects of the website is its ability to attract shoppers to shop at the at Scottsdale Fashion Square. Navigating the Scottsdale Fashion Square website is easy enough that most individuals, even those with minimal experience, will be able to do it.

The Scottsdale Fashion Square is a mall located in Scottsdale, Arizona, which is a predominately rich suburb in the Phoenix area. The mall is home to over 250 stores and restaurants, including upscale department stores such as Barney’s, Nordstrom, and Neiman Marcus, as well as luxury brands such as Coach, Louis Vuitton, and Tiffany & Co. Because the mall is so large and diverse, it’s important that the website does not overwhelm shoppers.

The homepage of the website is simple in design, allowing for non-confusing navigation.  Only a few colors are used, purple, gray, black and white, which are appealing to users’ eyes.  The font is large and easy to read with the title “Scottsdale Fashion Square” legible at the top.  Many pictures are posted to draw in the readers’ attention.  A plethora of clickable tabs are located at the top of the home page making navigation easy and precise.  A scrolling bar displays a majority of the Fashion Square’s most popular retail stores.  Another scrolling picture bar provides the user with information on sales at different stores and information on promotions in the mall itself. All of these features provide convenience for people seeking information about the mall.

While it’s important to have an appealing home page, it is also important that the rest of the website is user-friendly. Starting with the most important function, usability, we can assess the Fashion Square’s website. Scottsdale Fashion Square website provides the user with organized navigation. Along with excellent navigation, any website in question should have a clear objective for its audience and be designed to meet it.  For example, this website’s clear purpose is to inform prospective shoppers about the wonderful shopping environment Scottsdale Fashion Square provides. Easy access and composition are some of the websites strongest features, along with a simple color scheme and direct access to any pertinent information about the mall.

Although usability is the most important feature, appearance is a close second in rank.  As a high-end fashion mall containing some of the biggest and most popular brands in the fashion world, the look of the Scottsdale Fashion Square website is important.  According to demographics of any mall shoppers, mainly women will be visiting this site. Most stores are geared to cater to women. Women are more likely to shop for not only themselves, but for other members of their family. Attention to detail is a characteristic of many women.  This means color, originality, modernism and feministic views are completely necessary to attract women shoppers and are apparent in the website’s design.

For example, since Scottsdale Fashion Square contains some of the most well known, high-end, stores, the color chosen for the website also must support this image. One color that is very dominant on the website is purple.  Purple is a color that is associated with royalty, wealth, and sophistication.  In addition to purple as a logical choice for the website, the colors grey, white, and black also serve a clear purpose.  Black is a color that is associated with stability, power, intelligence, and authority, white is associated with purity and cleanliness, and grey is associated with practical and solid things in life.

While the basic layout and color scheme stay the same, the colors on the homepage, like fashion trends, are seasonal. Scottsdale Fashion Square adapts to the seasons by changing the homepage colors from cooler colors in the summer to warmer colors in the fall. Some customers might not realize it, but colors do have an effect on moods, behavior, and emotions.

While colors support the websites design, it’s also important for users to be able to find what they need.  The home page of the website has a search bar that is visible the second a customer enters the website. The search bar makes keyword searches completely available at the tip of the users fingers, and is valuable for users that might be unable to find exactly what they are looking for on the website’s general sections.  Through this, a keyword search is done that will pick out specific words from the search and lead you to a page that has all of the links with the key words in it. For some users, the search bar will help tremendously.  It has the potential to be a factor that could possibly make or break someone’s experience on a website.

Not only is there a search bar, but also there is a drop down menu containing the names of every store in Scottsdale Fashion Square. This makes it easy to locate and look-up stores, and can immensely help a user in need of quick answers.  The clickable tabs come second to the search and drop down menus, but can do just about anything the user needs. “Directory”, “Sales”, “Dining”, “Events”, “Visitor Info”, “Gift Card”, and “Spotlight” are the names of every searchable tab.  Each of these can give the user an immense amount of information on these subjects.

One example of a tab with a great amount of information is the “Dining” tab.  Once a user clicks on the tab, they are directed to a page that is solely dedicated to everything a shopper needs to know about all of the dining options the Scottsdale Fashion Square has to offer. The main dining page is broken up into four sections, the full dining directory, restaurants, fast food, and specialty foods. This makes it easier on shoppers that know exactly what they are in the mood for in dining options.

            The “Spotlight” tab is a tab that might be looked over by most visitors, but provides just as much information as the other tabs listed. The “Spotlight” tab includes blogs and articles written to entertain and inform trend conscious shoppers. Not only does it inform the reader of the current trends, but it also has articles that provide make-up tutorials, Black Friday shopping guides, holiday entertainment tips, and movie reviews. This tab is useful for young adults, moms on the go, and, surprisingly, even men.

As the holiday season approaches, Scottsdale Fashion Square has encompassed the idea of Christmas. With the holiday season, comes more shoppers, bringing more traffic to the Scottsdale Fashion Square website. Holiday hours are important to shoppers, so a bold tab is added at the top of the homepage leading to a holiday calendar. Along with the “holiday hours” tab, ads promoting events such as Pictures with Santa and Black Friday sales scroll across the home page. While gift cards are always a popular choice among shopper, sales increase during the holiday season. Scottsdale Fashion Square website largely promotes their holiday gift cards by providing a link on almost every page of the website. By allowing gift cards to be purchased easily online, Scottsdale Fashion Square provides an original way to reach a more broad audience made up of people nationwide.

            Scottsdale Fashion Square website does a wonderful job at working to fulfill the needs of all audiences; from the single mom on the go to the family man, the website has something for everyone. Navigating the Scottsdale Fashion Square website is easy enough that most individuals, even those with minimal experience, will be able to do it. The accessibility and easy navigation of the website through the search bar, clickable tabs, and directory provide potential shoppers with a positive experience that will surely bring them back to the website again. Not only is the website user friendly, but it has the appeal as a storefront window in the mall. The website successfully draws the audience in, informs them, and entices them to come shop at the mall.  The purpose of the website is to inform potential shoppers in hopes of bringing business to the numerous retailers who call Scottsdale Fashion Square their home. As avid shoppers ourselves, we find the website very helpful, appealing, and successful in its purpose. The website has a little something for every type of shopper.

           

 The Scottsdale Fashion Square Website can be found here.