Week 3 Part A: Aesthetics, Design, and Branding

MGBG Parts & Services

OMG where do I even begin with this one, I don't who said that this was ok to put up on their website. Right off the bat, there is way too many photos of cars, I get it that they work with cars but every inch of my screen is filled with photos of cars. Each menu/page option is literally a photo of the same car. Not only that, the menu/page goes down to the end of the page, more than 25 links I would guess. Everything is right in your face that you don't know where to look, it has too much information that has no structure and you can't understand what is going on. It hurts my eyes seeing all the red and things that are all over the place.

This website is not professionally done and if so I would ask for a refund. The way everything is it looks like it was thrown together in one hour and they just put whatever came to their head. They did not think things through but instead just went with what they thought looked ok. They probably did not have a second opinion about how things looked or how it could be made better. The alignment on the menu options is off which could have been a simple correction, which demonstrates that they really didn't care to make simple things like that right. 

I don't think there can be improvements made to this website, they need to scratch it and start over from the beginning. They could condense their menu to a button and when you press it gives you the option to their different pages and getting rid of a few links that are not necessary. They could get rid of all the photos and instead maybe one or two. Change the color scheme which is just awful to the eyes, and instead make the colors attract and draw the viewer's attention. The reason that this is important is that I would never contact these people if I needed something done on my car, I don't even want to be on the site let alone have them work on my car. They essentially are losing customers than generating customers. 

Gates N Fences

This website is not as bad but definitely nowhere near professional or good quality. The color scheme is awful, they have a green that pops with the background but it's not something that looks intriguing more of a repelling look. Too many photos, they got 4 on top and then like another 5 on the bottom. Their menu option literally runs down the whole page. There are tones of different paragraphs that I am not even going to read. 

I hope this website was not professionally done. There are too many things that if somebody just took the time and thought the process they could have avoided in creating this website. A professional, I hope, would have taken the time to think things through and see what works best and how to make it better. The only way these kinds of websites go live is if the owner is ok with it, because I know if I had paid somebody to do this I would not be happy.  

They can get rid of most of the photos to start. Then they need to condense their menu option to just the subheading and only have about 5 options. Make it a button instead of running down the page. The color scheme needs to go, something much more subtle yet it attracts the attention of customers. Change the background from some weird texture to something simple and one color. Get rid of all the paragraphs and only put what the customer needs to know. 

Apple

Their website has a beautiful contrast, their menu options are easy to read, easy to see, and are well aligned. Their typography is well thought out and is very easy on the eyes. The words are easy to read and I have a sense of direction or flow of the website. Things are properly aligned and is very easy to use, what's most relevant or new is on top and different things throughout the rest of the page to get the viewer's attention. Their logo is on every page on the top left, so repetition was important so that you know what website and whose website you are on. 

You can clearly see that this was professionally done and they have a bit of money to put to make it the best it can possibly be. The reason that I say that is because when you look at the website you can tell that everything is thought out and meticulously put in place. This wasn't probably one person, this was probably a group coming together and seeing what works the best and how they can implement that so that people stay on the website as long as possible and make a purchase. 

I love the layout and am impressed with how simple everything looks but yet gives me everything that I would need to know or see. The way everything looks and the aesthetics of the website draw me to come back to look at it again and again, as well as looking at the different pages and what they have to offer. This also creates brand loyalty and recognition as well as linking things with their brand. 

Toyota

I wouldn't say that their website is the best but when you look at the bad ones it is much better. They clearly have everything aligned and professional photos. They have everything clearly outlined and it's easy for you to know where you have/want to go. They have drop-down menus instead of having their choices run down the page. The color scheme works well as it is simple yet pops and you can clearly tell whose website you are on. There is a lot of information or things going on on their front page but they were able to do it in a way is easy to the eyes and that attracts the viewer to keep looking. 
Yes, this website was professionally done, probably with a team of engineers and designers refining and coming up with new ideas everyday. I'm sure they are working on them to make them better and to see if they will fit right and feel right. The reason you can tell that some serious money was used to create this website is first that the company, Toyota, is a pretty big company so I'm sure they understand the importance of having a good website and the have the money to make it right. Then when you look at the website it seems like everything you see was purposely put there, everything was well thought out and there is no little "oops, whatever". It is also very easy to use, and the flow is right for the viewer to get to what they want.      
I like the website and color scheme. This website puts trust in their brand, I would trust them with my car or buy a car from them. I also wouldn't mind spending time on this website cause it just flows, unlike some other websites as soon as you get on you want to get off and do!