E-Commerce Site Review - Thanks!

[chuckrox8]

Hey Guys/Gals,



I am new to the forum and would really appreciate some feedback on an e-commerce website I've put together, specifically regarding the drop down menus at the top of the home page. I mocked up the website design and had a developer do all of the rest (I only have a working understanding of HTML/PHP/CSS). The site is built on the Volusion e-commerce platform. The idea was to create a warm and friendly looking site that is easy on the eyes and easy to navigate.



Peach Lamps



Our website sells projector lamps, the replacement lamps that go inside your projector when the bulb goes out. Ideally, a visitor would be able to select their lamp manufacturer from the "1" drop down menu which would then populate all of the projector models in drop down menu "2" where you could make your selection. Currently, this works okay for manufacturers with relatively small product lists. For manufacturers that have lengthy product lists drop down menu "2" can take 5 or 6 seconds to populate. i.e. Epson & Sanyo Some of our competitors have very similar menus which populate with no delay/lag. I believe there is some Javascript currently running this menu function. I'm sure there is a better way to do this.



I would really appreciate any feedback on enhancing the menu speed as well as an other feedback you may have regarding the site design/layout/etc....



Thanks!

[bleau canon]

Looks good to me.....Just my 2 cents worth tonight ,

[Metatrox]

Welcome!

Overall It's pretty decent. Not sure if its based on a remade theme or not as I am not familiar with Volusion.

From what I understand, if your selling to the consumer then when someone comes to your site they are looking for a specific model only. They dont care about the featured items or related items, especially if these do not apply to their specific projector. So personally the Featured Items and Related items boxes are kind of silly. I'm not going to just add a featured item because its on sale or a related item. LOL

For me personally what I would do is emphasize the "search" bars. Except I wouldn't do drop downs like you have. If you are able to, I know your restricted a bit because of Volusion, I would create a new menu interface. Drop downs can be good, but as you mentioned can be cumbersome when trying to populate them. They are also harsh for mobile devices.

Perhaps a way to do this would be to have a nice large section of all the logos of the brand. When they click one, below this box loads another box with a list of the models, perhaps even with a thumbnail. Once they click the model, it loads the item and details in another box below.

I think something like this would be great! It would help it to feel not so much like a regular shopping cart/store. Would also eliminate multiple pages.


Ok so this will prove that I have too much time on my hands, but thought it might help explain what I'm saying.

PeachLamps.jpg

Essentially each step/box would only show up as you choose an item from each section.

[AlphaMare]

I like the site, I like the way the search is done for you when you choose the make and model.
The layout is clean, the colours are a bit bland - I like to see more contrast between the content area and the footer.
The colours in the slider could contrast more as well - all the blues and greens just start to blend, and the point is to stand out.
Also, your third slider image is missing.
Aprt from that, it's a decent site.
I have no experience with Volusion, although I do keep getting spam from them asking me to try them out.

[monkeye]

Hi chuck,

I like your logo connection with the domain name and design.

The pages are clear and well organized.

In the terms and conditions page I would add an EOL before "Agreement Between User and Peachlamps.com"