LO1 - Analysis of website - Amazon

5 Different Purposes of websites:
- Information
- Advertising
- E-Commerce
- Download & Streaming
- Social Media

E-Commerce - Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/)

A) Purpose: The purpose of Amazon is to provide a form of e-commerce and a platform for Amazon and third-party companies to sell products. It's main objective is to sell products just like any other physical shop but with the ability to order at any time and anywhere as long as the person has internet access and something to access the e-shop with. It will always provide a 24/7 access time (unless due to unforeseen situations) which means it is far more accessible than a physical shop. The main target audience will be a wide range since the products that are always recommended follow the same theme as the person searching those types of items. It uses a service known as Paypal to confirm transactions which means only people who have access to a credit card or a similar form of payment method.

B) Visitor Needs: The website provides a series of navigational options for a visitor to acquire what they were looking for. A page for a product will contain information everything about the product. Amazon lists the price, the amount of stock left and sometimes how long till new stock will arrive, information about the product and where the product can be bought from i.e. other Amazon affiliates. To the left of the screen shows multiple screenshots of the selected product. This allows the customer to preview their chosen products before purchasing. Amazon features a wide range of products. It provides consumers with items from every department. This ranges from Books, Music, Games, Electronics, Home, Toys, Clothes and many other departments. Not only are these departments available but each have more sub categories in which the consumer can refine their search for their desired items.

C) Information Flow/User Experience: The website has been designed to allow new users to navigate the website easier. The user interface is quite simplistic and does not require any kind of experience to use apart from clicking links and searching in the search bar. Certain deals will appear on the side which will further influence people to buy more deals. A website like Amazon will most likely change their homepage to suit the current events such as holidays and special events. At the bottom of the front page of Amazon, it will show a customer’s recent browsing history and the website will try and suggest items that may interest them. Not only is this helpful for the customer, but they will also more inclined to buying the suggested items.

D) Features: A user can quickly become accommodated to using Amazon’s interface. The layout is somewhat simplistic and doesn’t distract nor hinder people from learning the simple processes that can be done on Amazon. Items are organised to clearly show the item’s appearance and it shows the full name of the product that a person is looking at i.e. Model Number is shown along with the brand of the product. The interface of Amazon.co.uk is made to seamlessly blend into people’s browsing habits, as it tailors the suggested item according to what people are more commonly browsing and constantly creates a refined search the more people are constantly browsing through products. Everything is separated into their appropriate departments and a customer could hover over the ‘Shop by Department’ and are presented with a drop down menu presenting the sub-categories in which customers can choose which category they want to browse through. The menu is always presented through the website and with that, the search bar and the rest of the features on the upper most bar is constantly on the webpage which allows for browsing continuity. 

E) Benefits: The Amazon website provides benefits such as having to only manage their stocks and their website which means it will cheaper in terms of management. It also provides a platform for third party sellers, which means that Amazon is more than likely getting paid by those third party sellers. People can order on Amazon with or without an account and both will provide the customer a suggestions list and certain types of deals and promotions. Not only does this provide an extra service for people but it also means that people who don’t have an account are more incited to create an account to use the websites features such as wish lists and a feature that Amazon provides: ‘Amazon Prime’. Amazon Prime gives people free content (subjective and tends to change) and a 1-day delivery service.

F) Content: Amazon has not changed much apart from layout. Content wise, products have changed over time according to what is being made in the current year and any other popular on demand products. Its main objective of selling products has not changed the websites content very much apart from variety.