www.iShopHQ.com

[iShopHQ]

Hello all-

I'm about 90% complete on www.iShopHQ.com and am looking for some feedback. I'm using affiliate product datafeeds to populate a database and then provide search functionality. I've got 20 stores now with plans to add more.

I'm looking feedback on for ease of use, interface, layout, functionality, etc. Also if there are any more mfeatures you think would be value-added.

I'm trying to keep it simple as possible - I think the tag line says it all:

"No frills, no spills, no chills.... Just Shopping!"

Thanks for your time.

[Foxy]

From an outsiders point of view [UK] I would say that this is a difficult way to search for goods.

1. You have a strange way of describing the goods eg comforter not bedding
2. Use the singular [NB it is spelt wrong on the site by the way] so I did "ski"
3. Select a department - where is Sports?
4. Select a store - now I do not know these names [as other people might also] so I selected "Best Buys" and what did I get?.....

Store
Price

12" Round Stainless-Steel Skillet - SS120

and plenty more starting with "ski"

Which is not what I wanted - I wanted a "pair of skis" which if I searched on it I found nothing - so I would go elsewhere!

Database searches are notoriously hard to get correct - we have many examples in the holiday rental business and each one always has too many options before getting down to basics of finding a property - and this one is showing the same tendencies.

Sorry

[iShopHQ]

Hi Foxy-

Thanks for the feedback. I'll Change Fitness/Health to Fitness/Sports. Thanks for the suggestion.

You are correct about the difficulty of building a simple-to-use search. iShopHQ works on a product name model - that is it searches for products by their specific name. So typing in 'Bedding' won't do you any good, whereas as typing in 'White Down Comforter' will. Likewise for something like 'Exercise Equipment' versus 'hand weight'.

I know it will be very difficult to immediately inform users that they should be looking for a specific item, not a class or category of items.

The plural thing is going to take some thinking. The database is established from specific products in various datafeeds, and specific products are not named in plural form. Search for 'comforter' and you get a ton of results, search for 'comforters' and suddenly you're not finding anything. I'll be able to reconcile some plurals in the search iteself, but overall there are just too may. Unfortunate too, since most Internet searchers are used to searching by plural form: 'Wool Jackets" vice 'Wool Jacket'.

Another issue, as you discovered, is searching for words that are partials of another word. I.e 'ski' being part of 'skillet'. I've programmed the search to look for a blank before the start of the search term to avoid finding products where the search term occures within or at the end of a word. Other than that, I'm no real sure what steps to take, as the data I receive is not segregated by category. Selecting a deparment automatically check stores that sell merchandise contained within that department; is doen't limit results to that department alone however. Superstores, such as Overstock, sell items in a broad spectrum of departments. Type in 'glasses' and search overstock and you will get sunglasses and kitchen glasses. Type in 'pan' and you will get pans for cooking and pants. The same issue you had with 'ski'.

So yes, there are several challenges. I'm hoping some of hte smart people here can offer some suggestions on how to overcome them.

Thanks for helping-

[hans]

the first thing i had to do before reading is
Ctrl +
!
may be you can do that for the visitors instead ..

then i search ( i am a daddy )
baby - pampers
that's how we called ( and they sold ) them in DE
and even HERE in the PH that's the way they call them

result
Sorry!
No products found matching your search term!

but

i search again "cat nip" - that's like cat's viagra - driving a cat happy and crazy - some call it
"cat minth" - purely herbal - makes cats purring like angels :) they love to smell it and roll around in it !!!
something REALLY every cat lover in Europe or USA knows and has ..
so i search "cat nip" then "cat minth"
result
Sorry!
No products found matching your search term!

then
out of solutions - something i ever did before in my entirel life ..
i go amazon.com ( my first REAL experience for smething of daily use - other than books !!! )

pampers:
a whole page boys and girls pampers and more - all sizes, quantities - just the way i gt a selection next corner when i would go real shopping for instant real results.

cat nip
a lot of different - and also what i look for "CAT-NIP HERB" - liquid - i wanted dried herbs - but at least they have it. may be i better stay with the shops around the corner - they always used to have real cat nip - because then KNOW cats and how to make them happy.

so
i guess there is work to be done
doing what many others already do ?

may be yes if better than others and if you hae no idea or product of your own
but then
better=easier+faster= instant fun and results

btw

at amazon com i only had 1 field to enter my name - no dept - no selections ..
just the name I use to know and use in my limited local language
just a common name ...

but sometimes i also do some serious web site review
so i have a look if that site would qualify for an indepth look
i go
http://validator.w3.org/
and a validation says to me "stay away" too much very basic stuff to do !

here in the Philipines they love the sweet part of life
so they say "no money - no honey"
i add BEFORE that "no work - no money - no honey!"

another btw

your title says
Internet Shopping Search Engine

Search engines - that rings the bells :)
I Google !!

search for:
cat nip herbal store buy
and get a description i love - because i have SEEN the results
and the description matches my experience and memories
among the top 10 results i get:

drugstore.com - Fat Cat Boogie Mat Refillable Catnip Mat, Oriental
... Nip Facts: Catnip is an herb (in the mint ... This most entertaining show can last about 1/2 hour then, as if nothing happened, your cat will stop & walk away ...

good luck

[iShopHQ]

Hi Hans-

Thanks for the feedback. I've already incorporated some changes.

"baby - pampers" contained a reserved expression; the '-'. I've programmed to remove it. Search for If you sesarch for 'pampers', 'baby pampers', or 'baby - pampers' now returns results (though onyl three at present - more to come as I add stores).

You're experience with cat nip highlights another problem. Search for 'cat nip' and you find nothing. Search for 'catnip' (one word) and you get 25 results. I guess I need to start gathering a list of common phrases and match them to the way they are represented in the db.

I am more concerned however about your disenchantement with the Department Selection feature. I was trying to tie that in with the stores. When you select the department, it automatically selectes stores that sell products in that department. You can then deselect stories you might not want to search at. What I was thinking was to give searchers control over the stores being searched. Too, I was thinking this might cut down on some of the 'noise' results. If you are searching for 'sheet' you would select the Bed and Bath department and that would keep office supply results from coming up for '500 sheet binder'.

Do you think it would be better to just cut that out all together and go with a single search that searches ALL stores? Do you think the average user would liek having that control? Or do they just want to search?

Thanks,

[IONWeb]

iShopHQ,

Goodness I do not envy the headache of the database development (grins).
I think keeping the layout as clean as possible is a good thing - and as it stands, it appears navigable and clean - good job. People tend to feel overwhelmed when there is too much going on on a page so keep navigation as a priority.

With regards to the department selection - If you do decide to keep it, you may want to post a note to the viewer that the "auto selection" feature you have can be modified by unchecking a box or two if they so desire.

Finally, try to validate your code. In the long run, it can only be of benefit to you.

Best of luck ;)

ION Website Design (http://www.ionwebdesign.com/)

[hans]

Hi iShopHQ

none of the stores are known to me.
but
IF i search online i want to find - no matter where, no matter who

and i want to find exactly what meets my needs
which sometimes can be proven by a very relevant descritpion
such as the absolute perfect eye-witness descritption of the cat nip :)
which in turn requires
- experience with the product
- knowledge of the product

many names for one product
like in internet - many aliases for one person in some cases
may be aliases for for db as well with products ?
all pointing to one final product

but after all ..
my advice may be of last priority - because ...
the only product I ever ordererd online a few times in life was my SuSE Linux... nothing else so far
I prefer eyes to eyes - to meet experts and get expert advice and personalized service, to see, touch, select, buy and take away.
... may be i am spoiled to expect humans to know, to take care personally of their products, ..

when i really need something i travel distances to get exactly what i need.

[iShopHQ]

Good feedback all, thanks.

I decided to remove the vendor checkboxes, but kept the department segregations. So you enter your search term, hit a department, and the the search executes.

It will take me some data gathering to starting filtering for commonly mispelled/misformed words and plurals and such.

Thanks-

[Foxy]

Getting Better Looks Better

But you should clean up this "advice" a little:

Search by name, NOT department: "comforter" NOT "bedding", "down jacket" NOT "clothes", "diapers" NOT "baby supplies"

Use singular, NOT plural: "comforter" NOT "comforters", "dvd player" NOT "dvd players"

The more specific the better! Examples: "Cordless Phone", "Timex watch", and "Sateen Sheet Set"

Please be patient! You're searching through 134,610 products!

For example:

Search by Name: eg: dvd player or samsung dvd player
Use the singular: eg: dvd player NOT dvd players
You can be specific: eg: samsung dvd player or timex watch

Notice that I have left off the Be patient bit - the client will say I'm not patient I want!! Therefore I won't wait and will go elsewhere!

Perhaps if you put in the left column

Step 1
Enter name of product
to find from 134,610 products

It might get the impression across of the scale without mentioning that it might take time

[iShopHQ]

Good suggestions Foxy!

Implementation forthcoming....

[Foxy]

Even better

But put Searching from 1xxxxx products up on the next line between the two hrs or in the header perhaps:)

I would also put the title Favorite Searches on the left hand somehow

Both these moves would raise your favourite searches [the easy option] up so that most people do not need to scroll - remember the client is lazy!!

I used the FS and it worked well

I also tried ski and it "worked" as best it could however people use the term "pair of skis" and it didn't for that [obviously] so I don't know how you fix that - perhaps if you were to compile a glossary of terms [product names etc] for each Department that would lead on :)

[iShopHQ]

You mean make the Favorites a left hand column along side the search box? In a single column, the FSs would still make the page long.

I do want the number of products to stand out mero though. And I think the dark green is giving too much weight to the left side. I might lighten that up and see what it looks like.

I feel as though I'm getting pretty close....

Thanks for all the advice!

[Foxy]

No

What I mean is to take the heading from above the lists and place it to the left - or perhaps above in the green just below the "departments" by saying something like "or use favorite searches below" and in the first column first row put a smaller Favourite Searches in a different colour / style as a header

The effect, together with relocating the numbers higher, would be to lift your whole page up and so exposing most of the lines below and so making scrolling not so tedious

[iShopHQ]

OK - gotcha.

On the list for tomorrow.

I lightened it up. I like it better. Any other opinions?

Finished the About and Terms pages. Working out a Deprtments/Categories page in my head. Wondering how to add specials based on the merchant. Is a merchant rating feature worth it?

Thanks!

[Foxy]

I agree

Just get your info "up" the page

If you look at www.apple.com or your associated company www.overstock.com you will see that they get it high!

Now this is a subjective comment - if you want to get "specials" onto the page you need to create space aka above so that the specials/ads do not dominate so it may be that you need to do a double column left hand col [green] with the Favourite searches in 1 cols right under the iShopHQ and the Home etc to the right with the Step 1 Step 2 under - in other words take it from the bottom and place it straight down the left hand side

this will free up space [where the favoruites sit now] to place your merchant specials ads and anything else that will make you money

Good one