Homepage a/b test

I really love the new look of the front page. I think it will make it much easier for new people to find what they are looking for. Nice job boys

Hmmm…still think the old one looks classier..but really think the catagories is a plus to shoppers.

We really like the new page. Thanks

Thankful it is only a test! Saw when I logged out.

My immediate reaction was aesthetic. The old page is always a treat to the eye. The new page is not cohesive. It’s choppy.
It doesn’t flow. The list of categories is bare and forlorn with the thin grey script and lots of white space. I much preferred the green blocks around sections.

The CNN and other 2 logos are somewhat intrusive visually – maybe glaring is a better word. Not to mention that the articles they link to are over a year and a half old!

Ironic that CNN is saying “This is a very visual and shopper-friendly online marketplace.” yet it seems to have lost much of it’s visual appeal on the Home Page.

Personally, I was enticed by the visual appeal when I signed up here. That is the same reason I almost instantly reject any other venues. That’s just me, perhaps.

Why not a “Why Buy On Bonanzle?” rather than a “Why sell”
Emphasize the number and diversity of sellers, the quality of sellers, the plethora of goods etc. etc. …
“Why not sell” gives a “we need more sellers” connotation.

Just a one-liner with link that says something like "Find out how easy it is to sell on Bonanzle here " is sufficient. [I found myself wondering about the “up to 50% less” in fees. Which fees?]

THEN, if you emphasize “Why Buy” here… you can do a drop down of the categories instead of taking up a fourth of the page …well it seems like a fourth because there is so much white space. I do think a drop down of categories with a catchy enticing phrase would be better than a static list.

Maybe a category search is a better idea than a keyword search to begin with… But most buyers use a keyword search [statistics have shown] as they really don’t know what is in some [actually most] of the categories except the obvious, like books [lots of books are in other categories, tho – like sewing, knitting and the like. I did an experiment with the Newsletter from Bonanzle this morning. The invite was to learn “knitting” and led me to knitting books under books. There were very few – like 53 books as I recall and a few more when I expanded. INSTEAD I put “Knitting Patterns” in a keyword search and came up with over 1908 items and only 64 of them were under “books”. I checked the sold in the last year. Knitting “Books” had sold 3 – THREE! It was 45 sold under an expanded search under the category “books”

Knitting Patterns [which are almost always ‘books’ or ‘booklets’] had sold 1207 in the last year

Even I don’t get it straight after 10 years.

Why not drop the categories down from the keyword search?

Yikes – and hour and a half has gone by since I signed out – I need to go to bed! I hope I made sense…

This is a test. It is only a test!

Would you please consider capitalizing the first letter of each word in the categories on the left of the experimental page?

I know the internet has caused the use of proper writing skills to seem not as important but it would really look better and help them stand out more if they were capitalized.

Thanks

I’m not sure how I feel about the new front page yet. When I first saw it it took my eyes to the bottom of the page first.

I agree with EclecticStuff “The CNN and other 2 logos are somewhat intrusive visually”

It is not as professional looking as the old page.
What I do like is the categories listed (could be darker font though.) I like that the new page makes me feel as if I am in Bonanzle,I don’t have to jump to more pages to start shopping.

I love the new look. Looks more professional to me. Nice and clean especially since you added the categories. Kudos!

Hi
I am amongst those who are seeing the new homepage within the test.

EclecticStuff hit on many issues that I agree with totally.
I especially agree with this part of her post.

Why not a “Why Buy On Bonanzle?” rather than a “Why sell”
Emphasize the number and diversity of sellers, the quality of sellers, the plethora of goods etc. etc. …
“Why not sell” gives a “we need more sellers” connotation.

I have to let the new page sink in more before giving a full opinion, but my first opinion is that I prefer the old version much more.

And as my mother used to say, “you only get one chance to make a first impression.”

Just sharing my thoughts.
Thank you for listening.

I prefer the old page. Several points above – smaller pics, we can’t offer coupons (we don’t get coverage), for starters are NEGS for many of us. This new page looks too commercialized, too much like you-know-who! Really prefer being able to view a full blown show-case of products! Having CNN, etc., MAY be beneficial, but ultimately, it’s the customers opinion of the sellers here that will help Bonz to keep growing!

I like the new version page better. Many more options for potential buyers. Much more advertising. I think it could help sales and direct more traffic. Nice Job!!

It is not a bad change, but what percentage of a chance do people have to ever get their items in those featured boxes? What qualifies people to get there? It looks like that may require you to be a paid subscriber since we do not have access to the markdown managers to post sales. I do not think this new change is as pretty or as elegant as the old version. It is obviously more utilitarian, but not as striking as the old version. I’m gettin’ out the kleenex. The Home Page gone forever? That’s sad, it was the most beautiful venue on the internet with that showcase.

Also, as Mickey Rooney always screams down the stairwell at Holly Go Litely, “Miss Go Litely, I mussa protest!!!!” WHEN are Dolls and Bears getting a main category? They are a main category on every venue out there. They go anywhere from new to extremely antique and rare. Since this new format takes people into categories, this is very important for us dolliphiles! Even if you strike this beta test, dolls still need to be a main category. There are probably more doll seekers out there than lots of other categories!

When I first logged in and saw the new home page, I thought I was somewhere else. Really. The old home page may have provided fewer options for a new person (potential customer) but – that first impression is what will lure the customer in. I couldn’t agree more with some of the comments here – looks cluttered now, Deal of the Day getting promotions … too much in too small a space. I love the suggestion of rewording it to Why Bonanzle – from a buyer’s perspective. Maybe all those options that are all over the place right now could be categorizes, and tucked back in under a link? … I thought that Bonanzle was SUPPOSED to look different, BE different – it’s starting to look like everywhere else!

I hope a little tweeking will bring back the clean look it used to have, without losing all the options and possibilities you’re trying to add!

I loved the old larger HPL, it was the thing I told all my friends to be sure and click to watch it change. It gave a WOW factor that is missing now.

I strongly dislike the Coupon and Deals section on the New version. It adds to our growing image of being a flea market instead of a site with good quality items. Please consider making this only a click spot to look for coupons if someone wants to. I believe it will drive high spenders away. I dislike using coupons and discounts but have to until our traffic grows. This is NOT a great point to attract more Sellers either.

Please consider having a Why Buy On Bonanzle instead of a Why Sell. The Why Sell part should be an afterthought to the Why Buy information listed at the bottom of the reasons. Sellers come where there are Buyers, and where they see a strong effort to attract Buyers not more Sellers.

Please make the Name Brand references across the bottom much smaller. Makes me feel like we will be blitzed with ads in the site. It should look more like references and less like ads. That part is almost as big as the showcase, so what are you selling?? Bonanzle items or those other sites??

The Categories Section was needed and is an improvement. Hate that it overtakes the Showcase though.

This new page sure looks a lot like the Bay now.

Overall I like the new homepage but agree it looks a bit cluttered. Great to have the categories clearly listed, but would like it better if they weren’t just plain black lettering. The one piece I don’t like is the Daily Deals section. Bonanzle is exceptional and the Daily Deals looks like the same thing everyone else does on the internet and to me it looks cheap. I’d rather see Featured Items … those items from paying members that don’t seem to show up anywhere anymore.

I love the new categories on the left side of the page! It will make it so much easier for first time visitors to find what they’re looking for, especially if they have a specific item in mind. I do think the category names should begin with capital letters

I miss the green background on each section of information. The green made it easier to read and gave the page an overall neater appearance.

The Deal of the Day section doesn’t make a difference to me either way. As in everyday life, some people are coupon clippers and users while others are not, so I don’t know if it will make a difference to visitors who are looking for specific items.

The CNN/Mashable/BusinessWeek logos at the bottom of the page look like advertising and clash with the color scheme. I think they need to go away or be put behind a link under the “Why Bonanzle” category.

I can see the benefits of the new layout, however I must agree with other that have posted before me that the new design is less aesthetically pleasing than the old one. It seems very choppy and cold to me. The CNN logo on the bottom of the page is very jarring and sucks your eye to it instead of the great items on the HPL. I also agree that capital letters on the categories would be nice. It looks like a bad internet post with the lowercase lettering.

I like Dakota Gold’s commentary way up at the top – so ditto what Dakota Gold said up top

The new design is a good building block to start with I prefer parts of both the old & the new pages…the new one lacks the color and sharpness of the original and looks washed out & bland to me. Maybe a green strip down the side to make the categories pop (with their new capital letters!) would help.

I actually don’t mind the media mentions at the bottom; I think it’s good press to have those visible (possibly inspiring trust) but I do think they should be a bit smaller, not so “in your face.”

I agree with the others: Change that “why sell here” to “why you should shop here!” We don’t need to convince sellers to come here; they’re already arriving in droves from other venues.

That empty corner at the lower left is buggin me…what could fill that space?

I applaud your efforts, Alex! With some tweaking, I’m sure this will evolve into a sharp, anything~but~ordinary front door

I like the new homepage. Def more there to grab the BUYER’s attention and that’s what we need. Agree w/ doing away w/ “why sell here” we need a stronger focus on why they should BUY here. We can always recruit sellers but not necessarily buyers. Have to keep in mind what attracts the BUYERS not us Great job

How are daily deals determined?

My first impression (without being able to click to see the item in your screenshot) is that they aren’t very hot deals. Many folks will compare this to ebay’s daily hot deals (whatever they’re called)…

When I see $45 for a necklace, my first gut was “that’s not a deal”. Although the necklace might be worth that…it’s just a 1st impression. Maybe it’s made of semi-precious stones, but maybe not…

Maybe find some criteria to show truly hot deals…not just expensive items that have the price knocked down a few dollars?

I don’t say this to benefit myself…my markup is so low, I barely can offer more than 10% discount…but maybe others with awesome deals could benefit from it. Most importantly, bonz would benefit if that landing page showed buyers that there are truly hot deals here…not just items marked down a tiny bit.

OMG … I just saw a “deal” on the homepage for … $99,999.99. Can you please add a filter that will not allow those “deals”? Please????

@sharsboutique – we noticed that too and that item should be removed soon. It takes a minute for the site to update. Thanks!

I like the new look/test. It is clean/light, innovative and a little spicier. I hope it has the effect you are looking for.

The only suggestions I have are to place some sort of non-intrusive but distinct frame around the HPL box and possibly the “Why sell on Bonanzle” to include a section for why buy on Bonanzle or something of that nature.

Good luck.

I like it, but with reservations.

Pluses:

+ The categories on the home page will definitely drum up business.

+ The endorsements from CNN et al give immediate credibility and confidence to first-time visitors.

+ The daily deals really ought to be on the landing page. Buyers shouldn’t have to hunt them down.

+ I like that it is a work in progress, and will be dynamic for the time being…evolving in a smart way!

Minuses:

- I’m not too jazzed with the appearance. It’s kind of visually drab. I find the font of the categories to be uninteresting. Perhaps a pale grey box to match those in the “Daily Deals” and “Why Sell” boxes? or perhaps adding a grey background instead to the featured HPL?

- I agree with the other comments above; the CNN, Bizweek, and Mashable endorsements are intrusive. How about reducing the size and centering the 3 of them under the Bonz grass page footer? They’ll still be on the home page, but just not in your face.

Thank you, Alex. I appreciate your efforts very much!

Jackie

Change is good. Listen and Tweek away Alex. It will come together better and better each time. I only have one comment. I think the cupon and deals thing is kinda Walmarty and shouldn’t be played up so much. Why not just price things right to begin with? JMO. Kudos to all who are working through this gigunda project for us sellers to benefit. Thank you. Paula aka:Barns

OK, confused as all get out…when I log’d in this morning, I saw the NEW homepage, now I go to it and it is back to the old – I must have a SPLIT personality!

Prefer A; B has no personality. Suggest C: Take the top half of A and all but the “why sell on” bottom part of B and make C.

Ewwww! Was my first reaction. Way too much going on. I didn’t know what to look at first or what to click on first. I think the old page was much cleaner and refreshingly simple (ala Relentless Simplicity) Looks like we’re moving in a direction of relentless complication and mish-mashiness.

I do like the idea of the categories and perhaps a move to under the HPL or something might work or maybe more of an Etsy-type look, keeping the HPL more prominent. Right now it looks more like an eBay/Etsy hodgepodge than anything, with all kinds of stuff going on and no real focus. Nothing really jumps out to say “click me first”

Just sayin’

Like the new page, very much. Do think the suggestion to capitalize the categories would be good, and maybe bolder font? Don’t think green would be good over there, but would be more readable if bolder.
I have no problem distinguishing the items in the pics, but glad you decided to make the CNN, etc a tad smaller
Will be interested to see how this evolves…change can be good…lets hope it “grabs” the buyers.

Why not show Bonanzles in progress along with the published coupons? I too liked the old home page better…A different look and feel than that “other” place.

The new homepage makes me feel like buying. Excellent!!

I agree the “Why Sell….” is a bit much. Takes up too much space as do the CNN, etc. logos (still.) The categories list should also be smaller (or drop-down as someone suggested.) A good start though.

I like a combo of both looks, the catagories are needed, but need the first letter Capitalized and possibly single spaced with every other line colored to make it less drab. The pictures are ok being the little bit smaller, but I think should be more diverse than just HPL items, started as tagged items and now HPL items, maybe some way to make them more diverse so they are not picked by just one person at a time. and I miss the quote by Bill at the bottom of the old look.

The new page looks real good. I looks much more user friendly than the old one did. Just don’t get too colorful or flamboyant..try to keep as much of the old time “Friendly Flea Market” look..it’s comfortable and warm, but this looks a bit more professional to me as a businessman.
Have a Blessed evening..
Dave and Peggy

Love it or hate it, the old page definitely has a personality that’s uniquely its own & sets Bonanzle apart from other venues.

To me, the new one is attractive, but really generic, & it definitely projects an unfortunate ebaylite image.

On my larger monitor the HPL showcase shows up reasonably well on the new page, but on the smaller monitor the littlest pictures are too tiny to be of any interest to the viewer. There are a lot of people who don’t have big monitors, & I think that should be taken into consideration when designing the home page.

The current front page showcases are the main reason I started visiting Bonanazle regularly, & I’m sure that must be true for others, too.

The reduced size of the showcase & resulting loss of emphasis on the new page bothers me because its importance as a WOW! feature has been greatly diminished in favor of things what might make it easier to browse, but don’t offer a comparable impact in terms of why the viewer should decide to stay & browse.

There are sales all over the place these days on many sites, so there’s no wow factor to be achieved by trying to make that a big draw on Bonanzle. In my view, if Bonanzle is going to get & keep customers & sellers it will have to be for other reasons than trying to convince buyers that it has the cheapest stuff.

The showcase has been a great success, so why reduce its effectiveness by making it smaller & adding a lot of stuff that feels to me like mostly white noise & distracting chatter?

Having said that, I do like the idea of some changes to the home page, & I’m sure your creative minds can come up with something that’s not so much a page that could be on any site. If my bank can come up with a distinctive home page that sets it apart & makes it stand out from others while still being user-friendly, I’m sure Bonanzle can do it, too!

Northwest Gale summed it up:
Love it or hate it, the old page definitely has a personality that’s uniquely its own & sets Bonanzle apart from other venues.

And like many here …. I see an eBay feel … YUK

And “Up to 50% less fees”? REALLY? What? FVF? Listing fee??

And DAILY DEALS??? Hmmm … How neat … eBay has that too

Is Bonanzle the “ANSWER” to eBay … or is Bonanzle “BECOMING” Ebay ??? I am smelling no longer the sweet fresh smell of Grass of the ranch … but the polluted stale air of eBay.

After a couple of days consideration, I like most (but not all) of the changes in the new page. Here’s my specific comments:

1 – Shop Categories – I like the new layout here. I think it helps potential customers start their browsing. I might suggest adding a “Search for” button right at the top of the category list. That may make it easier for new viewers to focus their product search. And of course, I support the suggestions of capitalizing the first letters of each category.

2 – Showcase – The smaller space for this section doesn’t seem to detract from it. If reducing it to this size to allow for other sections (particularly the categories) is necessary, I think it’s fine.

3 – Daily Deals – Like many, I do not like that this section is so prominently displayed. First, it makes the site appear too much like a bargain hunt, rather than someplace to “find everything but the ordinary”. Placing too much emphasis on reduced/sale prices is not the message I want to see on Bonanzle. Many sellers price their items appropriately and I would hate to see the site portrayed as only constantly having sales. Frankly, I fear it makes it appear too much like “the other guy”. As a side note, it would be nice if all sellers were able to have sales on selected items or at least selective coupons. I would consider having specials on selected items, but the coupons only allow booth-wide sales.

4 – Why sell on Bonanzle? – I do not like the emphasis on recruiting sellers on this home page. Much better to talk about why it’s great to BUY on Bonanzle. A simple “Want to sell on Bonanzle?” button would be fine, but let’s keep this page focused on the customer/buyer.

5 – Bonanzle Fans – I like the idea of using these links to positive Bonanzle reports by recognized entities as I believe it does help reinforce Bonanzle’s legitimacy in the eyes of new viewers. But I think the logos are a bit too large and pull the reader’s eyes away from the rest of the page. Just make them a bit smaller, and maybe separate them from the rest of the page with some color bar or something.

Overall, I prefer the new page and think it can be improved even more with some additional tweaks.

Thank you for the continuing efforts at improving the site for sellers and buyers. And for your willingness to ask for and react to members’ input.

As a side note….

The link I put on my desktop when I first started WAAAY back when, says:

“Bonanzle – Alternative to Look Alike eBay Alternatives”

THAT and the “Relentless Simplicity” is the two things that lured me in here. Is what you doing now staying true to your core values and vision for Bonanzle?

Well after 2 days, yesterday viewing the new version and this morn viewing the old version, I am split The catagories section on the new version is needed on the old version. I had my sister who rarely comes to Bonanzle check it out yesterday, and she loved it she did not like the old version because she couldnt find catagories and unless you are a seasoned Bonanzler figuring out the old version will not happen. So I asked 2 of my customers here in my brick mortar store this morning to take a look at the new bonz page had them sit down and search for vanilla candles and it took each one about 5 minutes to locate the list of candles so then I logged off and came back to the old home page asked them to do the same thing.. and low and behold they got there but it took them 11 minutes to get to the same candles page. I am going to do this with every customer I get today.

We may not like the “look” of the new home page but I know for a fact that the new one is easier to navigate on, beauty is good but getting a person in to buy is what I am here for so I feel tweaking the new page a bit and as far as the coupons section is concerned the 2 people that were in my store wanted to go back to the coupon section, however when I helped them go back there the first thing they said was, ok I came in this site to buy vanilla candles, yes I saw the coupon sales and it got my attention but do I have to weed thru ALL of these places just to find if vanilla candles have coupons?
The entire coupon process upset them because they wondered why people just didnt mark them down and sell them at there lowest going price, and there remarks were well it looks kinda like ebay, people mark up to show a mark down.

I would like to know how many bonzbuyers really use the coupon function when checking out. Unless the buyer buys from a person who has the markdown shown and not have to use a coupon code how many non bonz people / google search people look for a coupon code to enter at checkout?? I see in the forums sales and more sales from same people one day they advertise 25% off everything in there booth, then by the weekend it is 40-60% off, how can that be, to me this coupon buisness is going to bite us in the butt, excuse my french, but if nobody watches all these coupon sales or markdowns or even auctions then how do you know that people are using them in a way that is a buisness function these coupons only last about 7 days right, I dont see the markdown on google search, so what is the point of coupons when they are asking us sellers to come buy there items on sale?? Sorry I just dont get it, I have a distributor when they have something marked down I will buy from them in bulk to save me even more, then I put those items as a markdown if I dont sell them when that 7 days is up, I go in and mark them down and leave them that way.

I dont know this coupon thing has me a bit concerned. I am going to ask some more customers today as they come in to take a look. I feel outsiders will give a honest opinion. Most of us will to but we see the home page every day we dont use it like a new person would. Ok that is my 2 cents for now will post if someone else has a opinion

I don’t know why everyone here won’t grab a non bonanzer and have them give them an opinion, sure the home page is about “US” and Bonz but I feel it should be about the buyer, albirdy posts all the time on how to do things as a seller she puts pictures she uses the mouses pointer picture and she explains step by step how to navigate as a seller, now I feel that is what the new home page is to the buyer that is needed! I dont personally like the look of it but I am a seller so everyone if you come in to bonz look at the homepage as a BUYER, I assure you finding something from the old home page is hard to do! My 87 year old father in law said “Its to damn purdy, I just need to buy a hammer” the old home page is not simple to use trying to find the catagory section took me 2 months to locate, took me 1 month to figure out the catatory section once I made it there. When you click one time it should take you where you want to go or at least to the main catagory and it should be in front of your face to click not hidden at the bottom of a PURDY page lol

Regarding the HPLs we didn’t change the size of the images. We just removed a couple to accommodate the categories.

Also we do consider monitor sizes and screen resolutions in the design of the page. The homepage (and site overall) is optimized for the most common resolution of Bonanzle customers.