Online retail giant Amazon.com launched a newly redesigned version of its homepage today recently. The redesign mostly focuses on the top and sidebar navigation -- actual product content pages are more or less the same. Amazon said the redesign was about "shopping, searching, saving, and buying." Really, that equates to better organization and an easier time getting around their large list of product categories. The redesigned Amazon also sports a softer color palette, some new large buttons, and a few more rounded edges -- perhaps taking a cue from the so-called web 2.0 design aesthetic that has permeated the web the past couple of years.
The most noticeable difference about Amazon's navigation is the consolidation of the category tree. Gone is the "See All Product Categories" hover menu, as is the overwhelming left hand side bar "Browse" menu that displayed all of Amazon's categories (41 at my last count -- though it could be more). In their place is a new "Show All Departments" menu that opens along the left side of the page and displays Amazon's category tree broken into 11 top-level departments.
Also receiving some consolidation in the redesign are the "Gifts & Wish Lists" and "Today's Deals" sections, which now group together multiple areas of the site. For example, the new Today's Deal drop down menu links to the Gold Box, Today's Deals, Outlet, and the Friday Sale sections, making it easier for users to navigate to those pages.
The Amazon home page can still be a tad overwhelming. At my count, I'm seeing over 40 product thumbnails on the main page right now, however the new design certainly does make it easier to navigate between stores and is a start at cleaning up the overwhelming number of links on that page. This is only an incremental change, but a good one in my opinion.
The new Amazon is currently rolled out in a testing phase, so not everyone will see it. Amazon has a page about the redesign here.
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Amazon Redesigns: Rounded Corners Galore.
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Amazon.com pioneered tabs in the online retailing world but has been slowly moving to left-aligned category navigation, running out of space on top with now over 40 departments. Really, the few tabs remaining looked quite awkward. Well, do not despair... Read More
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I like it much better...
Posted by: Michael Vu | October 9, 2007 5:48 PMToday? It has been up for over two weeks. If you look at their code they are still behind the times in web standards. Lots of td tr tags
Posted by: Yosef | October 9, 2007 6:54 PMNothing about markup standards tells you not to use tables for layout. Especially when you're big enough that tiny percentages of old browsers mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in orders.
Regardless, I never even notice Amazon's redesigns. They more or less feel the same every time. Products take up so much of the space they're where the focus is.
Posted by: Dan Grossman | October 9, 2007 7:24 PMThis has been a long time in the making with an ever-increasing category tree on the left side.
I won't miss the tabs (okay, so I WILL miss them -- but fortunately I can occasionally check out Amazon UK and Amazon DE for a trip back to the 90's) and the new bigger buttons for the shopping cart and my lists are good improvements.
I am waiting for other major online retailers (eBags?) to wake up and get rid of their tabs on top. There's got to be a better way to help your customer find what they need that does not involve buttons the size of a house fly.
Posted by: Max Leisten | October 9, 2007 8:40 PMIt seems that everybody likes the new design, me too. I don't think the Amazon home page is overwhelming though, it is true that is offers a lot of thing you don't want, but if you get the customized version it becomes fantastic! I wrote a whole article about this 3 days ago: http://www.designvsart.com/blog/?p=48
Posted by: Alexis Brion | October 10, 2007 12:44 AMI dig it. Only wish that the Canadian version would get the update as well. It's been years since that site has seen any action.
Posted by: Geof Harries | October 10, 2007 9:38 AMAmazon's been doing the rounded corner stuff for years now. If anything, this catches up with lots of the other features there that have moved more quickly than the good old navigation has. Look at the discussion boards feature or Prime or the wish lists feature--all have rounded corners and even gradients!
Posted by: Thomas | October 11, 2007 9:08 PM