Comment by motoboi
3 years ago
Now be completely honest:
- If you haven't read the article, would you think this site great?
My point is: no one knows what is a great e-commerce website. Is one that sells a lot? Amazon does it.
Is not one that sells a lot, but that is very easy to use?
"If you haven't read the article, would you think this site great?"
No, I would have ordered what I wanted, quickly and easily, and probably not thought about the website at all. Which is what makes it great.
> If you haven't read the article, would you think this site great?
If you search HN comments for "McMaster-Carr", you'll see their website is frequently brought up as an example of great UX, going back over 10 years.
Yes, because its catalog is also a CAD library, so you can put the parts into your design and be sure the parts will fit when they arrive tomorrow. Because every part is neatly categorized, searchable by its properties.
I am infuriated when shopping for clothes, computer parts, etc. because the items are rarely categorized and when they are, it isn't comprehensive so searches tend to miss out on the obvious so I end up browsing a site's entire catalog.
And, they do sell a lot. They're the industry standard. The only problem I've had is that they won't ship to individuals in Canada so I had to think up a fake company name.
The not delivering to Canada was my only complaint. I had to get a US friend to buy it and ship it after to me. I didn’t think of using a fake company to get it shipped.
Ok, but if we're being honest, you can make that sort of claim about anything and it's equally as unhelpful. Things can have value even if you can't perfectly define a metric, and even if others might use different metrics.
The author explained why they think it's great, so rather than waving your hands and denying that greatness could ever be defined, what about a constructive approach? Engage with the elements the author identified. Criticize specific ones, or suggest others. Say something you actually believe!
Hi, thanks for your message.
Maybe I didn't express myself very well.
If you don't know what a great ecommerce website is, what is has, what it does, does reading a piece where someone says some site is a great e-commerce website influence your opinion? Does it shape your view?
If so, how does previous literature about the subject influenced the writer?
So, a great e-commerce website should be measured by it's form or by it's results?
Why non functional and not great websites thrive?
Would Jeff Bezos be fixated on those pixels because he believed that as long as amazon.com kept growing and selling, the site must therefore working great?
Those are all sincere questions, not rhetorical or trolling.
I don't think you're trolling, but again, you're not actually saying anything here. That's why you need to make the disclaimer that those are sincere questions. I'm suggesting that you instead take positions, even if weakly held ones. In other words, I think that you're doing something covert when you say "[N]o one knows what is a great e-commerce website. Is one that sells a lot? ... [T]hat is very easy to use?" or ask "So, a great e-commerce website should be measured by it's form or by it's results?"
What do you think? The article emphasized form and function. You seem to be proposing that results matter. Say that!
Just cobbling together bits of what you're "asking" it seems like you might instead have written the following: "It seems to me that the article focuses on form: simple design, great search and filtering, and useful information like CAD files. But being 'the best e-commerce site' needs to include succeeding at e-commerce. Being very easy to use might help. But there seem to be non functional and not 'great' websites (by the article's definition) that thrive."
I haven't read the article, and I think the site is great. I've used it many times and it exemplifies what I think a great e-commerce site should be (from a customer perspective). They've built their website so you can find and order what you need with the bare minimum of effort. If I imagine trying to search for some of the things I order on McMaster, except on Amazon, let's just say I'm glad I don't have to.
I came across mcmaster.com like 10-15 years ago and I thought its design and experience was amazing. I didn't understand why other sites weren't like this.
Then I talked to regular people (like my friend who builds high-end magic tricks) who happened to use the site and like me wondered why more sites weren't usable like this.
And then after a few years, I saw that people in the comments here and elsewhere thought the same.
And this post is the latest.
I think there's something there.
lol, mcmaster carr is probably one of the only specialty e-commerce sites that anyone will randomly bring up in UX discussions or hobby conversations. everyone loves mcmaster carr, like actually everyone, so yeah, lots of people who haven't read this already independently decided that mcmaster carr is great.
even if you're not going to buy there (their prices are high, compared to alternative suppliers, is what I've heard, and there are items and brands they don't carry) it's still a super useful reference of what's possible and what general solutions in that area look like and cost, or even just basic lookup for what types of nuts and bolts you should look for in a project. like it's actually just a really nice pleasant interface for working with hardware in general.
> My point is: no one knows what is a great e-commerce website
I disagree. I know what is a great e-commerce website -- in the sense the article is talking about.
Yeah, there's probably an item or two I've forgotten from that list, and yeah, other people likely to order from a site might have a slightly different list. But I have no doubt that I would recognize the same qualities on other websites that I and many (probably most) people would recognize as great -- or at the very minimum, as websites that don't suck.
That website routinely comes up in a lot of crafts and craft-related hobbies (in my case, it was guns, where gunsmithing can involve parts they sell), so it's not exactly a secret. And yes, people do actually like it regardless of the article.
OTOH I don't know of any serious hobbyists (of whatever) who get the majority of their supplies from Amazon. When you ask, people generally say that selection is poor and quality is always highly suspect.
Curation and variety would top my list of important features.