Website: ApplianceFactory.com

Original Website: v0

• No ability to sell appliances
• It doesn’t “SHOW” what Appliance Factory Outlet is about
• Entire website is left aligned with a weird white area to the right
• Roll over buttons show up in the wrong positions
• Contact page lists multiple email addresses that spammers can harvest.

From what I have gathered from other employees at AFO (Appliance Factory Outlet) This original website was actually designed by an actual design firm just a few years previous. Now that I have worked at this company I completely understand how it turned out that way. Aside from the apparent inability to design websites. TheOatmeal.com says it best with their comic, “How A Web Design Goes Straight To Hell.”

Whoever you are.

Sorry guys…

My Original Design: v1

The vision was nearly flawless.

• A professional, simple and to the point appliance website.
• We had the ability to send our visitors to a third party shopping cart where they could buy any of the products we sell. The order would then come directly back to our online sales department where they specialize in selling and shipping our appliances across the nation.
• Anything a visitor would want is easily accessible and easy to navigate.
• The home page even had a large smooth transitioning flash sideshow with lifestyle pictures of appliances and special promotions that were changed out on a as need basis.
• Created a custom spammer safe contact page where any visitor could choose what department they wanted to send a message to. (presidents hot line, appliance removal, service & repair, delivery & pickup, new appliances, used appliances, builder sales and appliance parts)
• Created a custom WordPress blog that looks exactly like the website.
• Ability to sign up for email newsletters
• Easily get directions to any of the retail stores with Google maps.

Though every aspect of this version website was created. The third party e-commerce website was poorly created and never implemented (for reasons out of my own and the 3rd party’s control) and was never linked to the Appliance Factory website. The all in one contact page was completed but was not approved for the website. I received MANY complaint emails from customers that they could not purchase appliances.

Redesign: v2

• Added rotating Flash maps that link to the contact page
• Changed the navigation to big vertical buttons
• The contact page still has email links instead of a spam free contact page
• Removed the ability to sell online
• Removed Builder Sales page
• Flash slide show shrank and added a static promotion image next to it.
• Added rotating maps that link to the contact page.

At this point I have no control or ability to make suggestions whatsoever but I am doing exactly what I am being told to do. But still making minor improvements and updates whenever I could get away with it.

Redesign: v3

• Replaced the website header with the newspaper ad header
• Increased the size of the navigation Buttons
• Added many more buttons to the navigation column and added graphics to each button
• Increased the size of the main flash.
• Increased the size of the location maps and change to static image
• Added appliance logos above the only text on the page.

This is the current version of the Appliance Factory Outlet website. I plan on keeping this blog post updated. Please leave comments on what you think about the evolution of this website.