Products, Attributes & Variations

I had a look at the type of products that were being sold on the internet by two well known companies that sell children's footwear.

Next

(Next Limited December 2017)

John Lewis

(John Lewis December 2017)

My research concluded that a very wide range of footwear is available on the internet for children.  The two screenshots above demonstrate this as both companies have filter bars that hold an extensive list of products- seen on the left hand side of both Next and John Lewis' websites. From shoes to slippers, from wellington boots to flip flops, the footwear choice available for children is vast.

To be competitive in the market, I wanted to make sure that Mini Steps had a unique selling point.  I found that, with the exception of Clarks, it was very difficult to find shoes for children in different width sizes.  I wanted to make sure that my product range was available in width sizes and half sizes in order to generate greater appeal. These two attributes should interest parents who understand the importance of accurate sizing in children's shoes.

Mini Steps has a total of 20 products arranged under a number of product categories and sub-categories. Variable sizes and widths can be selected by using each of the drop down menus that are located to the side of the product image.  Each product has an appropriate product description and can be viewed as a high quality image. Images with the best resolution and size have been used so that they are sharper and give better product visuals.

All images have corresponding Alt text. Alt text (alternative text), also known as "alt attributes", “alt descriptions,” and colloquially but technically incorrectly as "alt tags,” are used within an HTML code to describe the appearance and function of an image on a page (What is Alt Text (Alternative Text)? 2017). The Alt text describes images to users of screen readers to allow them to understand the image on a site better.  The Alt text also appears when an image file cannot be loaded. 

Shown below is a spreadsheet which documents my products, their descriptions, attributes and variations, product description and selling price. The spreadsheet has been very helpful in creating my product line, this method of arranging products is clear and organised.

Products can be searched for in the search box and be filtered by price.  Prices for the boys and girls shoes, trainers and boots are set at £24.99, £27.99 and £29.99 respectively. I have included these features into my site to aid better customer usability.

Recently viewed products allows the customer to jump across the site with ease, allowing better comparisons between products. The feature described can be seen pictured below.

REFERENCES

(2017). [Online] Available from: https://www.johnlewis.com/browse/baby-child/baby-toddlerwear-0-2-yrs/baby-toddler-shoes/_/N-8l9?intcmp=Fash_category_ChildrensShoes_labl3_top_babytoddlershoes_x101017 [Accessed 19 December 2017].

What is Alt Text (Alternative Text)? (2017). [Online] Available from: https://moz.com/learn/seo/alt-text [Accessed 19 December 2017].

Limited, N. (2017) Buy Girls Boots | Girls Wellies | Next UK Official Site. [Online] Available from: http://www.next.co.uk/shop/gender-oldergirls-gender-youngergirls-productaffiliation-footwear/category-boots-category-wellies [Accessed 19 December 2017]