The Amazon UK website started out in 1998 as an online bookstore, but has grown since then to include several departments such a jewellery, toys, and books. This necessitated a change in design to accommodate the needs of the shoppers and to make finding information about products easier. The Amazon UK website analysis will show whether they have succeeded in addressing navigation issues, usability, and SEO principles, as well as cater to the need for interactivity when shopping online.

The lay-out and website design of the Amazon UK website are fairly good. The copyright notice is displayed and the sponsor easy to spot. The website provides relatively easy navigation through its menu system and the product search facility. The website downloads extremely fast, especially considering the amount of graphics on it. The quality of the content is above discussion as it is excellent, especially since it includes user reviews of products and services. The Amazon UK website offers a wide range of products and services ensuring a shopping experience unlike any other on the Internet.

Navigation is provided through the main menu on the left side which opens more categories when the cursor rests on a particular choice. The fact that the products are on the left side is an example of excellent website design since most people read from left to right ensuring that they will first look at the left side of the page where the products, which are the main idea, are listed in top-level categories.

The menu items are in large fonts and thus easily readable. Another menu containing main services is displayed on top of the page while less used items are at the bottom. Categories are clearly defined. A home button is present on the left side of the page and is marked as Welcome. The website includes a comprehensive search function making it possible to search via keywords within a specific category or through the whole Amazon UK website.

In terms of shopping experience the website design succeeds in providing comprehensive product information, making it easy to select between two or more products, and addresses the differences in search behaviour through categories and search facilities.

The inclusion of a wish list that allows for the adding of products to the user’s wish list, which can then be found by other users is excellent as this makes shopping for wedding and birthday gifts simpler. The shopping history is another feature that enhances the shopping experience at the large online shopping facility. Users can simply add products to their list and proceed to the check-out point or can review their shopping history at a later stage.

Apart from the navigation changes the colour of the Amazon UK website has also changed to include orange, light shade of blue and the familiar white background. This seems in line with most of the online shopping facilities. With standard font sizes used the text is fairly readable. There is however, no sign of the browse-aloud facility which websites nowadays employ to make browsing possible for users with reading difficulties. There is also not a special note for enlargements of fonts which will ensure catering to their disabled users as well.

All the images contain ALT tags and thumbnails can be clicked to enlarge considerably. For a website concerned with shopping, this is essential as the user will want to see the product in detail. Enough information is supplied to help users make an informed choice. Interactivity is gained through product reviews by users although a central blog and forum lack or is well hidden. In terms of advanced Internet marketing blogs, forums, video clips, social networking, and virtual assistants have become the norm. Although the Amazon UK website offers users video clips and instructions for viewing with plugins, the site lacks the high interactivity brought about by blogs, forums, and virtual assistants etc.

It does however, make up for this through feedback forms, a customer service page and refer a friend options which make use of viral Internet marketing to get the customers to the website.Although a comprehensive help page exists, the Amazon UK website lacks a sitemap which is essential for quick location of information, orientation, and search engine optimisation. That being said, with content changing all the time, it may be difficult to maintain the sitemap, but nevertheless a simple sitemap will do just fine. Users however, do get the chance of getting involved by setting up accounts and having the chance to personalize settings once they have done so.

Although the Amazon UK website is filled with images, the website design team has done a good job in keeping the site, especially the banner uncluttered. They have also succeeded in drawing attention to their specials and discounts through prominent placement of banners.

In terms of SEO the Amazon UK website performs well through the inclusion of meta tags with keywords and descriptions, enough wording on the pages, alt tags, excellent keyword density and easy navigation, text links, and fast load-up. The Internet marketing strategy has paid off with a Google Page Rank of 8. It boasts 212 000 incoming links from Google and 220 000 from AltaVista. The website analysis for the Amazon UK website shows a website doing well in terms of Internet marketing, SEO and CRM. Make your way to their site today for a pleasant online shopping experience.