Webshop design pattern research

Context

To figure out how I can make my designs user-friendly, I researched common design patterns in modern webshops using the design pattern research method.

Results

To find common design patterns in modern webshops, I analysed 3 popular online shopping platforms.

• Zalando
  • Zalando is a very successful online clothing store in The Netherlands. They focus on online sales through their webshop by having a wide variety of clothes for all genders, ages and sizes.
• Gymshark
  • Gymshark is a sportswear / gym clothing store originally founded in the UK, but are now a global sportswear brand focusing on online sales. They have an extremely strong online presence by targeting young adult gym-goers through social media channels.
• Under Armour
  • Under Armour is a well-known sportswear brand that has a relatively big online presence as well as stores throughout The Netherlands.

These online stores are relatively similar in products, however their target audiences are different. Under Armour and Gymshark focus fully on sportswear, making them direct competitors to Masita. Their target audience is also more similar to Masita, as Zalando has a very broad target audience by providing a wide variety of clothing options for all ages and sizes instead of just sportswear. I wanted to see if there were any notable differences.

The reason I picked these 3 platforms is because they are all very successful, similar to Masita’s target audience, and serve the same purpose as the new Masita B2C store.

I analysed what I deem to be the most important pages and flows when it comes to an online store, as that is what my prototype will focus on:

• Navigation
• Homepage
• Category page
• Product page
• Buying a product/cart/checkout flow

I looked at desktop and mobile navigation menu's, how products are displayed, which UI elements should be visible and in what manner, and which similarities or design patterns there were between the 3 platforms.

This design pattern research was used to start designing the prototype wireframes.

Conclusion

I realised that there are lots of subtle differences in navigation and UX when comparing online sportswear stores to other online shopping platforms.

For a detailed conclusion, check out the full research document.

Learning outcomes

4: Investigative Problem Solving

By researching multiple webshops and analysing patterns that occur throughout using relevant research methods, I show that I can identify problems and come to valuable conclusions.