Web Roast: iStockphoto.com Redesign

Ok don't get me wrong I actually think the design is quite good...

There are certainly some vital things that need to change, in order for it to be an "awesome" website, and these are more usability things, as far as stock photography sites goes this one is pleasantly designed...

I'll use notes...

I still believe that the overall design, is appealing there are just a few things that need to be tweaked!

I love these Roasts, so much fun and you learn so much... Great Job Andrew!

I think istock have done a great job on their latest redesign, however, few of points which I think could be better:

• News section isn't the critical information which user would wish to see above the fold... it could be below the "free" file section.

• Subscription option must be above the fold... I would suggest to replace it with the news section strip.

• content for how it works and Royalty-freee... & more still dead... need to work to give life to this section.

  • Browse section would never going to be noticed... need rework.

  • Wasted space as white space

On first glance, I like what I see. The site has clearly defined areas- header, content, sidebar, footer. For a site that has a varied audience, the familiarity of structure is very important.

1. Index Page: Nice clean look but I think the pricing information needs to be closer to the top. This is, after all, a pay service for the most part. Maybe they could locate that info right below the splash image area or, better still, incorporate it into the image -i.e. "Get this image for as low as $XX.xx"
2. Main Navigation: Correct me if I am wrong but aren't the assets being sold on the site sorted by category? Why are those categories missing from the Nav Menu? This menu screams for a drop down of some kind. They use it under PARTICIPATE but not under PHOTOS or ILLUSTRATIONS. That should be addressed.
3. Sub Pages: Same issue as the navigation menu here. There is no up front way to navigate the 1000's of assets. Having a Featured Artist and a few selections of categories is nice but there should be a way to allow users to get to what they need faster. Maybe the Search Box could be replicated in a more eye catching form on the sub pages than what they have in the header. I'd like to see a more prominent position for the Search Form than just the header.

Over all I can't complain about the design at least from a graphical standpoint. It is clean and modern and load performance is good. There are some issues with navigating the website I think can be easily addressed. I have not been to their website in a while so I don't really have a frame of reference on the upgrade but it works for the most part. They just have to remember that sometimes users need to be hand held a little when it comes to navigating a website with as much content as theirs.

One final thought - and it's just a personal preference, I know but - is it too much to ask to have the design centered? Left Align is so 1995.

I definitely dig the new design, though if anything I'd focus on making certain elements more user-friendly. I've laid those elements out in the "Add Notes" section. Also I'm not 100% sure I like the floating footer login area. It is definitely an interesting concept, but I feel it unnecessary overall. Also I think they should capitalize on stronger call to actions and less bloat on certain pages. Engage the users not overwhelm.

Otherwise great job and I commend the designers / UX team @ iStockPhoto.

While the HOMEPAGE is clean and elegant... it doesn't work well with the type of business iStockphoto is.

I like the slideshow... but the rest of the page looks to CORPORATE.

iStockphoto should be more enthusiastic, energetic about their product. I don't feel that with this HOMEPAGE.

Their previous version was more energetic. TRUE, it was a little bit clunky (new screen did better job on this). Still I don't feel the excitement.

The message of the previous version was straight to the point: WE SELL IMAGES!!! And THEY WILL COST YOU THIS!!!

On new version, the prices/credits are almost at the bottom of page... user will probably have to scroll down to see them... which KILLS the attractiveness of iStockphoto: AWESOME IMAGES at AFFORDABLE PRICES!

I DO LIKE the footer. Nice work there.

Sidebar is OK... but I think more important information should be display on top. The Free File of the Week could have been pushed down a little bit in terms of importance.

What about the other pages?

I think the search page can be improved. Nothing really diff here from the original version.

The details page is nice! I like how they use the light blue to highlight some info. Nice touch there!

The Purchase Credit page is ok. Nothing wow here. It is clean and elegant! I still believe iStockphoto is losing FOCUS on what they do and that is SELL IMAGES. They should spend some additional time on this page and make it more attractive for the user to BUY the images. MAKE ME BUY STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY!

In conclusion, the design is clean, elegant... beautifully crafted. But don't help sell the product because iStock lost focus on its product with this design!

I am a long time contributor. Never liked it befor, still do not like it.

My first problem is that they rely to heavily on text structure and whitespace to set things apart in this obsessive minimalist approach, the end result is confusing. a little gray to block out similar areas (navigation). thin lines to separate columns and innumerable other humanizing concessions are trumped by style and "the grid".

Another example of this obsession are the charts. The upload statistics chart is wider that my 1440px monitor to keep to the grid with tons of wasted space.

And don't get me started about tiny grey or light blue text..ARRRGGGG.....

lastly, there is very little acknowledgement that the web is past 2001. almost not use of ajax, or other technologies to make the site faster or easier to use. Search is an unintuitove mess (do you click off the size you do not want or are you clicking them on?), with no NOT option and unintuitive search within. Very little pre-loading (I think none) of subsequent pages in search results makes the process tedious..

YOU HAVE BEEN ROASTED!

Istock used be recognized by their sky color, however, it seems they are out of creative idea and following their competitor.

Is there an explanation of involving the black color? I might not be thinking about this point unless I don't see the inconsistency in whole about site.

CF fellows have given great insight to improve the consistency, alignment etc... I would go with them to improve it, however, I think istock capable enough to produce the amazing work.

Thanks

Striking improvement over the former design.

What's good: - Overall homepage layout - Level two page (specifically light-table) is effective - Level three page (Display Document pattern) is also effective. I specifically like the information that resides in the grid - and color of the action button has a high s/n ratio (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal-to-noise_ratio) - The "hero image" (the girl with pigtails) is a great emotional trigger - that pulls in users with only superficial interest in the website offering. What is tough here is connecting the "Just DO it" type of messaging to the image.

What needs layout attention:

1. Pay-As-You-Go page is overwhelming. They should consider chunking out into tabs (see uploaded attachment). Separating into tabs sections, may help with any objections users have with the concept of credits (there may be some cognitive dissonance issues - stress related to users adopting new models of commerce versus outright purchase of files/images). This is where a very persuasive principle (Reason for Request) becomes important -- through the power of the word "because". In the content - there are opportunities to increase sales conversation by explaining "why" by using the word "because".
2. On Homepage - the "Buy Royalty-free Stock From" area can be made more persuasive (and increase sales conversion) by using the Persuasive norm "Social Proof". Robert Cialdini, noted social psychologist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cialdini) explains that when users have complex decisions - they are swayed by what they perceive "others have done". In this case - noting that the "Large 10 Credit" purchase is the best seller - leverages the Social Proof norm. Adding a Testimonial to support that claim would seal the deal.

Overall - I think the design works, but need some work to become more persuasive (to increase sales).

Have used iStockphoto for many years and have always wished it worked better. Now it's easier to sell photos, and the site is generally cleaner, but there are still things that could be better.

I realize that this website is designed for three disparate audiences. As I understand the business model though, it is only the marketing professionals and consumers that are the revenue source. I would seriously suggest putting most everything above the fold aimed at the consumer. Of course links for contributors and community are necessary at the top level.

I really appreciate the complexity of the audience, but I strongly suggest that you aim it at the audience that pays the bills. This is the advice that I would use also if it were my business.

My best of luck to you.

I have been a contributor on iStokphoto for a few years and I never understood why they make it so hard for contributors to find out what are the latest sales and what size are the files sold.

Other thing I find annoying is the selector for different kind of media on the search field.

Otherwise I like the redesign.

Wow! I love that photo and the font you used. It looks really professional and you havegreat contrast. I don't like the black and withe hand, looks out of place with the overall look of the website. I think you could be the photo pop out of the frame a little bit, it will look really cool.

Hi

Am myself a contributor on iStock

And have used it a lot.

From this new design, I have only one problem, that when you login, all your balance, credits etc appears on bottom-right corner, instead somewhere on top banner, like earlier design.

Hope this gives you some insight...

The default search is rather annoying. The default is "all files" and rarely do I want a video or audio file when I'm searching for an image or illustration.