Analysis of competitor websites

I have been through the competitor websites and drawn up a list of common features that I found throughout, covering a range of different aspects such as colours, navigation items, and homepage items.

Competitor websites of Stratstone

I have been searching for fellow used car dealerships in Leicester, and I have found 17 other websites which I will use to find common features and/or functionality to see how the Stratstone website compares. These are the websites:

http://www.granbycarsales.co.uk/
http://www.usedcarsleicester.co.uk/
http://www.rmjcarsales.co.uk/
http://www.euronetmotors.co.uk/
http://www.archwaycarsleicester.co.uk/
http://www.abbeycarcentre.co.uk/
http://www.smsmotorcompany.co.uk/
http://www.v12sportsandclassics.co.uk/
http://www.paulgreasleycars.co.uk/
http://www.sandicliffe.co.uk/
http://www.tucars.co.uk/
http://www.sturgessgroup.co.uk/
http://www.leicesterautosltd.co.uk/
http://www.kendrickcarsleicester.co.uk/
http://www.elite-cars-direct.co.uk/
http://www.150cars.com/
http://www.veedubservicesltd.co.uk/

Chosen website - Stratstone

The website I have chosen for the report is Stratstone. I have drawn up a list of pro's and con's of the site based on my first impressions:

Pro's

There's a prominent 'used cars search', which grabs the user's attention straight away.
They advertise all of the services they offer efficiently.
They have a wide range of social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and their own blog.
They are active on social media, with regular posts on their Facebook and Twitter accounts.
The design is held consistently throughout the entire website.
They have their own iPhone/iPad application/
They have an optimised mobile website/

Con's

They don't have a list of 'sample' stock visible on the homepage.
The design of the boxes on the homepage are weak.
These boxes are also all different sizes, which detracts from the overall visual style.
Some of the graphics used in the slideshow on the homepage are poor.
The navigation menu seems to be disorganized.
You have to select a make and model to be able to search through their stock.
The results of the car search could offer more information to the user.

Potential website - ABC Taxis

In my searches I stumbled across this website for ABC Taxis. It's clear from the off that the website is in major need of a redesign, as a lot of the content is below the fold, some of the graphics used seem unnecessary, and there is a lot of wasted space at the top of the page.

http://www.abc-taxis-leicester.co.uk/

Potential website - Stratstone

In my previous employment I worked with used car dealer's websites very often, which has given me somewhat of an eye when it comes to common features and what should and shoudn't feature on these types of websites.

I did some searching for local used car dealers and found the website for Stratstone. The website has many good and bad features, and I think this would be a good choice for my first assignment.

http://www.stratstone.com/

Potential website - Icefilms

I've also been looking at the website for Icefilms. This is a website where people can download/stream TV shows, movies, music, and other media. Due to the questionable legality of this website I most likely won't be looking at this any further, but I feel the design of this website is poor and it could be improved significantly!

http://www.icefilms.info/index

Potential website - NewsNow

A site I have been looking at to critique is NewsNow. NewsNow is a news aggregator website, which links users to multiple news sources regarding a chosen topic (i.e news on your favourite celebrity or sports team).

I use this site multiple times daily, and I have some reservations about the design of the website:

http://www.newsnow.co.uk