Simon Guest, Business strategy director at Maverick, shares his view of good and bad sites.

Good site: Homebase.co.uk

Homebase

Homebase

The Homebase website is the best DIY site because of its engaging and easy design. There is clear navigation for product groups that are nicely supported through popular search links on the home page. A mega drop-down on each category provides task-oriented links, so if you are not sure what you are looking for, you can access the product catalogue through groups, buying guides and inspirational style cards. Additionally, the site is rich with content and the page layout is appealing and clean. With all this in mind, Homebase’s website sets a clear benchmark to its industry competitors.

Bad site: Wickes.co.uk

Wickes

Wickes

The Wickes website uses a similar navigation structure to Homebase, but misses the mark. Users can’t see the supporting content as it’s not connected to individual products but available as a list on the Help & Advice section. Wickes’ page layouts are complex and appear to be crammed with small copy on subsections, making it harder for the customer to find their way through. The site has been shortsighted to hide the privacy and cookies policy under the Shopping at Wickes section. More importantly, the ‘no cookie policy’ warning is not displayed on the site when visited for the first time.