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what you are looking for, but it could take a number items, even though I had ordered just the one.
of clicks to get there. The subcategory pages are I was about to get the opportunity to try out the
Views
frustratingly text-heavy, and I found myself using the call centre number, which, thankfully, was easy to fi nd
browser’s page search (ctrl F) to look for what I was on the site, when my phone rang and an extremely
expecting rather than reading reams of text. effi cient Jigsaw representative informed me that
The product range is excellent, and as a there was a problem with the card details supplied
photography enthusiast, I was relieved to see good-
quality Canon and Nikon cameras available. My
enthusiasm did wane slightly when the categorisation
became confusing. Cameras were organised by brand,
but lenses weren’t, which made for a jarring browsing
experience. The images of the equipment, though
adequately sharp, were let down by their small size,
something that would easily be rectifi ed by a large-
image link and zoom and rotation capability. I don’t
know many people who would part with £500 for a
camera without fi rst getting up close and personal
with it. A product comparison feature would also
enhance the shopper’s experience.
There was plenty of detailed product information
on the product listing pages, but the format could
be easier to read. However, the “additional products”
tab, which allows you to add cross-sells straight to the
basket, is a defi nite redeeming feature, speeding up
the shopping experience. Also, by giving prices both
with and without VAT, Jigsaw makes shopping a bit
easier for business users.
Technicalities
Once it came to the crucial moment of buying, the and asked me to confi rm my order. Despite the polite
Ouch! This category
process became more clunky. Incomplete fi elds on customer care and the speedy response, the fact that landing page is much
forms were fl agged up with a red error message, such there hadn’t been a check for such things on the site
too text-intensive. Some
as “region” in the address section, and the postcode- itself left me with the impression that the operation
images would make a
lookup feature I normally use to avoid unnecessary isn’t as professional as it could be.
huge difference.
data entry didn’t populate the region. On clicking Having started off very positively, I was left feeling
“submit”, nothing appeared to happen. rather disappointed by Jigsaw24 as a site, but not
That wasn’t the only technical issue I had with the by Jigsaw as a company. It’s clear that Jigsaw is not
website. To begin with, because there was no www only an expert in its fi eld but also passionate about
entry in the DNS, going to http://Jigsaw24.com (rather the business, as shown by the wealth of knowledge,
than www.Jigsaw24.com) did not work. There were reviews, and advice in the supporting websites. It’s
lots of empty H5 tags for offer text when no offer was regrettable, then, that the ecommerce site, as a quality
present. The site seemed unusually slow, and there gauge for the company, is somewhat of a letdown.
appeared to be lots of html comments in the pages, There are a number of potential security issues
which added more weight. There were repeated that should be investigated, although Jigsaw appears
heading levels, which is bad for both SEO and DDA to be picking these up at the call centre, where, from
compliance. There appeared to be no or very spartan my experience, they are dealt with professionally.
product descriptions when JavaScript was not enabled, Less technical users may expect more images to
which is also terrible for SEO and DDA. The AJAX attract and guide them through their product
cart was painfully slow, and there was no feedback to searches. Seeing experts being let down by basic
acknowledge I’d even clicked. usability, DDA, SEO, and the perception, at least, of
Once I registered on the site, I was able to log in potential security issues on the site is a real shame.
using just a family name and a postcode, so I could, Given the great SEO features on the news and
in theory, have logged in as anyone whose surname information sites, I wondered why the main site has
and postcode I knew. Luckily credit-card details been so deprived.
weren’t revealed to me. The VeriSign logo So would I buy from Jigsaw? Yes, I would, despite
accompanied by https and the padlock symbol were the website’s downfalls. The responsiveness of the
welcome reassurance on the checkout pages. Because customer service team as well as the connection to
some images were served using http, however, real people in a real company as demonstrated by the
Internet Explorer complained and fl ashed up education websites speak clearly of a company that
warning messages. values quality as well as its customers. So with that in
Some basic form validation was missing. For mind, Jigsaw, please fi x your online store.
example, it was possible to add negative quantities to
my basket and have negative basket values. I wasn’t
brave enough to put this to the test with my credit Mark Adams is sales and
card, but I did wonder if it would result in Jigsaw
marketing director at
crediting my account. Despite this, I did complete
ecommerce consulting
a purchase using a fake credit-card number and
promptly received a well-formatted order confi rmation
and development specialist
By Mark Adams
email. But the email stated that I had ordered two Portaltech.
ceb175.indd 29 7/11/09 13:10:22
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