Views > website review


A kind of magic T


Tricks, props and accessories etailer Magicbox has a lot going for its new design, but it could be missing out on a few tricks to really get the most from its website


he world of magic is surrounded by mystery and secrecy—that’s


part of its charm. How certain tricks


are performed has always been a closely guarded secret. Long gone are the days of men pulling rabbits


out of hats, today we are entertained and often amazed by highly sophisticated magic, stunts and trickery performed by leading showmen such as David Blaine and Penn and Teller. Magic is steeped in history and its journey


can be tracked as far back as 50,000 BC. Scientists believe that early cave drawings were a form of magic. The Ancient Egyptians used amulets and magic figures and the ancient Greeks and Romans used dreams and crystal balls to tell the future. Magic has been prominent throughout the middle ages and beyond, when even the most highly educated believed in its power. People were often summoned to a grizzly end if they were believed to practise magic. Thankfully, since then—unless you have a


strong aversion to Paul Daniels—things have moved on. Although magic is largely used for entertainment, I had hoped my visit to Magicbox (www.magicbox.uk.com) would transport me to a new and exciting, mysterious, magical world where goblins and fairies enticed me to purchase amazing tricks to delight and fascinate my friends and family. The whole history and ethos of magic, and the creative opportunities that accompany the art, lend themselves for a site to be developed with endless creative opportunities. But sadly, first impressions were disappointing and I felt a little let down. Yes, the overall look of the site is slick and clean, but it doesn’t feel like a magic site. In fact, it’s lacking any real character of its own. You could easily imagine very different products or services living quite happily in the current design framework, be those products shoes, clothing, food, or even an insurance comparison site. Designing for the web is not just about


choosing the right colours or expressing your brand through the right font or strapline. It’s about creating an experience for your customers and I think Magicbox could be missing a trick here—pardon the pun! One quick and easy remedy would be to try and use fewer messages on the home page. It could be a worthwhile exercise to test the site with fewer messages to see if this is more effective in increasing customer conversion rates.


26 Catalogue e-business www.catalog-biz.com Magicbox describes itself as one of the


leading suppliers of magic tricks, props and accessories to both amateur and professional magicians alike. As well as on online presence, it also has three bricks-and-mortar shops in the Newcastle upon Tyne area. As more and more businesses choose to sell online, they are becoming better at selling from their web stores. It’s therefore vital that a website is attractive and easy to use whilst providing an enjoyable and stress-free user experience at the same time. Similar to the experience expected when visiting a physical store.


Mystery shopping Magicbox has a difficult role to fulfil right from


the start. It has to convince customers to part with their money without knowing exactly what they are going to get in return—obviously to keep secret the exact mechanism of the trick. The copy needs to be crisp and compelling, and there should be plenty of rich media such as product videos and reviews to recommend the tricks to other customers. It does a good job in managing to incorporate the majority of these features. Navigating around the site itself was clear


Magicbox’s refreshed website went live in June


and easy. The shop section is divided simply into “Tricks”, “Books and DVDs” and “Magic Accessories”. Each of the categories are then subdivided further, so within “Tricks” you have the option to select card tricks, coin and money tricks and so on. As a novice magician, however, I did find some of these headlines a little baffling and I would have no idea where to start or what to buy. Perhaps a guide or glossary for new magicians would be a useful added-value feature for the uninitiated trickster. The filtering on the product search pages is


a great feature and it’s really handy to be able to search on such a wide and varied criteria. The ability to search on skill level, performance condition, theme, and price is really effective in narrowing down such a wide product base, making it easier to select something that is more likely to meet user and audience requirements. What I would have also liked to have seen was the ability to rank products by price or even customer ratings.


The front page includes a large window


that rotates between three featured products. Interestingly though, one of the featured products was out of stock which makes me wonder how often these highlighted products are refreshed. On a positive note, the site does


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40