Website Evaluation - Oscar Jacobson
In March this year Swedish brand Oscar Jacobson launched the new website for OJ Sport, their collection of premium outdoor sports apparel. You can find it at www.sport.oscarjacobson.com.
First impressions and design
At first glance the website fits the premium nature of the brand to a tee. With a minimalist header consisting of just the brand marque and an ever-present hamburger menu the brand stands out in an understated manner which carries throughout the website. On the home page, a grid layout provides a dynamic overview of a variety of content with clear calls to action for more depth.
Follow one of these calls to action and you will find a page that may not be quite as grid-like but feels familiar thanks to consistencies in the design elements. The premium feel is further emphasised with some striking photography and a nice balance of contrast and space that feels appropriate to the audience.
User experience and journey
The amount of content is currently quite light so the navigation is stripped-back as a result, sitting on just two tiers. Accessed through an elegantly presented hamburger menu the five different areas of the site are clear and concise. However, problems may be encountered as the site grows with no separation between different product groups and article types. Meanwhile, as the user explores the depth of the site, no alternative method allowing them to go back up through the levels is provided when returning to the hamburger menu may not be the most intuitive action.
Quality and depth of content
As discussed above, there isn’t a great depth to the content at this early stage following the launch. That being said the content that is present is of a very high quality. Copy is succinct, yet informative and is complemented by variety added through use of photography and video. Bodies of text are presented under a clear heading structure and in a readable format with control over line length and spacing. Calls to action are clear and well placed, particularly the links to view products through the online store, while a considered effort to include social media where appropriate is evident.
Load time and optimisation
The page load time feels fairly good when navigating the website on a good broadband connection. Unfortunately this isn’t the case when trying to navigate over a mobile network on your phone or even on a slower broadband connection. Upon closer inspection there are a few issues that should be resolved, and with the images in particular. High-resolution images that are resource intensive are supplied regardless of the device or screen size being used. While running a file size test on images from the current home page also reveals that they are not optimised for the web, indicating that an average saving of 10% could be made – up to 38% on one image – without loss of quality.
Search engine friendly
A relevant meta title and description of optimal length appears to have been written for each specific page which will benefit their position and appearance on SERPs (search engine results pages). The mark up is generally semantic throughout, though a few instances exist where second level headings would have been more suitable. Image alt tags are consistently used but could be more descriptive. Resolving the above issues with page load time will make the site more search engine friendly.
In conclusion
The Oscar Jacobson Sport website sees a beautiful design that has been well translated in the build and represents the brand effectively. The user interface is generally intuitive and well thought out and I look forward to checking back regularly to see how it grows with more content.