Running head: DESIGN PROPOSAL 1

Web Design Proposal for Craigslist

Patrick M. Mason, Kaylah E. Owens, Keanu J. Gomez, Mariah Crawford

University of Kentucky
DESIGN PROPOSAL 2

Written Design Proposal for Craigslist

Craigslist, the epitome of a public service website has proven to succeed as an effective

platform allowing people to sell products and services to customers online. Guaranteeing the

success of the website results in an increase of online viewers. With such a high demand, it is

critical for the website to meet its users needs. To increase Craigslist's productivity, it is crucial

to renovate the website to a more aesthetically pleasing and easy-to-navigate one. The renovation

can be broken down into a drop-down menu addition, sidebar elimination, search bar proposal,

and textual design/grammar enhancements.

In modern web design, intuitive navigation is key to a good website. Instead of having all

of the subcategories on the web page, we recommend making a horizontal dropdown menu at the

top of the web page (Schiff, 2013). This will make navigating the page easier for the consumer,

and reduce the clutter of the web page (shown below in Figure 1 and 2). Thus, the website will

follow a more standard website layout that is easier to navigate and search through.

Figure 1: Original Craigslist homepage. Figure 2: Revised Craigslist homepage with drop-down menu.
DESIGN PROPOSAL 3

In pursuit of creating an easier to navigate website, we recommend a featured category to

fill the newly opened space. We recommend that the featured deals of the day should be

presented in a box design to group the images text and link together in order to make the eye

associate the boxes together (shown below in Figure 3). In addition, we recommend, to add

contrast, that the shop now button should be big and bright to draw the customer's eye (Maier

et.al, 2012).

Figure 3: Featured category of homepage.

When creating an attractive website with increased utility, a cluttered sidebar should be

eliminated. Once the center of the homepage has undergone repair, the side bar stands out as an

eyesore. The removal of the side bar will decrease the amount of clutter on the homepage

making it more aesthetically pleasing. The topics listed on the side bar can be added to the

bottom of the page (shown below in Figure 4). For example, the sidebar includes a link for the

sites privacy policy, which will be transferred to the bottom of the homepage. Combining these

links at the bottom simplifies and reduces the repetition of the website.

Figure 4: Links at the bottom of the revised homepage.

DESIGN PROPOSAL 4

In addition to reducing the repetition of the website, the search bar should be enlarged for

users to easily view and type their search queries. The current search bar is small and lacks

magnetism (shown in Figure 5). By enlarging and centering the search bar, it will be more

noticeable and convenient for the consumer (shown in Figure 6). Based on the Psychology of

Web Design, people tend to prefer a larger search bar to be able to see and edit their results.

According to Middendorf, web designers utilize a concept known as magnetism (Middendorf,

2012). It refers to the use of visual cues to naturally draw peoples attention. Making the search

bar centered and enlarged will emphasize the importance of Craigslists search functionality.

Figure 5: Original search bar. Figure 6: Revised search bar.

Since drawing in the customers eye is most important, the website must also be

renovated in terms of fonts, font size, and any grammar mistakes. The website attempts to

maintain a consistent layout, which helps consumers identify and navigate the website; however,

it is visually displeasing. The website releases an unprofessional aura, stemming from its small

fonts sizes and lack of proper capitalization (shown in Figures 8,10,12,14). Proper capitalization

and correct grammar (shown in Figures 9,11,13, 15) establishes credibility because it mimics the

professional world. The current font consistency is displeasing to the eye and proper font

manipulation can drastically impact sales. Although the use of font does not dramatically hinder

website navigation, it detracts from the credibility of the website (Maier et al., 2012). To

improve the website, the fonts should obey proper capitalization and be manipulated to
DESIGN PROPOSAL 5

emphasize certain words or phrases. The featured product page, for example, could use larger

font with a different color (shown below in Figure 7) to draw emphasis and attract the audiences

attention (Schiff, 2013). By creating an attractive website, the company can earn a higher level of

credibility and be utilized more in the future.

Figure 7: Featured product page with

special font.

Figure 8: Original privacy page. Figure 9: Revised privacy page.

Figure 10: Original help page. Figure 11: Revised help page with proper capitalization.
 DESIGN PROPOSAL 6

Figure 12: Original posting page with improper capitalization. Figure 13: Revised posting page with professional capitalization.

Figure 15: Revised shopping page with proper

Figure 14: Original shopping page with improper capitalization. capitalization.
DESIGN PROPOSAL 7

It must be acknowledged that Lexington.craigslist.org could drastically increase online

traffic numbers and overall users by redesigning their website. To redesign this website, it will

require altering the navigation to include textual design/grammar enhancements, sidebar

elimination, search bar alteration, and drop down menu addition. Thus, with a few changes, this

website could become visually appealing with a design that is easy to mentally process. If a

consumer has trouble using the website then they will move to a competitor that will

accommodate what they need, such as amazon or eBay. Although this website does not exist to

exclusively generate revenue from sales, it still needs to be on par with the other marketing

websites. The website must be easily accessible, credible, and aesthetically attractive to

effectively market goods and services. By doing this, more vendors and merchants will be

convinced to use your platform to market their products, thus generating more revenue. Will you

stick to your obsolete web design or strike gold by revolutionizing the Craigslist brand? The

decision is in your hands.

The revised webpage URL is as follows: www.lexingtoncraigslist.weebly.com

Revised subpages:

Privacy

Help

For sale: Furniture

Post to Classifieds
DESIGN PROPOSAL 8

References

Schiff, J. L. (2013, June 04). 13 Simple Tips for Improving Your Web Design. Retrieved April

12, 2017, from http://www.cio.com/article/2385250/online-marketing/13-simple-tips-for-

improving-your-web-design.html

Maier, A., Chapman, C., Travis, D., Fadeyev, D., Inchauste, F., Bradley, S., & Friedman, V.

(2012). Psychology of Web Design. Smashing Magazine, 1(16), 1-100. Doi:978-3-

943075-24-3 (n.d). Retrieved April 25, 2017, from https://lexington.craigslist.org/

Middendorf, W. (2012, February 22). Designing Perceptual Persuasion. Retrieved April 27,

2017, from http://johnnyholland.org/2012/02/designing-perceptual-persuasion/