Greeting Card Websites

Greetings Card Websites.
Larger card distributors:


Funky Pigeon.

Funky Pigeon is a massively successful company known for the distribution of creative and humorous cards for family and friends. I think this website is directed mainly towards men to try and fill in the gap in market for men to buy cards as 80-85% of card purchasers are women. The website design is appropriate for the audience, also the colours used work really well, and although the page looks cluttered, it works for what it is. Although this website is selling cards, mine will be selling handmade bespoke cards, therefore my website won't be as busy, it will be more elegant and simple.

Clintons Cards.

Source

The website for Clintons Cards is similar to the other large companies, with a basic navigation and simple grid system, that looks very cluttered and many different links and filters. Although I think that although the website isn't very aesthetically pleasing, it is very useful and to the point. There is no messing around and no getting lost on this website. Having a website which is easy to navigate is important, and is something I need to make sure I do when creating my website.

Moonpig.

Source

Moonpig is one of the first large card websites available to buy cards and have them personalised for people, it is also quite basic. The site may look cluttered but it actually has just the basic information on it. What makes the site look so cluttered is the offers and adverts about deals and the filtering system down the left hand side. Most websites that sell cards have this filtering system, although it may be useful on a large company, on bespoke cards it may not be necessary. Having a search bar may also be useful for my website.
Bespoke card distributors:
Pink & Posh.

Source

This website is very poorly designed, it is not esthetically pleasing, it looks tacky and cheap, which makes you not want to buy these bespoke cards. The cards themselves are actually quite pretty and elegant, this is something which is not reflected by the design of the website. Also the navigation of Pink & Posh is small and not appropriate, the colours that have been used. although they are pink which suits its name, they don't compliment each other, and add to the tacky feel of the website. This website is something that I will consider when designing mine, as we have the same kind of products, although I am using it as a guide on what not to do, and what I can improve on this site.

Website Not Named.

Source

This website has obviously not been made by a web designer as there are clear mistakes such as at the top of every page it says "Christmas Cards' in huge bubble writing. Even though I have only had a few web sessions, I know how to correct this mistake, this is a mistake a web designer wouldn't make. Regardless of this mistake the website has been poorly designed, and in my opinion I wouldn't buy anything from this website because of its aesthetics, not matter how good the cards may be, I wouldn't stay on the website long enough to see. With my website I need to make it look aesthetically pleasing as well as having good quality products available.

Papyrus.

Source

Papyrus is well designed, quite minimal apart from the min image on all of the pages, although it looks good as it is consistent throughout all the pages, it also makes some of the pages look very cluttered, for example the homepage looks like an advertisement, although when you look close it is just showing the deals on the website. As the site has a Sale page, if people wanted to be smacked with ads and deals they would go on that page, rather than forcing it on them. Although the layout of the website works well for the user, the navigation is simple and straight forward like the colour scheme used.

What I have taken from these websites.
Large Mass Produced Card Websites.
I have found that all the large companies advertise all of their sales and money that people can save by buying from them. They are also all littered with filters and information and trying to shove all of their offer is your face. This is something I am not aiming for with my website, I want to sell cards which are bespoke and special, so that when people receive the card they feel special, rather than just receiving another mass produced card. I want my website to reflect the cards that are sold on my site. Unique, special and a keepsake.   Small Bespoke Websites.
Looking through all of these bespoke card websites I have found that there is a range of different things, from very poorly made websites to some quite interesting ones. Although it is good to have a variety of different sites for references, I want my site to be more minimal and straight forward, I don't want loads of filters of prices or colours, I just want it to maybe have anchor points to take you straight to where you want on the page. I will use a small colour palette as a lot of the larger sites have but not as striking colours, maybe pastels.