The World Wide Web of Business

Eric Gregori

Denise Burgess M/W 9am

24 March 2013

The World Wide Web of Business

            As time progresses into the future it does so with the definite and infinite age of technology. This is a new era which builds upon itself and has become an asset to the everyday individual and tailors to their new found desires. In the business world, technology has become everything needed to promote a product. Instead of having to take a page from the newspaper, a company has the simple ability of making a website which can be viewed infinitely by Internet users all around the globe. Howie’s Game Shack is a popular user of the Internet and technology as they have used it to establish the majority of their consumers. Howie’s Game Shack is a company made by technological gamers, for technological gamers and their user-friendly website promotes that idea. I believe it is because of their website’s development around consumer needs that Howie’s Game Shack has been able to develop into the successful company it is today. The website provides a variety of information for the consumers and through technological interaction has become a dominant local area connection café for Tempe residents.

            Upon entering the URL of the website, which is simply the name of the company, consumers are brought to a screen featuring maps giving the companies various locations. For the purpose of this evaluation, we will journey further into the specific website designed for the sole Arizona location. As each store has different hours of operation and events pertaining to that specific store, it is important for users to know which store they are gathering information about. The website then jumps to a very clean, well-shaped appearance that can easily grab the attention of users.

            The appearance of a website plays a key role in the potential success of a company. It can stem to a certain path of psychological feelings for the viewer which can help form an immediate idea of a website before really having to look into detail. The Howie’s Game Shack website shows a very well organized format that is broken up into boxes which contain valuable information about each aspect of their business. For example in one of the boxes contains event information which can help a visitor understand what activities are happening that week and the hours which they are being held. On the top of the page there are also available navigation tabs which will allow the viewer to look into a more detailed approach from the general appeal shown on the home page. If they viewer may choose to click on the tabs, they are then jumped to a separate, more detailed page about the subject they were inquiring about. The appearance of a page is extremely valuable to a business. If a viewer is unable to read a website and it is because of a bad color scheme that could be damaging to a company’s business, a trouble that does not phase the web developers at Howie’s Game Shack.

            Color is what truly attracts the eye of a person as we are more appealed to something with an array of colors in comparison to something that is dull and lacking personality. This website uses a pallet of hue, saturation, and brightness which compliments the logo of the company itself. The hue, or the colors themselves, are arranged into red, grey and white. Because these are the colors of the logo itself it helps consumers to be able to familiarize themselves with the product. Also more specifically, these colors contrast particularly well with each other making the appearance and writing more understandable instead of a giant mess. The color pallet which is used can also be traced back with psychological reasoning behind it. Generally with the color red there is a very passionate reaction upon its encounter. The color in this case is used to grab the immediate attention of the user. On the other hand, the white coloring is used to provide an idea of organization and a clean appearance of the website. A consumer finds interest in two colors that have different meaning behind them, yet appeal so well together. There is also a nice balance of the saturation of the colors given. Red provides a more vivid saturation with a lot of color within it. Between grey and white, however, there is the lack of saturation. This creates a great contrast of colors depending on their brightness. On this website the brightness is shown very well in the white and yellow colors while darkened in the grey. Because the red and white are so bright, they pop out with useful information and become very visible when written upon a grey background with different properties of colors.

            A website is useless if there is no, or the lack of, information being given to the consumers. The website has the important role of providing as much information to the reader as possible with as much content as possible. Through this transaction, a potential user can find the answer to their questions without having to walk into the store itself. On the home page alone, there is a wide variety of information given in separate sections. Available is a list of all the games that she store currently hold and what they may hold in the future depending on the release of a certain game. Upon the list is a separation between console games and computer games given that they hold over two hundred computers and XBOXs. If there is a question, chances are that it will be answered on the forums page. This page is a discussion board which can be accessed by both users and employees alike so that any question asked can be answered directly from the source itself. There is also a separate, detailed page for anyone that wishes to plan any kind of party or event at their store. Not only do they provide certain plans for events but what will be provided and exactly how much it will cost it also provided. A review of one party planners experience is also shown through video on the website so that a viewer may evaluate an unbiased approach. If you don’t have the desire to plan an event but want to know what activities the store will be providing, that is given as well. From the home page itself there are slides that show what will be provided at their store in addition to the layout of the store itself. It coordinates well with a calendar located at the bottom of the page which shows events that are going to be provided with each date that is updated on a daily basis. Along with the events the hours of operation are provided that extend well beyond midnight for increased activity and maximum entertainment.

            Aside from the numerous amount of information there is, however, a lack of it in certain areas. The forum may be misleading for two different reasons. Anyone can interact with the boards, meaning not all information can be reliable if it is not given by the company itself. The problem with an open forum like this is if a consumer had a question and receives an answer from someone other than a business representative, the answer they receive can be misleading and may cause the consumer to enter that business with an uneducated perspective. Additionally, there might not be a response to the question you may have as the forums may not be checked frequently. So if there was a problem or question, and it didn’t get answered, the asker may leave with a displeasing view of the company. Additionally the store does provide foods and beverages as well as products designed for gaming, but does not show what the products are or how much they cost on the website. When a customer plans on engaging with this particular company, they tend to stay long hours, it would be useful to know ahead of time the varieties of food available to them.  In the case that a question is inconclusive, necessary information can be found by contacting a representative of the store with the number given on the website. Howie’s Game Shack shows awareness that sometimes the most valuable information can be obtained through a phone call when their highly user-friendly website may not answer all of the questions desired but can still provide another way to obtain those answers.

            In this age, when it comes to technology, something that is important is how user-friendly a product is. Howie’s has responded by integrating their product with popular social media websites like “Facebook” and “Twitter” as well as smoothing out their website for simpler use. On the social media websites, Howie’s Game Shack has daily updates on what is happening inside the store as well as from time to time actually interacting with their “followers.” This shows positive engagement with the consumer and makes them want to be more involved with their business as they expand. However, with social media websites there is the possibility a company will become too involved with the social website and less involved with their own website, causing a lack of updates and useful information. Howie’s is very interactive with their website, however. The usage of the website is crafted specifically around the desires of the gamers themselves. They have on the website an interactive calendar which shows events happening that corresponds to whatever is popular among gamers at the time. When a viewer scrolls over a date on the calendar, the text become highlighted, and when clicking on the highlighted text, a small window pops up showing more specific details to that particular event. Also under each of the dates are the given hours of the store that day which is broken up into “Holiday Hours” and “Normal Hours.” The guide to these hours are given just to the left of that calendar itself With the addition of their information being updated on a daily basis, it appears so simple for any user to find what they are looking for in Howie’s Game Shack.

            The time of technology is expanding and the workers behind Howie’s Shack have not only come to understand that, but have adapted on an efficient level as well. Their website provides a very user-friendly service that was created by gamers for gamers and wishes to expand on that which is the reason this business has become so successful. Howie’s has not only found the key ingredients needed to connect well with the world and expand their business, but they have set an example for companies that have the same desire of success. Howie’s Game Shack has made the adaption to the new world and they have expanded their business through a genius, well-crafted website that greatly compliments their website.