With the internet offering slashed prices, free international shipping, and an increasingly large selection of fashion styles and designers, the online opportunities available for shoppers and retailers alike have exploded. While there are many sites that serve as fashion "hubs" - locations where you can browse various brands, stores, and clothing types simultaneously - the six listed below stand out for their stylish presentation and unique features. Becoming familiar with the essential elements of each one offers a chance to learn how to make a website that rises above the competition and carves out its own niche.
A general analysis of the sites listed below yields several results. First of all, keep the focus on the clothes. None of these sites offer any web page background images and they generally stick to a black, white and gray color palette, perhaps with a single accent color thrown into the mix. Second of all, easy navigation and usability is a must. Each website offers its own set of filters to sort through their database. Common categories include brand or designer, store, color, price range, size, and clothing category. The best websites allow you to select more than one option at a time, allowing shoppers to get increasingly specific with their searches. Lastly, it's all about the extra features. The best websites have worked to create blog, social forum, lookbook, or magazine sections. They are connected to social media sites, include editor picks, and showcase styles from the community. In this sense, they go beyond a simple business website to create the sense of a larger world, culture, and lifestyle into which shoppers buy. Peruse the list below and prepare to make your own website that follows in the footsteps of the internet's most fashionable retail sites.
Asos
asos.com
Asos bills itself as "the world's biggest wardrobe" and, from the looks of their incredibly comprehensive site, they just might be. The UK-based online retailer sells to both men and women and boasts connections to 850 designers. Shoppers can keep connected to them through their website, magazine, newsletter, or several social networking sites. Asos encourages the sharing of style, information, looks, and fashion tips, not the least of which is evident in their new feature, "marketplace." Here's the place to discover new boutique recommendations, list your own shop, or resell clothing to other users. Interactivity, paired with an extensive selection of fashion, makes Asos a standout among internet retailers.
Net-a-Porter
www.net-a-porter.com
Net-a-Porter distinguishes itself by filling a particular niche and offering only the top luxury fashion designers. Placing themselves at this level, they have also given their website a chic and glossy look, with an initial web page that showcases a single blown-up image and links to the latest stories in their magazine. Bold black and white lettering, a clean layout, and a complete lack of web page background images makes for a stylish site and easy usability. The website's inside look at fashion shows both through art portfolio pictorials and video clips lend an extra sense of exclusivity. It shows how to make a website that corners a particular angle of the market.
Revolve Clothing
www.revolveclothing.com
A plethora of fun features keeps traffic circling through Revolve Clothing's numerous sections. Visual portfolios on editor's picks, regional spotlights, featured boutiques, and themed collections all help visitors pinpoint trends and shape their style while they shop. Blogs, social networking links, cultural picks, and a magazine help to round out the Revolve experience, while atmospheric washed-out images, set against the jet black web page background, make a website with a high visual impact.
Shopbop
www.shopbop.com
With a clean web page design and minimal coloring, Shopbop makes browsing their extensive database easy. You can shop by designer, article of clothing, accessories, or sale items. They also offer designer boutiques, which showcase the collections of a single fashion house, as well as a bridal shop and collection of items that they deem basic essentials. Their section of "lookbooks" puts together outfit selections much like you would see in a magazine, providing inspiration for shoppers. But it's the easy to navigate, simple usability of the site that earns it the highest marks.
ShopStyle
www.shopstyle.com
ShopStyle is unique in that it pulls clothing deals from around the internet, even showcasing looks from some of the other websites on this list, including Revolve Clothing and Asos. This makes it an incredibly powerful tool for shoppers who have enough time and patience to go through its extensive database. Getting specific here is key, whether through price or color or brand. Sign up for sale alerts about your favorite designers, browse looks suggested by community members, download the ShopStyle mobile phone application, or take a cue from your favorite celebrities with the website's suggestions on how to copy stars' looks.
Shop Til You Drop
www.shoptilyoudrop.com.au
Australia's version of a fashion ecommerce website, this one is notable for its magazine-like layout and features. A flashing digital portfolio of the week's best buys is interspersed also with makeup and skincare tips, as well as travel articles about fashion in cities around the world. Shop by clothing category, price listing, favorites, or in one of their online boutiques. Subscribe to the eponymous magazine or indulge in the blog written by editors and guest designers. This is how to make a website where the actual commerce sections are so integrated into the written and visual content, that each element truly is an essential part of the other.
A general analysis of the sites listed below yields several results. First of all, keep the focus on the clothes. None of these sites offer any web page background images and they generally stick to a black, white and gray color palette, perhaps with a single accent color thrown into the mix. Second of all, easy navigation and usability is a must. Each website offers its own set of filters to sort through their database. Common categories include brand or designer, store, color, price range, size, and clothing category. The best websites allow you to select more than one option at a time, allowing shoppers to get increasingly specific with their searches. Lastly, it's all about the extra features. The best websites have worked to create blog, social forum, lookbook, or magazine sections. They are connected to social media sites, include editor picks, and showcase styles from the community. In this sense, they go beyond a simple business website to create the sense of a larger world, culture, and lifestyle into which shoppers buy. Peruse the list below and prepare to make your own website that follows in the footsteps of the internet's most fashionable retail sites.
Asos
asos.com
Asos bills itself as "the world's biggest wardrobe" and, from the looks of their incredibly comprehensive site, they just might be. The UK-based online retailer sells to both men and women and boasts connections to 850 designers. Shoppers can keep connected to them through their website, magazine, newsletter, or several social networking sites. Asos encourages the sharing of style, information, looks, and fashion tips, not the least of which is evident in their new feature, "marketplace." Here's the place to discover new boutique recommendations, list your own shop, or resell clothing to other users. Interactivity, paired with an extensive selection of fashion, makes Asos a standout among internet retailers.
Net-a-Porter
www.net-a-porter.com
Net-a-Porter distinguishes itself by filling a particular niche and offering only the top luxury fashion designers. Placing themselves at this level, they have also given their website a chic and glossy look, with an initial web page that showcases a single blown-up image and links to the latest stories in their magazine. Bold black and white lettering, a clean layout, and a complete lack of web page background images makes for a stylish site and easy usability. The website's inside look at fashion shows both through art portfolio pictorials and video clips lend an extra sense of exclusivity. It shows how to make a website that corners a particular angle of the market.
Revolve Clothing
www.revolveclothing.com
A plethora of fun features keeps traffic circling through Revolve Clothing's numerous sections. Visual portfolios on editor's picks, regional spotlights, featured boutiques, and themed collections all help visitors pinpoint trends and shape their style while they shop. Blogs, social networking links, cultural picks, and a magazine help to round out the Revolve experience, while atmospheric washed-out images, set against the jet black web page background, make a website with a high visual impact.
Shopbop
www.shopbop.com
With a clean web page design and minimal coloring, Shopbop makes browsing their extensive database easy. You can shop by designer, article of clothing, accessories, or sale items. They also offer designer boutiques, which showcase the collections of a single fashion house, as well as a bridal shop and collection of items that they deem basic essentials. Their section of "lookbooks" puts together outfit selections much like you would see in a magazine, providing inspiration for shoppers. But it's the easy to navigate, simple usability of the site that earns it the highest marks.
ShopStyle
www.shopstyle.com
ShopStyle is unique in that it pulls clothing deals from around the internet, even showcasing looks from some of the other websites on this list, including Revolve Clothing and Asos. This makes it an incredibly powerful tool for shoppers who have enough time and patience to go through its extensive database. Getting specific here is key, whether through price or color or brand. Sign up for sale alerts about your favorite designers, browse looks suggested by community members, download the ShopStyle mobile phone application, or take a cue from your favorite celebrities with the website's suggestions on how to copy stars' looks.
Shop Til You Drop
www.shoptilyoudrop.com.au
Australia's version of a fashion ecommerce website, this one is notable for its magazine-like layout and features. A flashing digital portfolio of the week's best buys is interspersed also with makeup and skincare tips, as well as travel articles about fashion in cities around the world. Shop by clothing category, price listing, favorites, or in one of their online boutiques. Subscribe to the eponymous magazine or indulge in the blog written by editors and guest designers. This is how to make a website where the actual commerce sections are so integrated into the written and visual content, that each element truly is an essential part of the other.
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