Surplus Store Website Pt. 1

     My biggest project for my summer internship was to create a website for the new, growing TLC Surplus Store. While TLC has a basic website that is rarely used and while we base our operations off of our store on eBay, my boss felt it was time for the Surplus Store to have its own unique site. Because we purchase our items at warehouse closeout sales, we receive new items in bulk and all at one time. While more cost effective, it is often weeks before everything can be unloaded, sorted, cleaned, and listed online. By then, a new shipment of items usually arrives and the process repeats itself. In order to eliminate the down time between the products' arrival and when they are all finally listed, my boss assigned me the task of creating a website that would alert potential buyers of items "Coming Soon" to our eBay store. That way, with a quick photograph and brief item description, buyers can view upcoming items and make comments or ask question about them. This system will help to gauge interest on certain items, so that we know what to list first based on buyer demand.
     While my boss had big visions for this new website, he had no real plans for implementation. Because he wanted the site to be strictly informational, he did not want to spend any money building the site with so many free page building programs available. Under these guidelines, I was given the freedom of creativity to design and launch a new TLC Surplus Store website. Using a free online program, I created this website for our online store (found also in my blog links): http://tlcsurplusstore.weebly.com
     My main focus when I began creating this site was the overall layout and design. While my task was to keep the website simple, I wanted to create a better looking, higher quality page than the original site that goes more or less unused. I wanted a basic, clean look that was both simple and appealing to viewers. The layout that I chose features a small, black task bar at the top of the page, a solid title bar (in the company's blue color), and a clean, white base with a centered page body. To balance the color scheme I chose to only use blue, black, and white throughout the website. For the website title, I used a faded, warehouse-like font in white to go with our store's theme. For the rest of the site, I used a standard, black font throughout with page headers bolded to show emphasis. The minimalist style that I used in creating this page is appealing to the viewer as well as professional and simple (as my boss had requested).
     After designing the layout, I had to decide what all to include within the site. For user convenience and navigation purposes, I included the different page titles as links across the task bar. Beginning with the "Home" page, I decided to start off by tackling my primary goal: to add photos and descriptions of newly acquired items. Underneath the task bar and company name, I included "New Arrivals!" for the header and used a page break line to separate the title from the rest of the page. Underneath this I simply uploaded photographs from our most current auction using an uploading/ viewing tool and included the product name and model in the description. The page has 100+ photographed items and item descriptions that can all be enlarged with a single click.
     I was extremely satisfied with the overall look and layout of the website and was excited about what I had already accomplished. I liked the basic, informational feel of the site. I also liked that our main objective was already completed and was displayed on the home page. Rather than have to navigate to the desired page, my layout presents our most important information directly and efficiently. The home page, though appealing to ethos through our company name and to logos through our concise product descriptions, appeals primarily to the viewer's sense of pathos. The site's minimalist layout and color scheme, along with the bolded fonts and numerous colorful photos, make for an appealing, eye-catching home page that immediately draws interest from the viewer.
     Although I had fulfilled my requirements and had technically completed my assigned task, I was not willing to just stop there. While a single page would effectively show buyers upcoming items, I wanted to create a better, more thorough site in order to further establish credibility as a professional, working company. I wanted this site to be as useful a resource as possible for our developing store.

(Screen Shot of Home Page)