Searching for just the right musical instrument can be difficult. It is important as a consumer, when shopping online, to find specifics in regards to product information. Sometimes this means sacrificing organization and design. American Musical Supply seems to fit directly into this category.

As a retailer of guitars, amplifiers, keyboards, drums, and much more, it becomes quite the task to keep things simple for a client. As far as design goes, AmericanMusical.com doesn’t really offer anything aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The site is made up of simple bars and text, which may limit the design potential,...

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4/5

Link: www.americanmusical.com/
Entitled to our seal: no

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Clear, precise, and structurally sound, these are all words that could be used to accurately describe Giardinelli.com. With a simple and attractive logo, meshed with a unique blue and yellow color scheme, this site is an attractive alternative to many cluttered music sites found all over the internet.

The navigation consists of a mix of horizontal and vertical links, but they are arranged in such a way as to not conflict with each other. Across the top, selecting a section based on the type of instrument is where your eye is first drawn to upon entering the site. With...

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4/5

Link: www.giardinelli.com/
Entitled to our seal: yes

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Music123.com has been on the web since 1999 and is a retailer in the market of musical instruments. What sets this website apart from such a large number of online music marketplaces is the design. Music123 has found a simple, yet effective way, to appropriately display all of the necessary content without sacrificing design.

In putting this site together, they were able to implement two sets of navigation links without giving the feeling of overcrowding. Across the top is main navigation text links, while not too attractive, they are not in any form “ugly”, and serve the purpose of...

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4/5

Link: www.music123.com
Entitled to our seal: no

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MusiciansFriend.com is an online resource for musical instruments, and related items. Loaded with information, not to mention a lot of product; organizing everything was obviously a task for the site creators. The navigation is arranged in large bubbly tabs across the top with sub navigation links listed directly below once the main link is clicked. Many of these top navigation links are duplicated in the side navigation underneath the search feature.

The overall feel of this site is that it is rather cluttered, and lacks a coherent “theme” to it.
The site is littered with promotions, ad banners,...

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4/5

Link: www.musiciansfriend.com
Entitled to our seal: yes

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SameDayMusic.com is a classic example of a website that has a great design, yet a poor layout. The sleek navigation bar along the top is well proportioned and easy to use. The banner contains all necessary information, logo, phone number, and even a catchy slogan. The color scheme is unique and original, something that definitely catches the eye. Despite the numerous positives that SameDayMusic.com offers, there is one universal element that the site lacks, a cohesive theme in regards to text layout.

The home page contains a list of so many text links, the page seems to go on...

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3/5

Link: www.samedaymusic.com
Entitled to our seal: no

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Smart is probably the best way to describe the online musical store known as “Bananas At Large”. With a fresh look to the website, it’s easy to see how they are able to attract a younger client base. While offering an easy to read image based side navigation, “Bananas At Large” is a simple, straightforward website to navigate through.

Although the layout of the website seems a bit dated, and the quality of the graphics displayed on the site are a bit sub par, the site exhibits its confidence and originality. While the design and title may display certain...

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3/5

Link: www.bananas.com
Entitled to our seal: no

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Lentine’s Music offers an original approach to the online musical instrument sales industry. This site chooses to keep it simple for all of its potential customers. Making use of a set of large graphical buttons along the top, Lentine.com is quite simple to navigate. With only a horizontal navigation, this frees up quite a bit of real estate, in regards to displaying content. The home page chooses to fill this up by displaying 4 product specials in the central portion of the website.

The search results field is easy to use and with the breadcrumb trail navigation underneath...

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3/5

Link: www.lentine.com
Entitled to our seal: no

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Tom Lee Music is an online source for musical instruments and accessories. The website is simple, precise, and more or less to the point in regards to content and information. With a dark gradient based background on a solid white website, TomLeeMusic.ca is easy on the eyes in regards to design, making the experience that much more enjoyable.

The horizontal navigation is structured into drop down menus, organizing each category into several sub categories. This is a simple approach to keeping things easy to find for the client. The sub categories are arranged using large graphical representations of the...

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3/5

Link: www.tomleemusic.ca
Entitled to our seal: no

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Woodwind & Brasswind is a website that sells orchestral and student instruments. This site is rather graphic intense in terms of the design. It reinforces a belief that repetition inhibits a successful experience. When navigating to this website there are three sets of navigation: across the top, along the side, and image links in the content area.

While the home page is extremely cluttered, the product listings page is clean and offers all of the necessary information. An image, product description, and price are key components, but it is definitely the compare feature that makes this section so...

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3/5

Link: www.wwbw.com
Entitled to our seal: no

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A bland design mixed with an even blander delivery, Elderly Instruments is a website that looks extremely dated. The mint green and light brown of this website is reminiscent more of a hospital than of any creative musical experience.

While the navigation is straightforward and easy to use, it appears as if no effort was taken in making it unique. By mixing text links, and multi-colored tabs, from horizontal navigation, to a vertical one, there is no consistency and a complete lack of unity to the overall presentation.

Fortunately, the search feature is located close to...

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2/5

Link: www.elderly.com
Entitled to our seal: no

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