X204 Project

There has always been a constant competition between Nike and Adidas, but what about their online websites? Which business has the better website? While shopping online the other day I found myself going back and forth between the Nike and Adidas websites. One website was catching my attention more than the other one was but why was that?

After doing some research on what makes a business website successful I found that some of the most successful business websites are easy to navigate, informs their visitors, keeps the visitors on their page, and eventually converts them into customers. Also it is important to make sure that the website is responsive and can adjust to the screen of any mobile device. Turning a visitor into a customer by the time they leave the website is one of the main reasons for having a website for a business.

When comparing Nike’s website to Adidas’ website, here is what worked, what didn’t work and which one was more successful:

When I pull up Nike’s website I notice how there is a lot of use of the colors white and black. The only major use of color on the home page is when looking at the different boxes that were promoting certain products like running materials for men, women and young athletes. At the very top of the home page there is an ad promoting a new shoe, but there again was a lot of the color white. This didn’t make me very interested in the product and resulted in me just scrolling on past the ad. The home page also appeared to have only the main purpose of advertising running products. This in my opinion didn’t work for their website because not everyone is buying only running products from this brand. What really was successful for this website was that on the home page the links to men, women, and children products are right at your eye level in the center of the page. This made it easy to navigate. Also, when I first pulled up the website a box popped up for me to enter my information to sign up for a newsletter with coupons and information about new products. I felt that this was a good way to give customers information and to draw them back in to buy products later on.

When I clicked on the “women” link for Nike I am taken to a page that has advertisement boxes that say “bring on spring”, “lighten up for warmer weather” and “run your city”.  These categories seemed very vague to me and were in very tiny font. Even though there were tiny links at the tops of the page that said shoes, clothing and new releases, I have to scroll down even further to find the links to buy items such as shorts, sports bras, and hoodies. This page made it difficult to find what I was looking for right away. I would have to click on several links just to find the exact product I was looking for.

The home page of the Adidas website looks very similar to the Nike home page, but there were some major differences. On the home page for Adidas there is a large and colorful advertisement promoting a new shoe that they are selling. Already they have caught my attention through the use of color and have made me interested in looking into the new shoe. Unlike the Nike home page, Adidas’ home page featured a wide variety of products under the title “What’s Trending”. To sign up for the newsletter and receive coupons I had to scroll to the bottom of the home page. This was a downfall compared to the box that popped up on the Nike home page. What also didn’t work for the home page was that the links to the men, women, and children items were on the top left side of the page. The links weren’t the center of attention of the page and instead the large advertisement was. In my opinion those links are the most important links on the page and they should be placed in a way that shows that.

When I clicked on the “women” tab I was taken to a page that has around 7 pictures with the straight forward categorizes of Prophere, Ultraboost X, Bras, Tops, Tights, Shoes, and Adidas by Stella McCartney. Adidas had the tiny links for shoes, tops, new arrivals and other products as well, but I liked how the pictures were there as links too. That is so because these tiny links that both websites use are easy to miss.  This website made it easier to find certain faster by having them already categorized on the page.  I found that this made it easier for me to find my products compared to the Nike website. The large bold font that was used on the Adidas website made it easier as well.

Overall I found that the Adidas website was more successful than Nike’s business website. Adidas had better use of space, color, and text. I found that Adidas held my attention longer and had me looking into different products that I wasn’t even shopping for to begin with. Also, they were more successful with promoting a large variety of products whereas Nike seemed to focus in on only running materials. Adidas would result in me becoming a customer by the time I leave their website.

By Kaitlyn Richards, Business Major – IUPUC