Q for Quilt (www.qforquilt.com) is one of several Web sites marketing and selling South African handicrafts to a largely international market. The site was launched in early July this year, and is run by a handful of siblings that could well be to South African e-commerce what the Corrs are to the Irish music scene.
Appearance
The URL www.qforquilt.com opens a very clean splash page, but when one clicks through to the site, up pops another browser window. This is rather annoying -- interstitials are a pet peeve of mine. I think it would be less time-consuming if the information contained on the splash page was just included on the home page.
Nevertheless, the splash page design sets the scene for what to expect from the site; very clean and minimalist layout, using muted colours that have a soothing, comforting effect -- much like the emotions one generally associates with quilts in general.
The images used are truly stunning -- most help give you an idea as to how the quilts can be used as a component of the existing d'ecor to brighten up a room, instead of just an overview of the design.
Functionality
The site is currently not completely e-commerce-enabled, although its marketing champion Annebelle Schreuders assures me that an outsourced electronic payment facility is on the way. Orders are currently facilitated via direct e-mail, and payment handled through EFT.
Navigation
The various ranges of quilts, afghan blankets and scatter cushions are easily navigated using a top anchored navigation bar. Once within a category, the products on offer appear in a window set to the right of the primary display, allowing you to view thumbnails of the entire range, as well as a larger version of a specific product.
Site performance
Keynote Systems finds the site performs very well, with no errors.
Content quality
There are several categories of quilt from which to choose, although a number of the items have already been sold. The quilts are designed by Hildeke Schreuders, and crafted over a period of about three months by teams of women who were previously unemployed, or who prefer to work from home.
The amount of work put into each quilt and the international market targeted means the products are not exactly cheap. Priced from upwards of about $400, the quilts are definitely not in my price range. Despite this, the site has sold seven quilts in two weeks of business, all into the South African market.
The range includes contemporary, traditional and children`s quilts; and that`s pretty much all you`ll find on the site. There is some background info on the sisters` motivation behind Q for Quilt, and the usual news, about, and contact sections. I must admit, with a craft as intricate and painstaking as quilt-making, I`d have liked to see more information on the process, or a brief history of quilt-making in general -- the kind of information one doesn`t necessarily come across day-to-day.
My only other gripe is the consistent mis-spelling of the word 'accessories`, wherever it is used.
Rating (out of ten): 6
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