Card Sorting
Project
Competitive Analysis
Competitive Analysis - Summarizing
Card Sorting - Setup & Execution
Card Sorting - Setup & Execution
Analysis
Common Categories
Quantitative Insights:
Qualitative Insights:
Number of Participants: 5
Participant Demographics: Participants were selected from the age group of 20 to 60 years. 2 participants were aged 20–30, 1 participant was aged 30–40, and 2 participants were aged 40–50. Participants were chosen to represent a diverse range of users likely to shop for home and goods products and included individuals with varying levels of familiarity with online shopping.
Procedure: A total of 40 content items related to the home & goods website were included in the open card sorting exercise, and the card sorting exercise was conducted using Figjam. I gave clear instructions for the participants to complete the task.
Comprehensive list: Sofas & Sectionals, Bathmats, Bedroom storage, Kitchen storage, Nursery Furniture, Table liner, Outdoor Furniture, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Decorative lights, Plates, Kids bed, Pantry shelves, LED light-bulbs, Bathroom mirrors, Decorative bulbs, Throw blankets, Beds, Dinnerware, Kids tableware & dinnerware, Chairs, Garage storage, Outdoor curtains, Dinnerware collections, Cookware, Iron board, Rugs, Blackout curtains, Laundry cabinets and shelves, Bowls, Coffee & tea accessories, Drying racks, Outdoor Light, Mixer, Gallery wall frames, Wall arts, Kitchen lights, Bake-ware & Accessories, Cutlery & cutting boards, Food storage & organizing
Figma Link: Click here for card sorting
I analyzed West Elm's and IKEA's navigation and content structures to identify strengths and areas for improvement. To improve user experience, I conducted a card sorting activity with five participants to identify common categories for home goods, such as kitchen, bathroom, and holiday items. The results showed a preference for clear and intuitive organization.
I created a graph from the card sorting exercise, which illustrates how participants grouped various product categories. The Holidays category was the most popular, with all five participants grouping it, while categories like Storage, Kitchen, Bedroom, Décor, Lights, and Furniture were grouped by four participants each.
On the other hand, categories like Dining Room, Cabinets & Shelves, and Home Accessories received less attention, indicating potential confusion or the need for improvements. Overall, this analysis highlights trends and opportunities for better organization and navigation on the website.
Most participants included the following categories:
• Kitchen: Often combined with dining, frequently mentioned items include cookware, dinnerware, and food storage.
• Bathroom: Includes items like bathmats, mirrors, and drying racks.
• Bedroom: Beds and storage items like laundry cabinets are common.
• Lights: Includes LED bulbs, decorative lights, and outdoor lights.
• Décor: Wall art and gallery frames are consistently mentioned.
• Holiday: Christmas and Thanksgiving decorations are universally included.
• Kids' Room: Nursery furniture, kids' beds, and tableware are grouped here.
• Storage: Food storage, laundry shelves, and garage storage appear in various contexts.
Variations in Groupings
• Outdoor Items: Some place these under "Outdoor," others include them in "Furniture.“
• Blackout Curtains: Found in categories like "Bedroom," "Bathroom," or "Rugs & Curtains.“
• Ironing Boards: Sometimes grouped with bathroom accessories or home storage.
• Décor and Furniture: Overlap occurs between functional furniture and decorative furniture.
Consistency Across Categories: Kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, lights, décor, and holiday items show high consistency among participants, indicating these are essential and intuitive categories for users.
Variations in Minor Categories: Items like blackout curtains and ironing boards reflect low consistency, showing the need for clear, user-friendly subcategories.
Storage: Frequent references across various settings (kitchen, garage, bedroom) indicate that users view storage as a multifaceted category.
Users like organizing things in a way that makes sense, like putting all the cooking and eating stuff together under "Kitchen & Dining”.
Seasonal and decorative categories should be kept clear so that it's easier to find what the users are looking for.
Multipurpose items like blackout curtains and ironing boards add complexity, requiring secondary navigation tools.
Summary:
The findings from the card sorting activity and competitor analysis reveal insights into navigation and content organization challenges for websites like West Elm and IKEA. While West Elm's website is visually appealing, it lacks navigation clarity, requiring users to navigate multiple menu levels to locate specific items. Adding better filtering options could reduce user overwhelm caused by the many categories.
On the other hand, IKEA's extensive subcategories can overwhelm first-time users or those unfamiliar with its structure. Repeated placement of items like baby furniture in multiple locations creates confusion, potentially leading to cart abandonment.
Several common categories emerged among participants in the card-sorting activity. Variations in groupings were observed for items like outdoor furniture, blackout curtains, ironing boards, and the overlap between décor and functional furniture. These findings highlight the need for streamlined navigation and category structures to enhance user experience and reduce frustration.
Recommendations
Sitemap
I am conducting card sorting for home goods and furniture products to improve the site's design through a detailed understanding of user interactions and preferences.
I study two competitor websites:
While West Elm's website is aesthetically pleasing and aligns with its brand image, it needs more navigation clarity and content organization. Users sometimes need to navigate multiple levels of menus to find specific items, making it time-consuming. A few categories could be added to the page filtering options, which helped to avoid the user being overwhelmed by seeing so many categories.
2. https://www.ikea.com/us/en/
Even though there are many valuable options, users may feel overwhelmed by the many subcategories and choices, particularly first-time visitors or those unfamiliar with IKEA's structure. Categories are frustrating when users try to bypass categories. Users may feel lost or take longer to locate specific items, leading to frustration or cart abandonment. A few items, like baby furniture, are in multiple locations; this could have avoided reducing the number of categories.
The content organization of the IKEA and West Elm websites reflects their distinct brand strategies and target audiences. IKEA prioritizes functionality and detailed structure organized by product types and room categories. It focused on practicality, with extensive subcategories, advanced filtering options, and detailed product pages that include dimensions, materials, and assembly instructions. However, this approach can overwhelm users with layered navigation.
In contrast, West Elm adopts a minimalist, lifestyle-driven organization focused on selected categories like furniture, décor, and bedding. The website leans heavily on style and editorial layouts that showcase products in aspirational contexts, appealing to design-conscious users. While this creates an inspiring and visually appealing experience, it lacks the depth and functionality of IKEA's structure, offering fewer filters and limited technical details. Some categories can be added to the individual product category page filters to improve the categorizing. Some pages open with a plain white background, and the user must scroll down to see the list of products. Overall, IKEA caters to goal-oriented shoppers seeking specific items, while West Elm prioritizes aesthetics and inspiration.
• To reduce the overwhelming subcategories, simplify navigation by implementingshallow hierarchy menus with fewer levels.
• Label categories using familiar terms for ease of use (e.g., "Kids' Room" instead of "Nursery Furniture") to reduce the frustration caused by unclear category bypassing.
• Adding more filter to the pages will help to reduce the menu categories.
• Show a limited number of options at a time. This approach will make it easier for users to make decisions and navigate the website.
• Showing the user's location in the site's hierarchy helps them track their journey.
• Introduce a personalized dashboard for returning users featuring browsing history, wish lists, and recommendations.
I chose the categories based on the insights of the card sorting study. Most of the categories are very clear because most of the participants did that in the same way. A few categories, like curtains, rugs, and lights, could go under many categories, so I created a separate category to ensure everything is clear. Since most participants selected the laundry and bedroom together, I made those together and created the sub-categories under that.