I have broken down the eShop Home Page into separate elements for the purposes of discussion. Crucial points and my personal recommendations are in red. I have incorporated suggestions listed below in the eShop Home Page mockup.

Home Page Welcome Logo:

According to a recent eye-tracking study done on web sites, users were much more likely to first look at text than graphics. Graphics were not generally looked at until the second or third visit to the page. Also, there is a general avoidance to using large graphics unless they add to the value of the users attaining their goals. Large graphics take longer to download.

I would suggest a redesign and resizing of the eShop logo. If there is going to be a logo it should be present on all (or most) eShop pages using an unobtrusive and consistent placement.

Introductory Paragraph:

The intro paragraph should be brief. It should welcome users and then explain exactly what the eShop is. Web users are text scanners - not comprehensive readers - so brevity and directness are crucial.

All web text, especially on commerce sites, needs to get to the point immediately.

Product Representation (general):

When one experiences the current state of the eShop home page, it appears the site is based on free stuff, and that secondarily we happen to have some items for sale.

Pushing free stuff above all else devalues the content.

We should take the approach that Giga content as absolutely invaluable, and we are offering to let users take a small peek inside our Analysts' brilliant minds with the free items.

In other words, the free items should be treated as a special offer, not as the main point of the site.

Content Type Icons (or the lack thereof):

Do users really care about the difference between an IdeaByte and a Planning Assumption (aside from price)? If they do, then the icons become more important. If not, they should be downplayed (made smaller). In either case they should be unobtrusive to the more important text information.

We need to consult actual users (clients) to see if these product categorizations are useful.

The "Free Items" Blue bracket:

The bracket serves an structural purpose on the GigaWeb home page, but its value is lost on the eShop home page.

The bracket should be removed and a new layout/metaphor should be adopted.

Accessibility and Ease of Use:
The following issues need to be addressed in the current eShop home page design:

• The document titles on the home page need to be hyperlinked (linking to the same place as the "More Info" link).

• There needs to be an "Add to Cart" button and/or link for each item.

• The "More Info" and "Add to Cart" buttons/links need to be in the same place visually for each item so the user automatically knows where to look for them. See the mockup for examples.

Shopping Cart Information:

We should keep constantly-updated Shopping Cart data on every page for the user. Note the "View Cart", "Items In My Cart", and "Subtotal" data to the right of the Giga logo in the home page mockup.

Continue to the "More Info" page design concerns.