Mall of America: The Worst Website?

Mall of America spent a lot of money on their website. But it’s DOA.

We’ve been working on a new website for major mixed-use development project in the Southeast. We’ve looked at lots of mall and development sites. Unfortunately, we have to report that the Mall of America site ranked dead last.

FATAL ERROR

Mall of America’s site failed our test for one simple reason: the home page doesn’t load in Firefox.

We’ve tested the site on multiple computers over more than a month. No luck.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the show?

NAVIGATION FOLLIES

Navigation works best when it is as simple as possible. But consolidating a large site into concise navigation is not a simple task.

We counted 8 separate navigation panels incorporating 36 items. Many of these items include drop down menus. That’s way too much to be an effective user interface.

When we give viewers too many options, they choose nothing. They bail.

Too many options make the viewer work too hard to understand the site. It creates enormous friction in the user experience.

We suspect that the MOA site development was supervised by a committee. Everybody wanted their info to be prominently displayed. No one looked at the big picture. But remember:

It’s not about what you want to say. It’s about what the viewer is ready to absorb.

Ten pounds of fertilizer in a five pound bag, anyone?

LET THEM EAT CAKE

The MOA site showcases sophisticated design, high level programming and a mountain of effort. But, like Marie Antoinette, it is fatally out of touch with the needs of the public.

By all means, fix the Firefox error. After that, contemplate streamlining the UI and creating a more user-friendly experience.

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We’ve surveyed almost 40 mall and development sites. See all the links here.