I have always thought that Walmart has done a pretty good job with their website. They have tons of stuff, and I am able to find most things rather quickly. Today when I visited the site, two things caught my eye. Let’s start with the positive one.

Like many sites they have a slideshow on their home page. These are great because they maximize the most desired website real estate, above the fold on the home page. But one thing that drives me crazy about slideshows. When one does happen to catch your eye, you are only half done reading it when something else pops up. Now I have to figure out how to go back (or maybe even wait till it comes around again, then pause it.) Slideshows definitely have their drawbacks. Walmart however has done something with theirs that helps to minimize that drawback (at least from my point of view).

My problem with slideshows isn’t that the slides change. It’s not knowing WHEN they are going to change. They have introduced a feature that gives the user feedback as to when the slide will change. Essentially the slide number button slowly fills with a new color, when it is full, a new slide is displayed. It isn’t easy to describe so feel free to check it out for yourself here. It’s a solution that is simple and intuitive.

The other thing I noticed at the Walmart site is they are actually selling advertisement space. Although it does have usability ramifications, it is more of a business concern for me. Do they really want to be driving people away from their sites to others sites? How does this make them look to the public? Are they really that strapped for cash that they need to decrease the user experience on their site just to make a few bucks?