Steam Store

Steam Store

1. Error prevention

   • Prior to making a purchase, you have to key in your credit card details
     • Less chance of accidental purchases.
   • Steam alerts you if you are attempting to purchase the same item more than once
     • It informs you that you already own the item and only allows you to purchase it as a gift to someone else.

2. Visibility of system status

   • Two areas to access my profile, one is big and centralised
   • X Sign in buttons are quite small and may easily be overlooked.

3. User control and freedom

   • User has free reign to select what they want
   • X Accessing my account's inventory can be tedious due to un helpful privacy settings

4. Flexibility and efficiency of use

   • Purchase is simple and straightforward.
   • Browsing is aided by genre and tags
   • X Inefficient when searching for older items, very far back.

5. Help users diagnose and recover from errors

   • Reason for errors are given
   • Errors are uncommon
   • X Suffers from occasional glitches and bugs

6. Recognition rather than recall

   • Store has big visible icons to help traverse the site
   • X Searching by genre and tags requires recall on where an item was located and can take a long time to find.

7. Match between system and the real world

   • All transactions in USD$
   • Mobile App is available for download, allows users to access Steam anywhere.
   • Must click add to cart for an item before you can buy it. Add to cart button is a trolley icon

8. Consistency and standards

   • X Browse game option is limited and changes based on which games are popular.
   • Market activity is constantly updated.
   • All discounts are highlighted and stated next to the actual price.

9. Aesthetic and minimalist design

   • Simple black background, does not distract.
   • X Depending on the item, much scrolling may be needed.
     • Refer to recognition rather than recall, and flexibility and efficiency of use.

10. Help and documentation

    • Support button is big and visible at the top of the site
    • The top tabs never change no matter where in the site you go.