Google any form of the word “paintball” and a host of results will bring you the many aspects of this hobby/sport. Paintball is an activity that requires a large amount of specialized gear not easily found in local stores. The paintball enthusiast can find just about any piece of equipment he/she needs online at retailers like Compulsive Paintball.

Compulsive Paintball, like many other online options, offers a host of specialized items for the weekend warrior and paintball devotee. The problem for Compulsive Paintball is just that: the vast availability of purchasing options online. To set themselves apart from the myriad of other retailers selling the very same items online they must create a website with a look and feel that brands them as the premier retailer of online paintball equipment.

The Compulsive Paintball website is not lacking in content or buying options. The site feels organized in a way that makes it easy for users to access gear for purchase and read product descriptions. What is lacking in the buying experience for Compulsive Paintball is that the site seems devoid of community. The core group of paintball fans makeup a very specialized group of people that could offer advice and experience to newcomers on everything from good locations to play to what equipment to buy.

Compulsive Paintball is missing a huge opportunity in not having a message board area to build ties between users, encourage more product reviews and partner with local paintball locations for advertising revenue. The products offered are diverse and affordable but how would a newcomer know what to start with without a little guidance? Because most users are not going to a physical storefront to get direction on what gear to purchase, the site could capitalize on this need to provide how-to information.

Functionally the site works well. It’s easy to use and intuitive, but the feel of the site seems outdated. The stylized header image gives a strong impression of what the store is about, but does not match the soft rounded edges that tie it off, or the soft colors of the background. The header feels disconnected from the rest of the site while still being its strongest design element. Why not integrate some of those textures into the background of the site?

The use of light tan also seems incongruent to the site’s message and to other paintball sites online. The vast majority of competing sites use darker colors like grays and blacks. Compulsive Paintball integrates some of that feeling into their header image but not throughout the rest of the site. The site feels like two separate entities, with the header seeming rough, textured and refined while the rest of the site seems soft, unrefined and amateurish.

Compulsive Paintball has an incredible amount of products to offer. The navigation is clear and easy to use but under designed. It lacks creative use of fonts and rollovers to enhance the look and feel and give it a sense of being branded. The site is missing out on a critical opportunity to create a community of users that return not only for gear, but also for information sharing, reviews and interaction.

The site could be considerably improved with streamlined top navigation that includes:

• Home
• About Us
• Store
• Community
• Blog
• Contact
  

A cleaner homepage design with stronger imagery and a call to action would create a destination that users would come to not only for purchases but also for interaction and information. While the website does have a blog, it is disconnected from the site and hosted elsewhere, leaving the user separated from the store, having to hit the back button to return. That kind of usability will lose sales and create confusion for users who aren’t web savvy. A more integrated blog and community will keep users on the same site, buying and sharing information.

Compulsive Paintball suffers from a disjointed design, lack of branding, and a homegrown feeling website. They’re half way there: the header image shows promise and a sense of what the site really should be. Unfortunately that’s where the branding and design ends for this website.

Missed ad revenue from local paintball locations and missed opportunity in creating a web community for paintball enthusiasts is keeping this site from reaching its full potential. A little attention to branding, interface design, information architecture and engineering could jump this site to forefront of a growing community.

About Lauren Razzore

Assistant Professor, Art Department, William Paterson University
Bayside, NY, USA

Professor Lauren Razzore is a web designer, animator, and graphic designer who has taught in the Art Department of William Paterson University since the spring of 2006. She specializes in entertainment, sports and kids' design, working mainly as a web designer and flash animator.

Professor Razzore graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1998. In 2004, she received her M.S. in Communications and Packaging Design with a concentration in Digital Media from Pratt Institute. She spent 10 years working as graphic designer before transitioning into web design and animation. Professor Razzore has worked for several large-scale companies such as Lycos and The Topps Company as the lead web designer and continues to do many freelance projects for high profile websites and animation clients. Professor Razzore's work can be seen in various places on the web, including www.topps.com, www.garbagepailkids.com, www.hollywoodzombies.com, www.wackypackages.com, www.topps.cardclub.com, www.bazookajoe.com and www.lycos.com.