How does web design affect the bottom line?

Boxes and Arrows, an online magazine on information architecture and design, looks at the evolution of Amazon's, Barnes and Noble's and Borders' web pages. Amazon sells far more books online than either Barnes and Noble or Borders (though B&N and Borders are larger booksellers overall). Are there differences in their web pages over time that help explain the differences in sales?

Analysis:

• All three sites use very long screens to display content on their home page
  
• All three sites evolved to use three-column layouts
  
• Amazon has consistently placed more links above the fold.
  
• Through the years, the density of links on Borders.com was half of that on Barnes and Noble or Amazon
  
• Amazon communicates using images and links rather than text descriptions
  
• All sites eventually included navigation targeted at specific audiences.
  
• Invitations to subscribe to an email newsletter were offered inconsistently

One conclusion is that successful design elements emulate familiar off-line shopping experiences. For example, the long homepage provides an opportunity to browse, the high use of images also encourages browsing. Also like brick and mortar stores the web sites change incrementally rather than drastically maintaining familiarity and trust.