Chapter 3 discussed attracting and retaining visitors to a web site.  You now should be familiar with the different types of attractors and their functions, trends in customer service, and challenges faced by those who design web sites.  It is highly important for you to understand the attractor concept, because you will be applying it in your own e-storefront project.  Therefore, take your time and stay within each site for  a while to get a feel for how, and how well, it achieves the objective(s) it appears to have.

In this lab exercise you will visit each of the web sites listed below and record: 1) the company behind it, 2) the type(s) of attractor(s) being used, and 3) why the site is being used, 4) the likely target market profile(s) (basic demographics), and finally, 5) the site's sustainable attractiveness, i.e., rate each site on the criteria described in the text regarding ease of imitation.

Finally, go to your favorite website and rate it on these same factors (i.e., try to step back and look it over objectively).  The format below would be a good way to organize your analysis.
 

                                                   Attractor(s)            Main Purpose           For whom is                 How easily can the
Visit these           Company           being used            of the site                 the site designed?        site be imitated?  Why?
sites:

candystand.com
 
 

chipotle.com
 
 

bajafresh.com
 
 

intel.com
 
 

snapple.com
 
 

cocacola.com
 
 

pepsi.com
 
 

cartoonnetwork.com
 
 

smartstart.com
 
 

centrevilleva.org
 
 

(your favorite site)