Abstract

For my final major project, I propose to create a website that allows its users to search for gifts.
The gifts that will be displayed on my website will be from small businesses that are located on Princes Avenue and Newland Avenue in Hull, as these businesses do not have websites they can advertise or sell their products on.

The website will give the users a number of different ways in which they can search the website for gifts. One way would be for the user to type in a keyword using a search box, and then the website will return any results relevant to the keyword entered. This would be helpful to those users who already know what type of gift they are looking for. A second way to search the site would be for the user to view gifts by product category, price, or colour etc. Thirdly there would be an option to view the gifts that are sold by each business.

The results page will show the relevant results and will be displayed along with a product name, image and price. When the user clicks on a certain product, they will be taken to a new page where it will have more information about it such as images, price, description, the name of the business that sells it. In addition to this there will be a small location map and their shop address so users will know how to find and purchase this product.

There will also be a login section for the businesses to access the website in an administrative role. This will allow them to add new products, edit any existing products and delete unavailable products to and from the site. By providing each business with their individual login details, this will give them the opportunity to do this and will then ensure my website would always be up to date. If they choose to update their products by adding to them, it would also help increase their number of sales in store.

The aim of this website is for the user to be able to leave the website with a good gift idea for the person they are buying for. Along with the idea, they will have information of where they can buy it from and how much it costs. Another aim of this website is to help the small businesses in the selected area advertise their products and increase their sales.

The reason I chose to do this is because gift finder websites are helpful to people who find it difficult to find gifts for the person they are buying for. I have decided to use gifts that small businesses in Hull sell because most of them do not have their own websites where they can advertise and sell their products online so are struggling to reach some people that would be interested in their products. These gifts would also be good on my website because they are products that are different to what people would normally find and buy as gifts. One of the main reasons I have chosen not to display gifts large retailers sell is because there isn’t a need for a website advertising their products because they usually have a number of stores on the high street and also have websites where people can buy their products online and most of them have a search facility within their own site, so it is already easy for people to find out what they sell.