Report on Second Life Marketplace Usability
DimplesApplePie Spicy
The current design of the Second Life Marketplace seems primarily built for smartphones, particularly iPhones. On a regular desktop screen, the layout is poorly optimized: narrow columns, small images, and wasted space.
A professional e-commerce platform should automatically detect the user’s device (desktop, tablet, smartphone) and adapt the display format accordingly. This is the core principle of modern responsive design.
👉 Suggested improvements:
Implement two optimized formats:
A desktop version for larger screens (fluid layout, wider columns, high-quality images, intuitive navigation).
A mobile version for small screens (condensed menus, vertical layout, touch-friendly ergonomics).
Ensure the site auto-detects the user’s device and displays the correct format.
It is also worth pointing out that many residents mention they may browse the Marketplace on their phone, but they rarely complete purchases there. This shows that prioritizing mobile over desktop does not align with actual shopping behavior, and the design focus is misplaced.
Such an upgrade would significantly improve readability, navigation comfort, and overall satisfaction for both buyers and merchants.
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Lucifera Morningstar
It's the same mistake Microsoft made with Windows 8 - thinking that somehow mobile users are going to outnumber desktop users on a platform based on a high-detailed graphics experience and being able to use a keyboard. Yes, the number of mobile users will grow (especially when the SL mobile app gets out of beta) but it will never outright replace PC/Mac/Linux users. Some of us have zero interest in touch-screen interfaces, and it's not based on fear of change.
DimplesApplePie Spicy
Lucifera Morningstar yes, but here, all users are desktop based lol
Holocluck Henly
Looks like someone also changed it to a fixed width to force it smaller. Was it that way prior versus flexible tables?
btw I use Firefox to access the Marketplace, and I never maximize my browser.
DimplesApplePie Spicy
Holocluck Henly Yes, I noticed that. It seems they implemented a quick fix, but it clearly looks like a temporary solution
Caelan Whimsy
As someone with bad eyesight, I actually appreciate some of the recent changes to the MP. But you're right, it is more difficult to use on a browser now. A two-format site would be a better way to move forward.
Robotshaz Resident
I've noticed the quality of the images seems to be worse now than before. On marketpage website I have noticed that many of the images look blurred until they are clicked. I don't like that because I rely heavily on visuals and I am now less likely to buy products because the images are blurry. I actually don't mind the bold font but the images definately need to be fixed I feel. We shouldn't have to click twice and onto a listing to get a clearer picture to popup. we should be able to see the images clearly without any blurriness when browsing marketplace.
DimplesApplePie Spicy
Robotshaz Resident and now also the giant fonts, no clue why they did that
Robotshaz Resident
DimplesApplePie Spicy I can only think they changed the font to bold so that text would be more easily readable for those who may struggle with reading thinner fonts. Personally I always prefer reading big and bold font because I can struggle with reading myself. Though I do think the bold text is a bit overused and too much bold text does make the website appear unprofessional and a few people will not like this change with all the font being so bold. Though my biggest concern is the image quality suffering and worsening. I spend a lot of time ensuring that my images are at a good resolution and size when uploading images onto the marketplace only now to see images are now looking blurry which ain't fair.
The images definately need to be fixed because it may have a negative impact on the customers with the images not being so clear. Image quality is very importan and creators spend so much time on making their ad pictures and it is sad to see the images looking blurry now.
KyleWForrester Resident
DimplesApplePie SpicyI noticed that! That had Me scratching My head going "huh? What's the purpose of this???"
DimplesApplePie Spicy
Robotshaz Resident Chrome / Edge: Settings → Appearance → Customize fonts.
Firefox: Options → General → Language and Appearance → Fonts & Colors.
Safari: Preferences → Advanced → User style sheet (for full CSS).
These settings let you force a font across all pages, but they’re limited compared to what you can do with a full stylesheet via Stylus or CSS injection.
DimplesApplePie Spicy
KyleWForrester Resident Unfortunately, the website appears to have been created by someone with limited experience in web design.