: Need advice for alphabet search option (I was going to post an image but I don't have enough reputation, so here's the link of the website: http://www.galco.com/) I'm redesigning a website and

@Kaufman565

The basic concept looks to be like a so-called "Mega-dropdown". It's something that has been growing in popularity for a few years now: brilliant when done well, infuriating when done badly.

I've never seen an alphabetical one before, but for a specialist shop where expert customers will come with a number of very specific terms in mind and will want to gauge what range of their specialist needs your site actually serves, it seems to make sense. Don't forget that expert audiences are very different to casual audiences.

Loads of room for improvement in the visuals though... Google about a bit for good examples, galleries and discussions of sites that use mega-dropdowns to see what works and what doesn't. There's a fairly neat intro to mega-dropdowns at the end of this Smashing article that might get you started, and the Gateway example they give is probably relevant to your case:

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@Kimberly620

The "bubbles" definitely have to go! I would tend to agree with you, but at the end of the day, it's his company and what he says goes. One argument you could try would be to tell him that a separate page with all the brands/items could lead the visitor to notice something there that they hadn't realized was related to that company, or impress them with the amount of brands represented by the company.

Failing that, you might try listing the alphabet down the right side; it would act more like a sidebar and wouldn't be so visually intrusive. I'd also consider not having each letter in its own shape, but simply listed in a smallish font size.

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