Posted by I chose https://www.cabelas.com as the site to critique. There were 81 images on the Home page and they totaled 2042 KB. The images ranged in size from 28 – 256 KB and were randomly sized.
The images on the home page are serving as menu items, giving an idea of what Cabelas is out which is the outdoors and advertising items that are for sale. There are also images to click on that will take you to articles about hunting and what equipment is best when performing these activities.
I am still able to navigate the page without images as the text and titles are descriptive for the products and sales. The home page includes a readable menu so even someone who is sight impaired would have the option to choose the items they are interested in purchasing or getting a description. I think the experience items, how to hunt, might be a little harder to navigate without an image.
I think the site is very successful with the use of images as they give you a short cut to what you are looking for as well as lets you know there is a sale or discounted items. I find the site very easy to navigate and there isn’t much confusion when navigating between items.
It definitely is a site that is navigable without images. I suppose there are a number of audiences the site caters to, including the average consumer – who may be looking for a gift or something for the home, or hunters who will certainly be interested in more in what is under the Learn area of the website. I there is a point where knowing the audience(s) that will be coming to a website helps prioritize what areas of a site need to be more or less accessible.