Convection ovens allow you to bake more foods (cookies, muffins, etc.) at once with even browning, but without the need to shift and rotate pans. A convection oven is the same as a conventional oven except a fan is installed in the back interior of the oven. The fan is used to blow and force the heat to circulate in the oven and around the food, thus eliminating the need to rotate and shift pans. In reality, though, even with the most expensive convection ovens, you will still need to rotate your foods, because there will always exist still hot spots in the cavity, because the cavity is small. Don't compare home convection ovens with most commercial convection ovens used by bakers and small food manufacturers, because their commercial ovens are much larger than home ovens and commercial ovens don't have any hot spots and therefore, there's no need to shift and rotate pans.

Ease of cleaning is well worth considering at the outset. Stay clean liners resist dirt build-up but pyrolitic cleaning is the ultimate. It burns off all baked-on debris at 500°C so that all you have to do is sweep out the resulting ash. Look out for ovens with a steam cleaning facility, too, and remember that some ovens have removable inner doors that are easy to clean.

Wipe away any acid spills such as from vinegar or grapefruit straight away. Never clean the bowl or draining board with an abrasive cleaner. Instead use liquid detergent in warm water and wipe with a soft cloth to remove water drop marks. Care for stainless steel appliance fascias and cabinet fronts in the same way. If choosing stainless steel cabinets, a 'brushed' surface is less likely to show grease from finger marks.