Website Comparisons

04Feb08

A valuable tool to corporations and companies today is the internet.   Almost every business regardless of its size has some sort of webpage that is viewable by the public.  This type of resource is important because it can further shape the image of a company.  A website that does no t function properly can cost companies customers and profits.  Many customers would much rather use a website of a competitor than suffer through navigating a website that is poorly created. 

One website that I think has effectively presented its services and information through its homepage website is abc.com.   ABC is one of the major cable networks and has developed some of the most popular shows on television.   One of the most popular features of network websites today is providing access of already aired episodes; which is a service that ABC.com pioneered in offering.  This is one feature that ABC has improved on greatly in its site from its first unveiling.   The quality of the videos on line has improved greatly; they no longer freeze in the middle of viewing and they load very quickly.                

                The ABC homepage is very simple and easy to navigate.  Along the top of the site there are tabs that label the various links within the website.   The links include: Full episodes, Primetime, Daytime, originals, and news.  This helps direct website viewers to the right sections of the website, without wasting time navigating through or typing various keywords in the “find” function.  The tabs are easily seen and when they are clicked on they lead to other pages with lists of television shows, or a separate website entirely for the subject selected.  One tab of the group is red and the rest are black; the red tab is a link to watch episodes of shows online.  This is important because the different color makes this tab stand out from the rest and is easily seen to the viewer.  Watching full episodes is a major reason why people would be visiting the site, and making it easy for people to find this function makes the site more easy to use. 

 In the center of the page there are rotating advertisements for upcoming events on ABC and new episodes of shows.  Through these advertisements you can navigate to the particular event site or show site for more information.  This is important because the advertisements on this particular part of the website are some of the most important things that will air on ABC and what people would most likely be searching for.   Another part that makes the website interactive with the viewers is the small video screen on the side of the website.  This part has advertisements, previews for upcoming episodes, and recaps for episodes that have already aired.  This is important to the website because it shows the quality of the videos that are offered, and also helps advertise the shows on the network.  It helps promote new and upcoming shows to attract more viewers, and also help inform fans of what’s going on in their favorite shows. 

One website’s homepage that I thought could be improved was MTV.com.  What I think needs to be improved is the layout of the homepage, not the content that it has to offer overall.  A negative about the website is that there are too much on the homepage.  There are news stories, show links, music videos, information about getting on MTV, top artists, games, fashion, and a TV line up.  It is a little overwhelming to have so much on the homepage; you don’t know where to start unless you are looking for something specifically.  It also doesn’t give the network a set identity, the first page that a viewer sees on a website should be more focused and simple.  For instance, in the case of MTV it should focus on music, and then have links to other aspects of the network.  All of the separate sections of the webpage can also be found through the quick links at the top o f the page.  This feature works very well, and it would still be easy for people to find what they are looking for in the website. 

Another part of the website that I didn’t care for was that it had a featured fashion, games, and movies section.  I think that this part of the website is pointless and serves a limited function because most people who visit the site would not need quick access to these resources.  It possibly still could be offered on the website, but not directly on the homepage.

A new feature that I think could be added to the site is a separate quick link to the featured videos on MTV.  There is a link to the shows on MTV, but not the episodes or other video content that MTV offers for its programming.  I think that if MTV made this feature more visible people would more likely to watch shows on line, and they would generate even more traffic to their site.    

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Tags: abc, mtv