UK MNO website homepages – part 1

In a new section for IntoMobile, I am going to take a regular look at the state of the UK MNO homepages – in terms of what’s on them, their arrangement (user interface), and anything else that I think pertinent.

Web has grown to become it’s own respectable channel for purchasing, services, support, and CRM, so it’s only fair to spend some time taking a look at what’s on offer – if like me you browse mobile shops in the UK to see what is being promo’d, this would be the interweb equivalent!

First of all, we are going to take a look at two of the big boys – O2 (NYSE: TEF) and Vodafone (NYSE: VOD):

O2

O2 has the cool blue colour theme to it’s website – it’s easy on the eye, and the nice contrast of colours makes things stand out. There is always a battle between how much text you have on a page, but I would say the balance is pretty good. Promo-wise, the Nokia (NYSE: NOK) N95-8GB is featured, as O2 has just started selling them (Vodafone had the exclusive before). Interesting there is no sign of the iPhone on the homepage, but instead links to O2’s convergence offering of broadband….

Vodafone

Vodafone is (obviously) rocking the red colour scheme, and has adopted a not-dissimilar approach to O2 with the navigation options -horizontal menu banner, and columised categories. The feature phone is the (exclusive) Samsung F700. A Flash Tariff promo is also draws the eyes on page-load.

So that’s two of the big guns in the UK – Vodafone and O2 – their websites are functional (i.e. they serve the need), branded, and relatively clear – but do they do what you expect from them?

With the advent of AJAX-based ‘web 2.0′ pages (I had to toss a cliche in there!), should they be adopting a more interactive, and personalisable experience? Thoughts on a virtual postcard (the comments section) please….!

Ben