Disqus
UK: what are the Operators punting? Part 2.
So the second of my two posts (the first is here) on what the UK operators are currently promo-ing on their websites, continues with O2, T-Mobile, and Three….
O2
Well there’s a LOT of information potentially available on the O2 homepage, and I think you can make an argument to say it’s perhaps a little “full”! However, the centrepiece amongst everything else on the page is the iconic iPhone – still doing great business for them, and rightly getting pride of place. There is a stack of info available on the drop-down menu nav, but notably on the homepage you have offers, business deals, and broadband all appearing. Covering all the bases then…!
T-Mobile
T-Mobile’s site has clearly had some effort put in to it – there’s a stack of graphics in there, and some nice shading and colouring to really “lift” the page – but the all important question is, does it work? Well, kinda. Again, a lot of text is evident, but in centrepiece on the page is offers, then below we have handsets, followed by broadband… see any kind of trend emerging here…?!
As I said, the page is busy, but strangely also seems to be very wide indeed, with the addition of two “people” images either side of the main body (you can see one of the left in the thumbnail, the other was off the screen!) – curious.
Three
Actually I like Three’s homepage the most of all the Operators – reason? – well, it’s clear, concise, and doesn’t have too much going on! There is judicious use of colour, but the thing that 3UK are advertising like mad at the moment (£9/month line rental) is squarely in the centre of what’s going on. Broadband, handsets, tariffs, and the INQ1 also make a showing. This is web design as I like to see it, and personally I’d find it the easiest to navigate.
Conclusion
Well for ease of viewing and navigation, I’d choose Three. In terms of coming to the site having seen an advert and then being able to find the right deal – that would be Three again. If you wanted to aggregate all your info in one page, then I’d choose Orange – but then again, do you want to have to click to another page to get the (most likely) mobile info you wanted? Maybe, maybe not.
Ultimately it’s end-user preference, and this topic is something I’ll be revisiting later in the year to see how and why Operators have changed their homepages….!
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
