The image that most immediately grabs the user's attention is the rotating promotions for several TV shows. This takes up most of the top half of the page and forces the user to look at it. Therefore, he becomes engaged to whatever show the rotating slides are promoting at the moment. Right above it is the easy-to-use menu that has shows organized by genre, 'most popular,' 'recently added,' etc. Most of these categories are listed on the bottom of the website as well, but with links of thumbnails of videos that serve as examples of what kinds of shows are under each category. It serves as a mini-version of what the user will find once he uses the actual menu. Once the user clicks on the menu, he is navigated to a page that lists the shows in that category. The layout of this kind of page is also very simple and looks similar to what the bottom of the Hulu homepage looked like. The design is clean so that it does not distract the user. If the user opts not to waste time with the menu, there is also a search engine on the top right of the page. In providing these many ways for the user to reach his destination, Hulu tries to make navigating the page as easy and convenient as possible.
In terms of the design of the website, there is not much color used in the layout: only gray, white and green (on the logo). The fonts are also fairly generic fonts. There is not much uniqueness to the site that makes it distinguishable (aside from the logo). However, these generic aspects of the site make it seem familiar. Again, it seems easy to navigate not only because it is simple, but because we have seen it various times on other websites. The user does not have to spend time learning how to use the site because he probably already knows what to expect. Therefore, the layout of the website is well designed to suit the needs of the user.
so true! I think this is why hulu is successful, they have a simple but brief layout that gets to the point of what viewers are looking for. I certainly go to hulu as my tv watching website more than any other sites offered.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Angela. The simplicity of the layout allows users to find what they are just looking for. I can probably spend hours on this website and still be engaged with it and never be bored!
ReplyDeleteI use hulu quite a bit and do like the site mostly because of the service it offers, not its actual presentation or accessibility. It might be just me, but I do not find the site as easy to use as it should be at times. It is almost too simple in my opinion. But like I said, I still use it quite a bit so this might be an instance that despite some of the things that I see as setbacks, the functionality and service provided by the site outweigh those.
ReplyDeleteAGREE! i don't have time to watch TV any more and when I'm on the internet trying to find my missed House MD episodes i want them fast and i don't want to have to go through a lot of work to find them, nor do i really care what the site looks like. HULU is simple, clean, and professional looking (it doesn't have dancing chipmunks in the corner or anything like that like some personal video posting sites iv seen) i type what i want to see and it brings me right there.
ReplyDeleteYour post prompted me to check out Hulu, and I really liked what I saw! I don't have a TV in my dorm room, so there is a great spot. I used to use surfthechannel.com, but its often fuzzy, the links are dead, or I can only watch a limited amount of the program. Thanks for the great new site!
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