Read all about it! (bbc.co.uk)

Member Name: LisaW82

Product:	bbc.co.uk
Date:	16/02/09 (63 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Clean design and dynamic

Disadvantages: Problematic loading in busy times

The BBC home page for their web site really is the very definition of a hive of activity. There are lots of sub categories with the BBC web site, which include things like money, weather and sport, but most of these can be seen in brief here too.

We can start by looking at the page layout. Web design is something I am just starting to get into and I often refer back to www.bbc.co.uk as an example of how a dynamic web site that is content rich can be laid out successfully. There is so much information on there but the designers and coders have managed to put the site together in such a way that it doesn't look cluttered or too much to take in.

Each section that has a web site division all of its own is represented here by a stylish box which can provide the very latest headline news for that genre as well as providing a quick link to that site. For example, on the home page right now is a sports box with the headline news from the cricket match in the West Indies. You can simply click on that and it will take you to www.bbc.co.uk/sport. The same applies with all other boxes and their relevant sites.

Also prominent on this home page is a large window at the top right where the very latest news from any topic is presented in a clear and image lead way. This is split into 4 and rotates at 10 second intervals to give you the biggest news in a stylish way.

The top navigation is well designed and proves that clean and 2 colour design can and does look terrific. There are options in the top navigation to make this your homepage, take a tour and accessibility options for the partially sighted. The top right features a retro style clock that fits the feel of the site really nicely.

Just below the top navigation and above the main content section is a little area where you can personalise your BBC home page. From here you can add other areas or take areas away, so if you have no interest in business finance for example you can take that away from the home page. You can also tell the site where you are based and that will enable the BBC to tailor some of the news to you and your region. It is all very clever.

Some of the more impressive areas of the content are the dynamically updated areas. These include the fabulous BBC iPlayer and the stock market sections. These are updated on the fly and you don't even need to leave the home page if you don't want to. The iPlayer is particularly impressive and has enabled me to catch up on a few missed episodes of Eastenders since its launch.

At the bottom of the page is everything you see in the main content but basically in text form and provides a much simpler way to navigate if the main area is a little too much to get your head around.

The obligatory legalities are present at the bottom in the footer and this includes a rather comprehensive "contact us" page that is more than useful for obvious reasons.

One negative I have with the site though is that, when major news happens, particularly regarding sport, there do seem to be some problems loading the pagers due to the sheer volume of people trying it at the same time. I believe this to be something that should be fixed very soon as it is only a server size issue and the BBC shouldn't be having those.

As news hubs go, you won't find better than this.

Summary: As news hubs go, you won't find better than this.