If you do one thing today please visit this site (Comic Relief Website)

Member Name: Slim Lee

Product:	Comic Relief Website
Date:	07/03/01 (182 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good source of information of the latest events and an online donation facility

Disadvantages: None

It’s that time of year again! Time to jump in that bath of baked beans and embarrass yourself by doing something outrageous in the name of charity. Comic Relief is now embedded in our psyche and is an annual event that’s both fun, entertaining and worthwhile.

The very first Comic Relief event was way back in 1985 and was sparked off by the famines in Africa at that time, particularly in Sudan. A group of comedians came together and saw an opportunity to raise money and help good causes through entertainment, not just throwing up a hotline number.

This year’s events and donations culminate with Red Nose Day, this time on Friday 16th March 2001. This year the catchphrase or slogan is “Say Pants To Poverty”.

Comic Relief, as I’m sure you’re all fully aware or, is a charity aiming to raise funds to help fight poverty and social injustice in the poorer parts of the world and here in the UK too. It’s not just about throwing money at the problem though, they also help in educating and ensuring the funds are used effectively.

I’m not going to go into too much detail on this opinion from that angle but I’m going to try and stick to a review of the website. If you’re interested in learning more about where the money is going to go these details can be found on the site.

So, they’ve been dragged into the internet now huh?

What’s the site like then?


•First Impressions

At first you’re presented with an entry screen (in red of course!) and you just click on the “Enter Site” button. The rest of the screen is just a brief introduction to say what Comic Relief is, presumably for people who somehow click onto the site and don’t know what it’s all about. Where have they been living the last few years? The moon?

First thing to note is that the site will take a while to download as it is f
ull of links, pictures and menus. Be patient though as once it’s up it’s quite impressive. It fits relatively snugly onto the screen so no messing about with scroll bars (hooray!). The colour scheme is not surprising in red with white and yellow text. This sounds a bit garish but it reads easy enough.


•Layout & Content

There is a short vertical menu down the left-hand side of the screen with links to the latest news, contact details, jokes, information about where the money is going and other stuff. The centre section has some blurb about the site next to a mug shot of Lenny Henry, and also a link to get hold of one of the fundraising packs. If you’re thinking of doing something special rather than just a simple donation then you need to get on the phone quick as time is running out.

Some of the menus on the left have a bullet point in the shape of a red nose, click on them to open that particular section up. There are a few more links, in the form of banners, at the bottom of the page to some of the highlights including two new books specially written for Comic Relief by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter author), details of items being auctioned of by Robbie Williams and a link to the Celebrity Big Brother episode (which kicks off with a live show on Friday at 8.30pm).

A few more links are on the right hand side of the page, mainly showing the latest news of which celebrities are going to be involved this year and what special evenst are planned. One thing I noticed in this bit is a book which is on sale for £1 at most bookshops and Sainsbury’s stores. It’s a cookbook by Delia Smith but it’s purely on CHOCOLATE! and so originally entitled the “Chocolate Collection”. The best bit of it is that all of the £1 is going to Comic Relief. Excellent! There are lots of other stuff like this in this section so check it out.


•Navigation

It’s a pretty eas
y site to get around, as there are so many buttons to click on from the home page. You may find yourself clicking on the “back” button on your browser a few times but it doesn’t get too annoying.

If you get stuck there is always the handy Site Map on the home page that is like an index of all the pages in the site if you’re struggling to find the information you want. Nice feature this and not one I’ve seen on many sites to date.


•Donations

There is a very handy section on the site so that you can make your donation online. There are two options, “Fast Giving” or “Leisurely Giving”, the fast one taking about three minutes to process and the leisurely one about ten minutes. Why the difference? Well, the fast one just deals with the donation, whereas the leisurely one gives you some details on where it’s going to go and a bit of light relief along the way!

So there’s no excuse now, you can donate anytime of the day or night and have a laugh at the same time. Can’t do that via the phone can you. Well, not without upsetting the poor soul of the other end of the line!


•Summary

It’s a cracking site, which compliments the media and TV events very well. It’s a good source of information on the latest news and events that are planned and also on the history of Comic Relief and the causes it fights for.

We’re getting a bit jaded I suppose with all the charity events but this website breathes a bit of fresh life into Comic Relief this year. Go take a look, it will only take a few moments of your time and should even give you a chuckle or two.

Most important of all, give that donation section a quick click!

Summary: