thehungersite.com (thehungersite.com)

Member Name: thole09

Product:	thehungersite.com
Date:	13/10/09 (20 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Ease of use

Disadvantages: Cluttered homepage

TheHungerSite.com is a click-to-donate website which is owned and maintained by CharityUSA. First launched in 1999, it has since claimed to have attracted more than 300 million visitors who have donated over 500 cups of staple food to over 70 countries. It is not an incredibly popular website with Alexa traffic ratings ranking it as the 6659th most accessed website in the world. Its ranking in the United Kingdom is 4280.

The concept of TheHungerSite.com is simple. Users visit the website once a day and click a large, yellow buttons which is marked "Click here to give - It's Free". This will redirect the user to a second page which displays a few select banner ads from partners who offer payments to CharityUSA in exchange for advertising. In turn, CharityUSA disperses these payments to global feeding programs such as Mercy Crops. Having dabbled in webmaster advertising, it's not likely that these payments will be great; a few pennies at the most. However, when these few pennies per click are combined with thousands of other clicks then the program becomes very viable for the impoverished.

The website boasts a generally simple to use interface but appears very clustered and chaotic. The website is riddled with banner ads supporting the appeal's own shop items and other informational resources alongside commercial sponsors. These banners and graphical content also contribute to the site's significant load times. Independent testing suggests that TheHungerSite.com requires 12 seconds to load when using a broadband connection. The button for click donation rests visibly at the top of the page and is the clear focus for the rest of the page content below it, so usability should be at a generally acceptable level for most users. The Hunger Site is also partnered with other charitable causes including breast cancer research, children's health, literacy, rainforest conservation and animal rescue efforts. Each additional cause is clearly labeled as a button at the top of the website and is actioned in the same manner as TheHungerSite.com.

My overall opinion of TheHungerSite.com is favourable. Despite the longer load times, the ability to contribute to charitable causes with such ease makes the wait worthwhile. I would happily recommend the website to those seeking a simple way to improve lives globally.

Summary: Thumbs up