The first thing I did when I went onto the Melbourne Vixens website was to attempt to find out what Net Ball was. I didn't find anything on the website, and at first I was a little annoyed. Then I compared this to the Green Bay Packers website; there is nothing on that website explaining what football is. Here are some of my thoughts of this website.
Here is the link to the website: www.melbournevixens.com.au
Ease of Accessibility/Navigation
The website is pretty easy to get to. It loaded quickly and seems to be organized, even though it is not the way I would organize it. Everything you need is on the front page, or there is a tab that directs you to a certain area. The site is pretty easy to navigate. There are different news stories on the front page that rotate. I would have liked to have an easier time finding the tab for the roster and coaches. It is under a tab called "2014 season". I am used to these things being highlighted on college and professional teams websites in the US. Also, with how big social media is today, I would move the Twitter feed to top of the front page, instead of the bottom. They do have links to their social media (Facebook, twitter, Instagram). The mobile site is pretty standard, nothing too special about it. Navigating it is average compared to other teams.
Use of Interactivity
There is nothing on the website that engages fans to stay. This site is good for information, but not much of anything else. There isn't even a schedule or results tab that for fans to look up results and box scores. There is nothing that grabs my attention to continue to look around.
Use of Video
This area is probably the most lacking. There is no video that creates an identity for the Vixens. The video links are to the league site, which has video of other teams in the league. The Vixens need to generate more content to put on their website in terms of video. The video they do have is more player interviews than highlights. The video screen on the front page takes me to another website. It is a little frustrating when I am trying to watch video and it keeps taking me to a different website that takes a while to load. The promotional video is good, it caught my attention. But I wonder how many people didn't waste the time going to the other site.
Quality of Content
There are a lot of different areas to this website that gives a fan insight into what the Vixens are all about. The tabs are unorganized, in my opinion. There is a membership tab, but it doesn't say what the membership is, or the benefits from being in it. It also says to email a list of things (name, phone, birthday, location, etc) to an email address. This could be the perfect place for text boxes that can be submitted, so it would be much easier on fans to become a member.
The biggest change I would make to this website is the video content. Netball seams to be a game that is fast paced, and I would have like to see that on their website, and not have to go to YouTube to see highlights. The lack of interactivity wouldn't make me want to stay on the site for very long. Also, I am still confused as to where the schedule is for the team. Upcoming games and past results should be highlighted on the home page.
Hey Michael,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. I also was not impressed with the website, especially the videos. I believe that you should be re-routed to another site just to watch an informational video that is only 90 seconds long. Also, it took the video forever to actually load. The general information was okay but very boring. Compared to other sport sites that have interactive slide shows, and bright tabs that stand out, this site was just blah. I am like many other people and do not want to waste a lot of time waiting to get information or watch things. I want it right now so I can move on while also catching my eye. This website didn't do that for me.