Website Of The Week – Channel 4
“The trouble with websites is that they’re all image and no content.” This is a common refrain from those involved in new media publishing and one which the internet is only slowly beginning to challenge. The notion of a website for a website’s sake is starting to dissipate and publishers are beginning to produce material that’s worth logging on for and are making more use of the net’s electronic capabilities.
No such criticisms could be levelled at the Channel 4 website, however, as it is bubbling over with things to look at, read and play with. In fact, there’s too much stuff in there to take it all in in one sitting. As well as the essential programme listings guide (which links to info about each of the programmes), there are also different subject areas which link to Channel 4 programmes.
The site is cleverly constructed so that if you were to select sport, for instance, from the left hand frame of choices, the sport menu opens up offering a subset of choices and, in the bottom frame, a schedule of seven days of sports programmes appears. The design actually makes very good use of frames, making navigation very easy despite flipping the layout of the screen around as you move through different sections.
A lot of the entertainment sections include small games. The Late Lunch page, for example, allows you to control a big hand to drop celebrities onto a conveyor belt. Okay, it’s not that good, but still a nice touch. The Father Ted page traps you in an seemingly endless cycle of offers of ‘a nice cup o’ tea’ from Mrs. Doyle… “Ahhh go on.”
Current affairs and documentary programmes, such as Dispatches and Equinox, have archived material of the series’ different topics which gives a comprehensive coverage of the programmes themselves. There’s also an archive of old series which includes audio and video clips from the shows.
There are lots of chat forums, based around each of the programmes, a general C4 discussion area and information about Channel 4 as a company. As well as providing back up material to the station’s TV programmes, there is an ‘off-screen’ section containing information about campaigns like Breast Cancer awareness and other helpline resources and contact numbers.
Add to this little lot a few Java and Shockwave touches to spice things up, excellent design throughout and the channel’s general committment to cutting edge and alternative material and you’ve got yourself one fine website.