review
Review of National Rail (www.nationalrail.co.uk)
Travelling a fair distance (120+ miles) each day getting to and from work means the train is really the only method of transport that works for me. As such, I am a regular visitor to the National Rail site (www.nationalrail.co.uk), and have been for a number of years.
Predictably (why else would I be mentioning it?), they’ve recently relaunched it – so I thought I’d share my views of it with you. Does it do the job it sets out to do? Have they taken a step back? Read on!
(Ok so I accept I’m late to the party with this one because eConsultancy have already written an excellent review of the new site – but I’m going to try hard to differentiate, just so you don’t get bored…)
2Review of Associated Press (www.ap.org) site
Whilst looking for some news story providers, I decided to check out the AP (Associated Press) site, www.ap.org. I was after some quick info about news story feeds/aggregation, and possibly some stock imagery.
What happened on my thrilling journey? What was their site like? I know you can’t wait to find out, really. It’s the only thing that’s keeping you going, isn’t it? Admit it. It’s fine.
Read my (admittedly brief) review here!
0Direct.gov.uk – site review
My car tax is due, and I received a letter to remind me. How nice. In doing so, it led me to the www.direct.gov.uk site, where I can renew it online.
This shitty task got me thinking: “Why don’t I review this site?”…so here you go! Read on to find out what I thought of the site as a whole. Or is that ‘hole’? I dunno.
0TV Licensing (www.tvlicensing.co.uk) site review
Everyone hates paying their TV license. There’s no escaping it, and it’s annoying to think we’re being made to fund the likes of Eastenders and other such guff. So how do they go about achieving this feat online?
I am writing this whilst on the train, so here we have…
A (short) review of www.tvlicensing.co.uk
As mentioned already, the thought of being made to pay for the privilege of watching colour television in our own homes is all sorts of shit – especially when the fee goes towards paying for programs you probably don’t even watch. Does the site support the shit-ness? Does it make you want to part with your money? Or is it like every other quango site? Read on and find out!
1Site review: Adrianflux.co.uk
After a fairly heavy night out, my brain appears to be dissolving in alcohol. Before it completely disappears, however, I thought I’d do a quick review of the Adrian Flux (www.adrianflux.co.uk) site. It was relaunched relatively recently (within the last 6-9 months or so). I’m going to take a look at a few pages of their brochureware and also the quote process.
As a specialist insurer, they’re meant to be ideal for car enthusiasts and the like. Now, I’m not a hardcore car geek – but the 4-wheeled ponies do pique my interest. So have Adrian Flux accounted for not only the car enthusiasts but also web best-practice? Are they the Internet equivalent of a Mini Metro? Read on and find out!
Hey…I just realised that reads like Anne Robinson on ‘The Weakest Link’… 
Riverisland.com review: an SEO failure.
After reading the rather good eConsultancy review of the recently relaunched M&S site, it got me in the mood for taking a look at what else was around in terms of online clothing retailers. I spotted an opportunity to review the website of high-street brand name River Island.
Now, I’m no fashionista (updating my blog as often as I do generally precludes me from that particular gang), so this could work one of two ways:
- I’ll have no preconceived ideas about what works as a fashion site and therefore be open to persuasion, or
- I’ll be even more rigorous in my critique and will show absolutely no mercy or hesitation in being mean about their online offering
Which will it be? Do you even have to ask? Read on!
5Ryanair.com review
Having just been sent a great link to Ryanair’s response to the recent Panorama documentary, I thought I’d not only share it with you all (since it is inflammatory, funny and has a nice tongue-in-cheek approach to the whole thing), but also take a close – more critical – look at the Ryanair site. Panorama drew on the opinions of a web usability expert who, as far as I can see, has missed an opportunity.
So, predictably…
A review of www.ryanair.com
Ryanair are proud of the fact that they’re supposedly more popular than British Airways, and that their MD is “a kind and gentle, caring and thoughtful, sensitive and saintly human being widely beloved by all Ryanair’s 6,500 people and its 66m passengers”
Given that they’re so proud, how do you think their website will fare? Do you really have to ask? Read on!
8A review of the new Schuh.co.uk site!
In the latest part of the on-going saga of my reviewing the Schuh website(s), they’ve relaunched their website today! So, without further ado…
A review of the new www.schuh.co.uk site
After my previous entries about the Schuh sites, you may recall some of the previous points:
- Ineffective design templates
- Bad site structure, both technically and IA-wise
- Bizarre graphics
- Inconsistent user journey
- Lack of hierarchy
Have they addressed these issues? Does the site now support the brand adequately? And – perhaps most importantly – do they stock those Dekline shoes I wanted all those months ago? Read on!
5A review of Directline.com
Whilst wandering around the web, I stumbled across the Direct Line website and thought I’d write a quick review of their web offering.
Being the most dominant direct insurer in the market brings great responsibility. Does your website support your brand and support your customer proposition? Can a visitor tell where they’ve arrived at? As the biggest fish in the pond, it’s easy to get complacent and neglect your website.
Have Direct Line done their duty? Or have they let it go to the dogs? Read on and find out!
1A review of www.graze.com
One could be forgiven for thinking that a) I’ve an obsession with online shoe retailer reviews, and b) that I only like to review sites that I think are complete pants…and, in a way, you’d be right. But I intend to break the mould this lunchtime!
Last year, I spotted www.graze.com – basically an online fruit & nut seller – with a vaguely unique proposition of delivering these lovely bowel-movement-inducing goods direct to your desk. Well, your office, at least. I promptly signed up because I was in need of an excuse to eat slightly better, and also because the design of the site was really rather good.
It’s been a while since I looked at the site, so without further ado, read on and find out whether it’s still tickling me in the designlustpants.
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