Website Design Review for NBC Television Network and CBS Television Network (Academic Paper)

             The NBC Television Network and CBS Television Network are two of the four television networks that enter American homes each day.  Both NBC and CBS strive to make their television programming diverse through informative and entertaining morning shows, talk shows, news, sitcoms, dramas, and late-night programs.  While both networks aim to equally appeal to a wide audience by providing pertinent and entertaining information on their websites, CBS does a better job at providing an efficient and more user-friendly website to its current and prospective audience.

              The homepage of NBC's website displays its bright peacock logo in the top left-hand corner, but omits an essential component of the network; their name.  The overall color scheme on the site is a white font for the header, footer, and the drop boxes within them, a teal for the headings throughout the page, and a black for the information below the headings.  G. Scott Owen states that the intended emotional response for the color white is, "To evoke a feeling of honesty," while the color teal is used, "For a youthful and cool appearance."  There is sizeable box centered in the top of the page with rotating photographs of the primetime shows for the evening and a large number of clickable images that allow the viewer to watch videos of the previous night's shows, browse through photo galleries of the stars, and go behind the scenes of some of the NBC events.  While it is slightly challenging to read the information with ease, NBC does provide a large variety of clickable images to catch the eyes of the visitors.

            Similarly, upon entering the CBS website, the viewer's eyes are immediately drawn to the top left-hand corner which houses a medium-sized CBS name and logo consisting of a blue dot surrounded by a blue circle. The font colors used for the homepage are navy blue in the header and the drop-boxes within the header, white within the changing picture-box, and black for the headings of the various categories on the page.  Jacci Howard Bear found, "The color navy is associated with intelligence, stability, and conveys importance and confidence, hence the power suit of the corporate world."  CBS also displays a large changing box centered at the top of the main page with the upcoming programs for that evening.  There are categories that allow the viewer to watch complete episodes online, go behind the scenes of new and fan-favorite shows, and play games about the shows.  This website allows the viewer to explore the programs that interest them, while also introducing them with shows that are unfamiliar.

            While both NBC and CBS have their logos in the left corner, large changing boxes of the night's primetime programs, and headers with the options to view complete listings of shows and other information, the similarities stop there.  The NBC website displays a black background with a white font at the header of the page, but because the font isn't large or bold, there lacks adequate contrast in the header.  The listings of the upcoming shows for the day and other information are in teal, but again, the font color and size do not adequately allow the words so stand out on the page.  CBS, on the other hand, uses the white background to its advantage by choosing a darker blue, which creates a better contrast.  Furthermore, the combination of black and blue fonts for the headings and information below it ensure that the information doesn't get lost.  Steve Krug states that, "One of the great enemies of easy-to-grasp pages is visual noise.  When everything on the page is clamoring for my attention, the effect can be overwhelming" (38).  Unfortunately, this is the case for NBC's website.  While it is helpful to have images to click on, NBC offers too many pictures too closely together, and a somewhat muddled system of labeling the images and stories.  On the flip side, CBS restricts itself to fewer clickable images, making the images and content on their page more concise, deliberate, and easier to read.  Carolee Cameron labels this idea Visual Richness, and states, "Keeping the screen uncluttered is an important step to reducing visual pollution. Less is more" (109).    NBC commits an enormous website blunder because they do not abide by the concept of limiting the amount of information the viewer is introduced to as they explore the website.  CBS, however, understands the basic principle of eliminating any type of clutter or nonessential information from the website, thus strengthening their content and brand.

            While both NBC and CBS have the categories Shows, Episodes, and Schedules in their headers, only CBS offers the  category options of Connecting with Other Viewers, News, Sports, and Shop categories in large easily accessible one-click pages.  NBC, on the other hand, lumps Sports and News together and provides an Extras category, all in smaller fonts, that the viewer must click on before they can learn that it entails a Shop, Applications, and Games.  Another main difference in the competing websites is the visual direction of the homepages.  Vest, Crowson, and Pochran advise that websites should, "Allow the eye to flow through the page, and cluster similar items together" (47).  NBC struggles with a cohesive flow because the photos are spread out among the site, and much of the extra content is jumbled together at the bottom of the homepage.  There is no discernible reading design layout for the viewer to follow, which makes it difficult to process the information.  CBS, however, provides a logical design using what Steven Bradley refers to as the, "Zig-Zag Reading Pattern of Design Layout," with the main content alternating from the left to the right down the page.

            Websites for television networks are an important component of companies because they provide prospective viewers the opportunity to become acquainted with programming that the viewer is either unfamiliar with, or has maybe misjudged.  While NBC strives to offer a strong first impression and familiarity with their programs, they struggle with readability and continuity regarding their visual layout and navigations away from the homepage.  CBS opted for a sleeker approach, by using fewer words and images so that the information can stand-out, organized groupings of categories, colors that contrast well for reading, and enough information to peak interest.  Overall, the CBS website provides audiences with an entertaining and easily accessible opportunity to learn more about their programs.

 

                                                           Works Cited

Bear, Jacci Howard. "Color Symbolism." About.com. 2012. Web. 1 Oct. 2012. <http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/colorselection/p/blue.htm>.

Bradley, Steven. "3 Design Layouts: Gutenberg Diagram, Z-Pattern, and F-Pattern." Vanseo Design.com. 7 Feb. 2011. Web. 1 Oct. 2012. <http://www.vanseodesign.com/web-design/3-design-layouts/>.

Cameron, Carolee. Web Design: Concepts and Best Practices. St. Paul: Paradigm, 2004. 109. Print.

Crowson, William, and Shannon Pochran. Exploring Web Design. By Jeremy Vest. New York: Thompson Delmar, 2005. 47. Print.

Krug, Steve. Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability. 2nd ed. Berkeley: New Riders, 2006. 38. Print.

Owen, G. Scott. "Emotional Response to Color." Siggraph.org. 15 June 1999. Web. 1 Oct. 2012. <http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/color/coloremo.htm>.