The Final Design

The website is now near enough complete, with only a few things to finish off and add, so I thought I would explain the design and the function of the website as a whole.

Firstly, the function. The main function for the website than Ned and I have created is to serve as a source of information for our fictional channel - Witness. There are many different functions for a television channel website and some channels use their websites in different ways. One example is the BBC. Due to the size of the channel, the BBC's website serves as a media portal rather than an informational website, with many different varieties of content being displayed over numerous pages. This includes the BBC's iPlayer and their news and weather services.

Other, smaller television channel websites such as Comedy Central's website, focus more on giving the reader information about the channel and its programmes. These websites tend to be much smaller than something like the BBC's and contain information about selected programmes, what shows are upcoming and usually a programme guide for the next few days. This is the type of television channel website that Witness is. The aim for the website we have created is to give information about the channel to the readers, so they can see what programmes are coming up and what these programmes are about.

Secondly, the design. The main aim for the design was to keep it very clean and simple to use, but also very functional. For this reason, we have kept the design very plain, with all the content boxes being in plain but bold colours, so that they stand out to the reader. To make it easier to use, the website is split up into smaller boxes of content, such as those in the sidebar and in the "Top Picks" box on the main page. These make it easier to find the content you want.

The colour scheme for this website is very plain, with only a handful of colours being used, including black, white and blue. These all contrast well with each other and make the use of blue stand out more. However, the change from a blue to a lighter one as the background colour makes it very soft and calm.

Thirdly, the content. Content on a website is more important than the design of the website, as it is the thing that keeps readers returning. In this instance, the content is information about the channel and it's programmes. Included in this content is information about a handful of select programmes, including a description and show times for each of them on separate pages. Also on the website is a programme schedule for the upcoming day and an about page, containing information about the channel, including things like when it is in, which channels it is broadcasted on and who to contact if needed.

To balance the text, there are a lot of images throughout the website, including the large image cycling box on the main page and smaller images on the majority of other pages. Images are far more interesting to the reader than plain text, attracting them to the area and to the linking page.

Overall, I believe that the combination of the website design, the content and the type of channel it is, make a good package and make the website seem as professional as some made by the television channels themselves.