Jennifer Thomson, Usability
Specialist, The Usability Company.
With much anticipation, Napster recently launched their legal,
paid music download service in the UK, www.napster.co.uk , after
making its US debut back in October 2003.
Let Downs - There were several usability issues experienced
when getting started with Napster:
- It is difficult to register and contact Napster
Napster promotes a free trial period of the service and users
must enter their credit card details when registering;
however, there is no (obvious) information on how to avoid a
subscription fee once the trial period ends. There are no
contact telephone numbers, only a "help request
form" which limits users to 250 characters to explain
their query. Users need explicit details regarding any
payments and it should be easy to resolve questions.
- It is not clear how to start using Napster
After logging into Napster, users see a standard homepage with
links for top albums, tracks and artists - but nothing that
distinguishes the service. From this same page, it is also not
clear where a user would go to start finding and downloading
music. The service should differentiate itself here, defining its
unique services, and guide people on how to use Napster.
- The navigation is not always clear
The colour and location of the top and bottom global navigation
links causes them to blend into the site's background, risking
being missed by users. Additionally, the use of arrows is
confusing, as it is not clear where they take the user. Navigation
should stand out on the page and its purpose should be intuitive
to users.
Good Points - Once users figure out how to get started, Napster
rewards them with many good features:
- Users can listen to songs automatically
After finding a specific track, users are instantly rewarded by
being able to listen to a song simply by double-clicking on a
song's title or dragging the song into the playlist area. This
process is easy and fast, as is the process of organising
playlists and downloading them.
- There are a variety of ways for users to find songs
Users can search, use the featured homepage links or browse
through various lists to find music. The lists allow users to
narrow their options by genre, view UK charts and view Napster's
top downloads. There are numerous ways for users to find music,
exposing them to old and new music. Additionally, once users are
on an album/artist's page, recommendations based on what
"Other Members Like…" are provided. These
navigational techniques help people use the site in the manner
which best suits them."
- The service is generally easy and enjoyable to use
Demonstrating the value Napster can provide, using the service
often feels like a hybrid of surfing the web, listening to
music and buying CDs - all at the same time. The service has
seamlessly combined the different uses people will have for
the service. The result is an enjoyable service which lets
people develop their own technique for using it.
OVERALL
The new Napster has many great features such as the ease in
which playlists can be created, organised and burned onto CDs; the
ability to browse top UK tracks from two decades; and the seamless
way in which users can navigate from artist to album to track and
back.
Unfortunately, getting started with the new Napster is a
cumbersome process which may discourage new users. The lack of
information on getting started and the costs involved, and even
the difficulty in contacting someone in customer services could
all prove detrimental to Napster's new UK service. However, for
those who do persevere, it will be well worth it.
This audit appeared in the July edition of Internet World.
Would you like The Usability Company to assess how well your
website shapes up? Then please drop the editor of Internet World a
line at: janine.milne@fastnet.co.uk
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