The networks have caught on to the fact that more and more of us are watching our favorite TV online these days — so why are there so few decent show-companion websites for us to visit? As a service to the nets' IT divisions (and our weary browsers), here are our tips for creating engrossing, attractive pages that will keep fans coming back for more, inspired by the few sites that actually work. Let's change the rest to http://AWESOMENESS!
1. Have a clean design.
First rule of Website Club: When we show up, there should be nothing
playing. We're talking to you, ABC.com and CWtv.com, and your blaring
streaming videos. Let us decide when we want to get the content party
started, and please, don't make our eyeballs bleed. While NBC.com was
designed with the programs' personalities in mind, the goodies on sites
for shows like The Office and Heroes are jammed together in tiny boxes
easily confused with ads. CBS.com has a streamlined site, but perhaps
it's because it has very little content. (Surely you could make your CSIsites do something. Anything.) Yay to Fox.com for mixing crisp graphics,
eye-catching headers, and a little visual breathing room.
2. Play to the fans.
In a hugely unscientific survey, we determined that the No. 1 reason
people visit official show websites is to watch the episode they missed
the night before. But if they are fan enough to track down a missed
installment, they'll want info that respects them as a fan:
cross-referencing character guides (like Lost's Connections section),
music lists that link up with downloads (Gossip Girl does a solid job),
and detailed recaps that go beyond the standard PR loglines. (NBC.com
gets credit for trying to build a comprehensive database of all 15 ERseasons, but it has a looong way to go.) Once we're caught up, we crave
such things as deleted scenes (love the Office extras) and additional
footage (like The Amazing Race's ongoing ''Elimination Station'' webcast
on each week's loser). And we'd like the ability to easily share our
favorite clips with friends, something late-night hubs like
thedailyshow.com — with its embeddable segments — and David Letterman's
thorough lateshow.cbs.com understand better than anyone.
3. Take content cues from your show.
The undisputed champ here is ABC.com and Lost. Its volume of information
may be trumped by obsessive fansites, but the official URL is always
willing to help guide viewers down new rabbit holes. Other shows that
spin off the series' sensibilities: Ugly Betty — already home to the best
podcast in the biz, featuring actors Michael Urie and Becki Newton — has
finally started ''publishing'' Mode online; Barney's oft-referenced
personal blog on the How I Met Your Mother site is so good it spawned a
book; and Numb3rs puts up a new math stumper every week.
4. Bonus features should be, you know, a bonus.
No more clips of actors on set talking about how ''grateful'' and
''excited'' they are. (Way to get one whole video diary up, 90210.) We
want actual information. Take a look at the writers' blogs on ABC.com's
Grey's Anatomy and Fox.com's Terminator sites for how to build a
relationship with your audience, then check out Angela Kinsey's Officespace for a perfect fusion of character, actor, and hilarity. (This is
one place where NBC.com reigns supreme, thanks to the video on 30 Rock's
Kenneth the Web Page, and webisodes featuring Chuck's Buy More pals.) In
short: Save the money you were gonna drop on that pointless Flash game,
and buy a digital handicam instead. Strap it to an intern and send him
backstage. Post the footage. See page views soar. Thank us later.
