Introduction

I have chosen two of the biggest broadband and telecommunication companies in Ireland for this website comparison. O2 and Vodafone are both leading distributors of mobile services for individuals and corporate clients providing them with solutions in communications. They are the two biggest competitors in the mobile networking industry in Ireland constituting for 88% of the total market. This market percentage is split between Vodafone and O2, 48% and 40% respectively.

I have chosen these two websites for comparison for a number of reasons. I have been a frequent user of both sites, and am interested in the industry. The main reason however I selected these websites is due to the substantial differences in theme and design between the sites. Although their functionality is similar in a lot of ways, it is immediately apparent that the websites are considerably contrasting.

These two websites are very frequently used by mobile users for bill information, technical difficulties, upgrade offers, their online store and web based text messaging. For the purpose of this review I have got two separate accounts, one on both website so I will be able to effectively analyse each one. In this analysis I am going to compare the websites based on criteria such as design and functionality. I will first of all describe and analyse each website separately and I will then conclude with a comparison of the two and which I feel has a competitive advantage.

O2

The primary and most noticeable attribute to the O2 website is the dominant blue 02 theme. It is extremely influential on the overall experience of the website. The appealing sea blue theme reflects the company’s image and logo, and remains consistent throughout. The site is excellently structured, and importantly navigation is very undemanding.

The home screen is quite simplistic, as is the site overall. The most dominant section of the home screen is the flash content at the top of the page, under the headers. This flash content focuses its attention on current offers provided by O2. These offers within the flash box clear...

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