Every so often I notice an advert on the Internet which I follow, but it is rare for me to get excited about the website I end up at. However, this month I have come across a new site called Allocine is dedicated to everything about films and cinema listings in the UK. It is the UK emphasis which I am particularly interested.
The site is actually French (it was founded in Paris in 1993) and the French version of the site is very impressive. However the team has created a specialist cinema site for the UK where unlike a lot of other similar sites there is a UK bias to the content. The site provides UK cinema listings information which can be searched either via film of cinema or cinema circuit. You can also opt to receive customised emails each week providing details of the films on at your local cinema. What is really useful is that you can select to have more than one cinema and more than one chain. There is some much content on this site that it is impossible to write about it here.
Navigation of this site is easy and pleasant, using tabs, a style first seen on Amazon a number of years ago. There are the obvious options of film information relating to ‘in Cinemas’, ‘DVD’ and high definition. Right at the bottom of each page is a site map which clearly sets out what information is under each section, along with the ‘Popular Pages’ allowing users to see what others are looking at. In the footer is information about the site such as ‘feedback’, ‘contact’, ‘About AlloCine’. Download speeds are reasonable given the length of the pages and the number of images on them.
One of the really exciting things about the site, for me as a web designer is that you are able to create a customised search box to place on your own website, allowing you to provide another service to your readers. For an example of this have a look at the front page of my site.
This site is a real competitor to IMDB
If you would like Screentrade to review a particular website, please contact me directly on: webmaster@madcornishprojectionist.co.uk.
Download Times:
| Connection Rate | Download Time |
|---|---|
| 14.4K | 103.32 seconds |
| 28.8K | 56.26 seconds |
| 33.6K | 49.54 seconds |
| 56K | 33.40 seconds |
| ISDN 128K | 16.61 seconds |
| T1 1.44Mbps | 9.84 seconds |
Navigation: *****
Good Design: ****
Updates: *****
Content *****
Download Speed: ***
Overall: *****
Overall: This site is a real must for any film fan, which is easy on the eye. The UK bias is a real plus and is a personal favourite.
Testing Information: This site is tested using a laptop at 1024 x 768 resolution running Windows XP, Firefox Version 20.0.1 and Internet Explorer 7 over an 8Mb Broadband connection. For the text only test Lynx on a Linux Server is used. A website entitled WebSiteOptimization.com is used to test the web site to calculate the download speeds.