05 Aug 2006

Perplexing Multiplex

Sometimes you encounter an online usability experience so bad it almost feels like some kind of twisted game. Let’s say you’re considering going to see a film at StarCity, Your World of Entertainment in the Midlands. So you go to the site, and your eyes are drawn to the ‘Movies’ button at the top:

But wait, don’t be fooled, those aren’t clickable. OK, so how about the highlighted bit of text saying “UK’s largest multiplex cinema”? Nope, that’s not a link either. Let’s try ‘Events’, that’ll list everything going on, right?

Ah. Not a lot happening. We’re left with “What’s in StarCity”, which uses a Flash movie to show Burger King, Clare’s Accessories and Holmes Place. If you scroll down and spot the ‘More’ arrow and click it five times you eventually get to Vue Cinemas at the end.

That link launches the badly-built Vue Cinemas site (all cookie-driven, so you can’t link to anything) in a new window, and you have to select ‘Birmingham’ then click ‘GO’ before finally getting some information, by which time you’re determined to stay in and watch a DVD rather than give them any of your money.