Hershey Park

http://www.themeparkpage.com/images/Hershey-web/DSC00263000.jpg

By:  Alicia  Danenhower  

English  3880  Section  10    

Deborah  Welsh      

11/8/2011    

Hershey Park 1  

Introduction

This report analyzes the ways in which the features of a particular website vary

based on the specific genre of that website. As a group, we decided to study the features

and genre of amusement park websites. All of us had been to an amusement park before

and therefore, we had previous insight of the features and elements that we would expect

to find on their websites. Genre includes a variety of elements ranging from the targeted

audience to the page design, all of which will be discussed throughout this report.

Individually, I chose to examine the website of Hershey Park, an amusement park that I

spent a fair amount of time at as a child.

Usability

One advantage to the website that I found to be especially pleasing was the rapid

response time when switching between pages. Some websites can be delayed when

loading pages, which might lose attracted customers. If a website is taking too long to

load, they may revert their attention elsewhere. I find myself doing such a thing all the

time. Hershey Park’s website downloaded all pages within seconds, which helped keep

me focused on the actual site and the information that I was searching for.

Another benefit that Hershey Park’s website has going for them, is its visual

appeal. I believe that the visual appeal of Hershey Park’s website plays a small role in

retaining interested customers. I found all links to be consistent, legible, and clearly

identifiable, yet still catchy. The blue background on the home page is professional and

calm to the eye. The font amidst the website varies between red, black, white, and blue.

Although they have a few different font colors, I thought they were all clear and readable.

Hershey Park 2  

The creators chose a red tab with white font to display the important tabs on the home

page. Below, you will find an example of Hershey Park’s home page.

One feature of their site that I found to be extremely helpful was their search

options. Along with the tabs, the site also provides a search box in the top right hand

corner of the home page that permits you to key in the information that you are looking

for in order to reduce the amount of time spent searching for desired information. This

allowed me to find information quickly and efficiently.

Context

There is a substantial amount of information throughout the entire Hershey Park

website. Considering that Hershey Park is an amusement park, the information is more

so geared towards advertising than sales. I believe that the purpose of this site is to

promote the park in such a way that would persuade customers to visit in the near future.

Professional blue background

Eye catching red tabs with

white font

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This particular site has a URL of www.hersheypark.com. Since the site is not for

educational or political purposes, I consider .com to be a sufficient URL ending that still

proves the website’s credibility to interested viewers.

Audience

In my opinion, Hershey Park’s website is generally targeted towards families,

parents, and teenagers. With that being said, I think that the creators did a great job in

constructing the site to fit the interests of the intended audience. The website clearly

displays all possible benefits that the park has to offer the interested parties. Not only can

viewers search the website while online, but they can also access the information via cell

phone thanks to the mobile app they provide. With the increasing use and importance of

cell phones, I think this puts them one step ahead of their competition.

Their Webpage describing their

Mobile App

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Organization and Navigation

Personally, I believe that every website can make improvements to offer easier

navigation from page to page. Almost every website can be confusing at times. Even

though their tabs simplify navigation, viewers can still get confused when it comes to the

actual information, or subcomponents, provided under each tab. For example, Hershey

Park’s site has a tab for rides. The subcomponents for the rides tab are coasters, water

rides, family rides, and kiddie rides. If a customer is searching for a specific ride, they

might overlook the ride by searching under the wrong subcomponent.

If a visitor of the site positions their mouse over the tab, it immediately displays a

drop down box of the subcomponents within that tab. By providing the drop down box,

viewers can effortlessly discover all information available within the entire site. Here is a

preview of the drop down box.

In other words, this drop down box essentially makes desired information accessible with

just one click. I found this one click accessibility method to be helpful when I was

searching for specific information because it significantly narrowed my search options.

A drop down box with subcomponents

under the General Info tab

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Page Design

Overall the design and arrangement of the website seems to be effective. When

skimming through the different pages, the colors of fonts, backgrounds, tabs and

headings all appear to be consistent. Although the home page does not include a lot of

white space, the blue background is not distracting and shares the same effect that a white

background would. I discovered that when you click on a subcomponent under a tab, the

new page that the site takes you to contains more white space. In general I think that

Hershey Park’s site effectively uses the concept of white space by not overloading pages

with an excess of information. Compare the home page, which was pictured on page 2,

to the following subcomponent page regarding Hershey Park’s hours.

Content

The content within their website was not only verifiable, but also reliable. Not

once did I find an error on any page. Despite the park being closed right now, the

information was still accurate and up to date. With that in mind, there is still contact

Notice there is a lot more

white space on this page

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information listed for potential customers to reach someone if they want to find out any

extra information that is not already provided on the site. One thing that I also noticed

was that all aspects of the site worked in every browser that I tested, including Mozilla,

Firefox, and Internet Explorer.

Visuals

Keeping in mind that Hershey Park is thought to be a form of entertainment,

visuals are a great way to really sell the park to their customers. The home page presents

a series of pictures that change every five seconds. I believe that all of the pictures are

relevant and portray Hershey Park as an exciting place to visit. Also, every page that I

selected had at least one picture on it. When navigating between pages, all visuals loaded

extremely fast along with the information sharing the page. Even if I had never been to

the park before, based on the pictures, I would assume that I would have a great time

while visiting Hershey Park.

Conclusion

After examining Hershey Park’s website in its entirety, I consider their site to be

an extremely effective example within the amusement park genre. I feel as if the site is

easy to navigate through considering the mass amount of information that it offers. Not

only do I feel like their webpages are organized, but I also feel like their website does a

good job incorporating visuals on all pages. To top it off, the content throughout their

website accurately targets the intended audience. As a whole, I can undoubtedly

conclude that Hershey Park’s website is efficient and successful.