What you’ll read:
- Telefónica/O2 UK is a major telecommunications player
- Their digital dominance has grown significantly
- O2’s website has changed a lot over the years, but has reflected consistent growth.
Last year, Telefónica UK and Liberty Global struck a £31bn deal — merging two telecommunications giants into what is now a massive behemoth.
In fact, the merger — consisting of a 50-50 split between O2 and Virgin Media — has created one of the largest telecoms corporations in the UK. With combined annual revenues of over £11 billion, it’s likely this merger will lead to big things for the communications world at large.
With this in mind, we figured it’d be a good idea to look back at O2’s rise to digital dominance. As we take a look at the many iterations of O2’s website over the years, note the driving themes of consistency and consistent growth in each version.
O2.co in 2002: O2’s Not-So-Humble Beginnings
Right off the bat, O2’s website checks most of the boxes of a high-quality website.
O2’s initial website is well-organized, presentable, and navigable. Content is placed intentionally, allowing users to browse the homepage and other site sections with purpose.
The header and sidebar play integral roles in site navigation, too. The static header allows users to navigate to any part of the site from other parts of the site — while the sidebar provides account-based functionality at the click of a button.
Visitors can switch between the B2C and B2B versions of the site with ease. Even in this initial iteration of the site, O2 made sure to create a dedicated hub for both their individual and business buyers.
Note: though each version offers unique content and experiences to their respective audiences, the overall approach remains relatively consistent on the B2C site unless otherwise noted.
O2’s approach to helpful content is consistent and comprehensive. Overall, the site’s content is functional and transactional, ensuring customers know what they need to know about O2’s services to make the correct purchase.
The site also offers some recreational content, in the form of downloadable ringtones, wallpapers, games, and more.
Ecommerce was in full effect from the get-go for O2.
From the main shopping tab, customers can easily find the products or services they’re looking for. Those who may not know what they’re looking for can easily find product suggestions that fit their needs and current situation.
O2’s product pages are equally informative and user-friendly:
While the above pales in comparison to O2’s modern product pages , O2’s initial ecommerce efforts were ahead of what many other brands were doing at the time.
O2.co in 2007: Steady Moves in the Right Direction
Moving into 2007, O2’s website maintained a similar overall look and feel — while making a few key changes along the way.
Though not radically different from the original version, O2’s homepage was tweaked for both aesthetic and functional purposes.
The most noticeable improvements:
- Drop-down menus and headers for one-touch navigation
- Search feature for targeted shopping
- Rudimentary carousels, packing more info onto a single page
O2 also ramped up their digital content efforts — both in quality and quantity.
The team gave customers everything they needed to know to make an informed purchase — and to get the most out of the products they buy.
As for ecommerce, O2 stepped up their game here as well.
Firstly, featured products had their own microsite-like hubs:
All other product pages featured helpful messaging as well — structured in a way that could have prevented information overload.
Note some of the key additions to these product pages:
- Image and multimedia galleries
- Customer reviews and ratings
- FAQ and other relevant content
O2.co in 2012: If It Ain’t Broke…
By 2012, O2 figured out what worked — and what didn’t — for their digital audience.
Again, the homepage evolved, but maintained the look and feel of the original version.
Carousels and in-window tabs packed information onto the homepage. However, to us, the homepage felt cluttered with text — even without this additional content snuck in.
The footer also expanded, which allowed for more direct browsing from any page on the site. Though the dropdown header is no longer functional, it clearly offered multiple paths for site visitors based on their needs and circumstances.
Moving on to site content, we’re happy to say O2 ditched the trendy-but-superfluous content in favor of more targeted, branded content.
They created more relevant, engaging content in multiple formats and presented it in a more branded, customer-friendly manner.
O2 also its customer support content (and overall content experience). On top of having helpful content at their disposal, users could also submit helpful content to O2’s forums — strengthening the bond between all community members.
O2’s approach to ecommerce didn’t evolved much since their previous iteration.
One big issue we found here:
There was a lot of text on the page — especially in the descriptions. It’s important information, but it can easily overwhelm those who may just be browsing for the first time.
Product pages also featured a lot of info — but in a much more digestible manner.
O2 knew the importance of keeping customers informed when making a purchase.
O2.co in 2017: An Exemplary Digital Experience
The next iteration of O2’s website and homepage was less busy — and more engaging.
While there were still a number of paths to choose from, the page allowed for more purposeful browsing .
Content was grouped based on visitor needs and interests, and shifted away from being about “what O2 does”, and toward “what O2’s customers can do with our products and services”.
As expected, O2’s support-related content improved.
Even when engaging with static support content, they didn’t lose the community essence of their support hub.
O2 also introduced a number of apps to deliver value to users and keep them engaged.
(Check out the full version here.)
O2.co Today: Tweaked to Modern-Day Perfection
Today’s version of O2’s website is the culmination of two decades of consistent, comprehensive improvement.
The longform homepage makes for easy browsing and scrolling — while also pointing users down clear paths from the start. Once more, the drop-down header and comprehensive footer provide even more options for site visitors to get where they’re going.
O2’s approach to content continues to become more focused on the customer, the community, and the world as a whole. This, again, in contrast to focusing on O2’s products and services as mere commodities.
O2 has also begun focusing more on blog-like content for audiences of varying needs and interests.
O2’s support hub offers everything we expected in terms of browsability and interactivity. In fact, there are numerous conversations and discussions occurring on O2’s community forums as this is being written.
To show how O2’s approach to ecommerce has evolved, check out the following screenshots:
All product pages — for featured products and otherwise — are packed with information, and organized in a way that allows for surface-level browsing and deep dives alike.
Overall, O2’s focus has been on:
- Promoting their products and services
- Keeping their customers informed
- Building a supportive brand community
As we near the first anniversary of O2’s recent merger, we’ll be keeping a close eye on what the team has next in store for their customers.