Bill Birney
Microsoft Digital Media Division
October 2001
Introduction
Microsoft® Windows Media™ Technologies software applications are created to provide content producers and e-businesses with a flexible and extensible platform. However, this flexibility
has resulted in a variety of download experiences for consumers: some good, some not so good. The download process should be quick and easy for consumers. A confusing, repetitive, and protracted
process can lead to frustration and ultimately result in dissatisfied consumers and the loss of sales.
The objective for improving the download experience is to minimize the wait time and decrease the number of clicks between content selection and checkout. In this article, we describe a download
process in which the goal is to minimize the number of clicks to three: from the point where users finalize their purchase decisions to where they are presented with a link for order fulfillment.
Windows Media Technologies includes digital media software that helps make the experience of finding, downloading, and playing content quick and easy for consumers. You can incorporate other
technologies, services, and design elements to improve the process of purchasing the content.
Feedback
E-mail us with your comments and feedback
about this article.
Abstract
This article offers recommendations for providing a consistent user experience in finding, purchasing, and downloading Microsoft Windows Media-based content. If you have a Web
site, such as a music site that offers downloads of digital media content, you can take advantage of new Microsoft Windows Media Technologies features and utilities and modify the design of
your site in order to improve the download experience.
(11 printed pages)
This article describes best practices for providing a compelling download experience for the purchase of digital media content. By adopting these best practices, you can design a purchase and
download process for your site that is fast and intuitive.
Figure 1. Making it easy for customers to find music
Two key concepts in developing a successful Web site for selling digital media are giving customers the tools and information to find content quickly and then making it easy for customers
to make decisions. Windows Media Technologies digital media software and effective design can help you retain customers and move them toward completing a purchase.
Streaming Previews
The following Web page illustrates one possible way to help customers find music—streaming previews. With streaming previews, a customer can look through the Web site's music catalog
and play samples before committing to a purchase.
Figure 2. Contoso Record Store music catalog
Streaming media provides you with this very simple and effective way to improve the user experience. To create the samples, you can use Windows Media Technologies encoding tools to encode
portions of tracks and then stream those tracks from a Windows Media server. Providing your customers with streaming previews gives your e-commerce site a big advantage over brick-and-mortar
retailers. With a plentiful supply of free media on the Internet, users not only want but also expect to be able to listen to previews before they buy. For more information about Windows Media
Technologies encoding tools, see the article Building a Windows Media Solution.
Streaming samples has two advantages over downloading them. First, there is no download wait when streaming. The customer hears the sample as soon as Microsoft Windows Media Player starts
receiving the stream. Second, after the sample has finished playing, no files are left on the customer's computer to take up space.
Direct Links to Purchase
After deciding to purchase one or more music tracks, the customer views a "shopping cart" Web page. A typical shopping cart page, such as the following example, lists the items that the customer
has selected to purchase. Up to this point, the shopping experience has been fun, since the customer has taken his or her time to browse through selections, view CD artwork, and play track
samples. However, the time between the shopping cart page and when the music is finally playing on the customer's computer is usually viewed as anything but fun.
Figure 3. Contoso Record Store shopping cart detail preview
From this point forward, the goal is for the customer to have to make only the following three clicks in order to obtain the digital media content: proceed to checkout, complete the purchase,
and download the content.
On the view shopping cart page, you can make the process easy for customers by minimizing confusion and making it very clear what you want them to do: proceed to checkout or continue shopping.
This is not to say the pages must be drab and business-like, but the path toward purchasing and playing the music should be clear, quick, and uncluttered. Try to use clear and simple instructions,
minimal clicks, and pages that load quickly.
It is important to present your customer with a Web site and purchasing process that are simple and intuitive. The goal of your site is to sell products, and you can help accomplish that by
making your products appealing and easy to purchase.
Additionally, retailers should strive to make each click part of a natural process flow that is contextual to the purchase. In other words, each step should make sense and move the purchase
process forward. Displaying additional non-contextual pages, such as special offer pages, should be avoided. Links to other elements of the site or advertising materials should be minimized.
By eliminating unnecessary steps and distractions and designing pages that focus the customer experience on the transaction at hand, you can ensure that purchases are completed quickly.
During the purchase process, the goal is to simplify the process to one click: complete the purchase. Effective Web site design should be aimed at reducing the number of steps a customer is
required to take.
One-time Sign-up
When customers proceed to checkout, you can simplify the process by offering one-time sign-up. In a one-time sign-up, the customer enters his or her complete information once, and you provide
a secure system for storing the information. Then, whenever the customer goes through the purchase process again, you can retrieve the information and present it to the customer on a verify
payment page, such as in the following example:
Figure 5. Contoso Record Store payment verification information
The customer has the choice of updating the stored information or completing the purchase. Surveys have shown that one of the main reasons given by consumers for not using an e-commerce site
is the need to repeatedly re-enter data. Keep in mind that users often perceive the gathering of personal information as a necessary annoyance that primarily benefits the e-business.
User data can be stored at the retail site or by a proxy service provider. For example, Microsoft Passport is one such service
that offers customers single sign-in and express purchase options at participating Web sites. By calling up stored information, a consumer can move quickly from item selection to checkout
to download. For example, the following customer information can be stored:
Name
Address
Credit card number/expiration date
E-mail
Purchase preferences By understanding a customer's preferences, you can streamline the search process by narrowing the search to particular categories, such as rock, classical, or country. You can also
target advertising to suit the customer's preferences.
Storing Purchase History
To help build customer trust and comfort while using your site, complete order status and purchase history information should be readily available. A user should be able to view and track this
information, as well as be assured that personal information is stored securely. This information should cover all purchases of content made from the retail site. This purchase history should
include at least the following information:
You can design a site that makes it easy for customers to acquire content. After customers choose to complete a purchase, you can offer a simple one-click Web page, such as the following example,
that confirms the purchase and starts the download.
Figure 7. Contoso Record Store purchase confirmation
This section describes four Windows Media technologies that you can use to streamline the download process. By implementing these technologies, delivery of the license is transparent, content
is contained in one package, customers can share digital media content without fear of copyright infringement, and the download process is efficient and easy to understand.
The goal during the download process is one click: download your music.
Transparent License Delivery
You can use digital rights management (DRM) to protect your valuable digital media content from unauthorized use. Microsoft Windows Media Rights Manager Software Development Kit (SDK) is the
Microsoft DRM product. It works by requiring customers to purchase or obtain a license for a piece of digital media content before the digital media can be played. After successfully completing
a purchase, a customer downloads the content and acquires the license. For more information about Windows Media Rights Manager SDK, see the article Getting
Started with Windows Media Rights Manager SDK.
License acquisition and management are difficult concepts for most customers to understand, and they should not have to understand them. Windows Media Rights Manager 7 offers three new features
designed to make the download process transparent for consumers.
Single license for multiple files This feature enables you to issue a single license for more complex licenses. When a piece of digital media, such as a CD track, is encrypted with Windows Media Rights Manager 7,
the content owner adds a set of content rights. The rights include limitations; for example, a limitation could be that the user can play the content twice on the PC, transfer the content
to a portable device two times, and burn a CD twice. With previous DRM systems, these rights required six licenses. With Windows Media Rights Manager 7, a number of content rights can be
granted with a single license. This feature decreases license delivery time, makes license management easier, and increases the likelihood of successful license delivery. For more information
about licensing and content rights, see the article, Creating a Subscription Service with Windows Media Rights Manager 7.
Pre-delivery of licenses Licenses can be delivered either before or after content has been downloaded. By pre-delivering the license, a customer can play the content as soon as the download is complete, rather
than going through another step before playing.
Silent license acquisition Content download and license acquisition no longer need to be presented as two discrete and potentially confusing steps. The user can download the content, and the acquisition of
the license can occur automatically and transparently. For example, you can silently pre-deliver the license immediately after the purchase is made, so that the digital media can be played
as soon as the content is downloaded. With silent delivery, it appears to the customer that the content download and receipt of the license occurs in a single step.
Packaged Content
Managing the download of multiple files can make site design difficult and can confuse customers. If customers are presented with links to multiple Windows Media Audio files that are tracks
from one album, for example, a separate download may be required for each file. Additionally, requiring users to decide where to save the files and then spend time locating them after the completion
of the download can try a customer's patience and increase the risk of error.
A new feature of Windows Media Player solves many of these problems by enabling you to encapsulate multiple Windows Media files and enhanced metadata in a single download file, called a Microsoft
Windows Media Download (WMD) package. After a WMD file has been downloaded, Windows Media Player opens the package automatically in the Now Playing window, as shown in the following figure.
For more information about WMD packages, see the article Windows Media Download Packages.
Figure 8. Don Funk's Greatest Hits
In addition to the immediate advantage of delivering multiple files in a single download, packaging serves the customer in several other ways:
Windows Media Player handles the download, not the browser. The user is not prompted with a Save As dialog box. Downloading is more transparent to the user.
Windows Media Player automatically creates a hierarchical directory structure and expands the contents of the package into its own directory. A packaged download makes organizing digital
media much easier for the consumer.
The Player automatically adds all content in the package to the user's Media Library. All metadata is preserved, and the content is categorized by album name, artist, and so forth. Users
do not need to search on their hard drives for the content they have purchased.
The Player automatically plays packaged content after the completion of the download, if the download package includes a playlist in a Windows Media metafile with a .wvx or .wax file name
extension. Windows Media Player adds the playlist to the Media Library and begins playback immediately. The user can also choose not to have the media play immediately. This might be the
best option when playback time is metered—for example, in a movie download with a 24-hour rental period that starts from the time the file begins playback. For more information about
metafiles, see the article Introduction to Windows Media Metafiles.
Enhanced metadata can be included with the package. This metadata, called a border, displays in Windows Media Player, and can include such elements as art, photos, lyrics, a biography,
and Web links. The creative use of metadata can provide the user with an experience that is equivalent to or better than an enhanced CD or DVD experience.
Super Distribution
Making it easy for users to share packaged content legitimately with others helps to build confidence in the purchasing process. By properly configuring the content when you encrypt it, you
can make the process of sharing content quick and easy for customers and ensure that a license clearinghouse has the purchase information for properly crediting the retailer and content owner.
Windows Media Rights Manager 7 supports methods for implementing super distribution of content. If used properly, super distribution makes it easy for users to share content they have purchased.
The previous WMD figure shows one way of implementing super distribution. After downloading the WMD package, the customer can use a link in the border to initiate a simple process for sending
the package to a friend, such as through e-mail. For more information about super distribution, see the article Taking Advantage of
Super Distribution with Windows Media Rights Manager.
When the packaged content is received, the customer's friend cannot immediately play it. Windows Media Rights Manager licenses a piece of content to the computer on which the license was acquired.
For the friend to play the content on a different computer, he or she must acquire a new license. With super distribution set up properly, however, the acquisition process can be quick and easy.
When a Windows Media file is configured for encryption with Windows Media Rights Manager, a special URL called a challenge URL can be inserted. Windows Media Player uses the challenge URL to
request a license from the original license issuer. When the friend attempts to play the content without a license, a browser opens and sends the friend to the Web page specified by the challenge
URL. Ideally, the challenge URL should bring the new customer back to the same retailer that issued the license for the original content. At that point, the friend can purchase the file and
receive a silent license.
The design of the process should make sense to the new customer. The Web page that the challenge URL specifies should provide a coherent buying experience. The retailer must recognize that the
new customer has already downloaded the content and only needs to purchase a license. The options presented on the challenge URL page should guide the customer to a registration section where
purchase information is entered. After registration, the customer should be sent directly to a checkout page.
Clean Download Process
With Windows Media Rights Manager and Windows Media Player, you can create a download process that requires fewer steps, so the content purchase is completed quickly and the customer can start
playing the file as soon as it is downloaded. Finally, to make it easier for users to download files and for Web site developers to implement a download solution, you can use Microsoft Windows
Media Download Control. The control works with Microsoft Internet Explorer as a Microsoft ActiveX® control and with Netscape Navigator as a plug-in. You add the Windows Media Download Control
to a Web page. The control handles many of the confusing and complicated tasks associated with the download process. For more information about Windows Media Download Control, see the article
Understanding and Using Windows Media Download Control.
Windows Media Download Control includes the following features:
Multi-file downloads One or more files can be downloaded to a default or user-specified directory on a user's computer.
Save As dialog box The control includes a standard Save As dialog box. In addition to selecting a location to which the content is saved, users can select multiple files with the dialog box.
File management If the default target location is selected, files are downloaded to a My Music subdirectory in the default directory, My Documents. If an artist and album title are specified, additional
subdirectories are created automatically. For example: c:\My Documents\My Music\ArtistName\AlbumTitle.
HTTP support The hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) is supported for transferring files. You can redirect the control to download files to other URLs.
Proxy server support Proxy information is taken from a user's Web browser configuration.
No user interface Except for the Save As dialog box, you create a custom interface to suit your particular needs.
Status information Download status is updated periodically. You can use this information to create a progress bar or status window, for example.
By using the features built in to the control, you can create a download experience that is intuitive for users and easy to use. The Windows Media Download Control is also easy for you to implement
and resolves most of the technical challenges associated with creating a download solution.
The example companies, organizations, products, domain names, e-mail addresses, logos, people, places, and events depicted herein are fictitious. No association with any real company, organization,
product, domain name, e-mail address, logo, person, places, or events is intended or should be inferred.
Back to the top
