Streaming services are quite popular these days. The chances are you’re using one even as we speak about it. The websites that deal with streaming have been around since the early days of the internet. Today we have various options in this department such as EON TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and similar ones. Now, these are legitimate services owned by major corporations. Another thing they have in common is that they’re paid subscriptions. While Netflix is great, no one is prepared to pay for it every month. There are too many bills we have to cover so some streaming services are seen as a luxury.
Luckily for us, many streaming sites are free. Of course, they earn cash through advertising, which is a brilliant thing about the internet. All of us visited a website like this at least once in our lives, and have a different experience with it. Some of them are professional and amazing. Others, not so much. Sometimes it is hard to know which one are you visiting. Ads o their own can be too much when someone is putting too much advertisement all over the place, while in some cases these sites are nothing more than spam generators.
Don’t worry, we’re not trying to bash anyone. The sole goal of this article is to help you to learn how to know if an online streaming website is safe and legit. There are ways to make a difference between good ones and bad ones, and we’re going to talk about it. Once you’re on the web for too long it becomes hard to recognize a lousy product if you don’t know what you’re doing and where you should look. So, please, let us help you. Here’s what should be you focused on.
Advertisements Are Moderate and Legit
As we already said, many streaming websites on the web earn money through advertisements. This is fine, and you shouldn’t be annoyed by a single ad. You’ll notice how we wrote a single ad. When the website is spamming you with their ads something is not right. Furthermore, it is not only about the quantity. It is important to see who is responsible for their ads. In most cases, ads can be legit and provided by major players such as Google. This company has its ad platform AdSense which is a great way of earning money. If you notice ads by third parties and providers you never heard of, the chances are that the streaming site you’re on is not up to standard. If you want to skip the investigating part that’ll show you which sites are fine and which are not you can seek help from PrivacySharks. They know a thing or two about streaming services.
Web Design
The internet has come a long way. Today you can make a website on your own in a couple of minutes. It is no longer a science it once was. If you want, WordPress offers an amazing platform for web development that is easy to use. But, this doesn’t give you the right to launch a no-good website. Amateurism can only get you so far. All serious streaming websites are made on a serious platform by professionals. If you notice that the website you’re on is not quite up to standards of what the internet offers you when you visit one of the big websites out there they’re most likely not legit. Web design is important in this domain and it is easy to tell when there’s no effort put into site creation. If they slacked in this department the chances are other aspects of that streaming service are no good too.
Original Content
A good streaming service is going to have good content. This is what makes it so great. In this paragraph, we’re going to focus on the big players. You noticed how the primary streaming platforms love to brag about their content. Amazon Prime has The Wheel of Time adaptation, HBO has Game of Thrones, and Netflix has Squid Game. There’s no crossbreeding in this department. These services won’t show the TV shows from other platforms. This is how you can tell they’re doing a good job, by owning their production. But, when it comes to smaller providers, those that we said that rely on advertisements, the story is a bit different. They’re not allowed to stream all the series they can get their hands on. So if you notice a website that has some movies or series, and then always has them on and off, the chances are they’re doing something shady. You’ll find The Sopranos on HBO Max at any time. The situation is the same with Netflix and The Witcher.
Quality of Product
We live in a 4k world. This is a joke, but you get the picture. Everything that we see on the net needs to be in HD. There’s no other way to see new films such as Dune for example. Seeing it in a pirated version filmed in the theatre is a no-go. If the streaming platform you’re visiting has all the new releases but the picture is subpar, you’re not visiting a legit website. All films and series need to be in high resolution for the full enjoyment of the fans. If you’re visiting a website that has all the good films and series but doesn’t take good care about the quality of the motion picture you’re better of somewhere else.
No Download Option
This is a big red flag. Once again let’s sue HBO Max or Netflix as an example. Once you’re subscribed you can watch their content to your heart’s desire. But, you can’t download it. They’re not in this sphere of business and all positive streaming services are the same. If you’re on a website that offers you this option, they’re not good. God knows what you’d be downloading if you click that button. This is not an option a streaming service has any benefit of. They’re there for streaming by putting the download option upfront you can tell they’re not focused on the primary operation.